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The Gardens of Cedar Rapids
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September News and Events

New Staff

Mary Ohlhauser

Meet our new Culinary Manager!

 

Mary has been in food service for 35 years.  She moved to Cedar Rapids in 1983 when she went to college. She graduated from Kirkwood Community College in 1985 with an associate degree in applied science and food service management. She started working at JC Penney in their cafeteria for her internship. 

Mary started her professional cooking career at Naso’s in Marion as the kitchen manager, then went to Sbarro at the Westdale mall as co-manager. She then worked at Collins Plaza hotel (now called Marriott) for 10 years as their cold production supervisor and later became the banquet chef.  Her next adventure led her to St. Luke’s Hospital as the chef for 18 years, and she stayed at St. Luke’s but joined the Aramark team for 2 years as there retail and production manager.  She recently closed that chapter at St. Luke’s Hospital after 20 years and has now joined the dietary team at The Garden of Cedar Rapids!

She is from Monticello, IA growing up in a family of 10 on a 200 acre farm. Her dad raised pigs and crops.  She did a lot of baling hay in the hot summer and raised a lot of chickens every summer for her college fund.

She married her husband in 1992, they have been married for 27 years. She has a step daughter Crystal married to her son in law Bevin, they have a son named Kaidan. Her step son Nick has two daughters, Shiloh who is going to Kirkwood for apparel merchandising and Cheyanne who is a senior at Jefferson High School. Roxie is the family dog. 

Mary volunteers at St. Ludmila's church and makes kolaches, At Camp Courageous she does the pancake breakfast and omelet breakfast every year. She is also a Girls Scout Mom/leader (cookie mom/troop camp volunteer) for both of her girls. People are more than welcome to see Mary in February! She will be selling Girl Scout Cookies!

FUN FACTS!

Mary loves to spend time with the family, go to zoos, go to garage sales, and fishing with her husband on the boat.

She loves to camp and cook over the fire with Dutch ovens. She tries to create new meals every year.

She likes to just jump in the car and go site seeing, go look at the leaves or go visits friends and family.

She enjoys taking Roxie to the dog park so she can run and play with the other dogs,

Her favorite treats are chocolate and diet Pepsi.

She enjoys going out and trying new restaurants.

 

Welcome Mary! We are so glad you are with us!

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Employees of the Month

The Gardens of Cedar Rapids likes to celebrate excellency. We honor staff that has exhibited extraordinary skills, talent, and compassion that help make our facility great!

Angie Bohling

Angie works as one of our long term care nurses. She has been with us for one year. 

Angie is originally from West Branch but now lives in the Cedar Rapids area with her husband of 20 years and two cats named Callie and Winnie. 

FUN FACTS!

Angie has two sisters

She loves cats

Her favorite vacation spot is Florida

In her free time she enjoys gardening, canning salsa, and hanging out with friends and family.

The staff says Angie is always cheerful and is a good listener.

Kayla Lott

Kayla works as one of our CNA's in our long term care facility. She is originally from West Warwick, Rhode Island. She has been with us since the beginning of May of this year. When asked about her job Kayla said, "I like to help people; I feel like the end of life is just as important as the beginning; the residents here have really started to become my family."

FUN FACTS!

Kayla has 4 sisters and a brother, she is the middle child.

She has a cat named Zeus.

She enjoys hiking, swimming, and reading. 

The staff at The Gardens says that Kayla is time efficient, always gets the job done, and is a team player.

Thank you both for all you do!! 

 

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Resident Spotlight

Anne McDill

Anne was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland with her twin brother. She loved the friendly people, the Scottish atmosphere and the "bagpipes and all that" while she was in Glasgow. She lived there until 1966 when she moved to America on Queen Mary's second to last voyage. The biggest difference between living in Scotland and in the states is the daylight. There was much more daylight in Scotland than there is here.

In Scotland she worked as a bookkeeper and piano teacher. When she moved to America she had three children, two boys and a girl, and ran her own daycare. In her lifetime Anne gave love to over 100 children through her daycare. 

Two of Anne's children live here in Cedar Rapids, the other lives out of town. She has seven grandchildren and three great grandchildren. They live here in Cedar Rapids. 

Anne has always been an active church member. Through the years she loved to play tennis and golf. She enjoys listening to music and visiting with friends. You will often see her sitting in our Piano Lounge visiting with a friend over a cup of coffee in the morning. 

Join us on Thursday, September 26th at 3:00pm in our Piano Lounge for an afternoon tea with Anne! 

 

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This Month's Events

Coffee Club

Join us every Monday morning at 9:00am in our Piano Lounge for our coffee club! Enjoy a warm cup of coffee while you meet new friends and see our gorgeous facility! All are welcome, no R.S.V.P. necessary! Free complimentary coffee mug on your first visit! 

 

National Assisted Living Week

Join us all week long as we celebrate our assisted living tenants and staff! This year's theme is "A Spark of Creativity." We will have a variety of special events this week as well as a daily opportunity for tenants and staff in our assisted living facility to engage their creative minds! Be sure to stop by our assisted living facility to see what is happening! 

 

Car Show

Come see our car show provided by the Antique Auto Club of Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, September 10th from 1:30-2:30pm in our front parking lot! Browse, visit, and then come on inside for some ice cream and popcorn! All are welcome!  

 

Happy Hour Lineup

Join us every Friday afternoon at 3:00pm for live music and drinks! See this month's lineup below!

 Friday, September 6th - Guitar with Jason

Friday, September 13th - Broadway style piano with Betty

Friday, September 20th - Very special mystery guest! You won't want to miss it!

Friday, September 27th - Finger guitar with Scott

 

Bingo with Prairie High School

They are back! Join us on the first Saturday of the month from 9:30-11:00am in our Skilled Dining Room for a fun morning playing bingo with students from Prairie High School Key Club! 

 

Assisted Living Family Brunch

We offer a complementary brunch in our assisted living facility for the invited family and friends of our assisted living tenants! Brunch is held on the 2nd Friday of every month unless otherwise noted.

September's brunch for assisted living is on Friday, September 13th at 10:00am! 

R.S.V.P. as soon as possible to Eva at ecoblentz@thegardenscr.com or (319)930-8768. 

 

Memory Care Family Brunch

We offer a complementary family brunch for our memory care tenants and invited guests on the 4th Wednesday of the month at the noon meal!

September's brunch for memory care will be held on Wednesday, September 25th at noon.

R.S.V.P. as soon as possible to Eva at ecoblentz@thegardenscr.com or (319)930-8768. 

 

For more activities and events this month be sure to check out our September calendar! Hard copies are available at our front desk. 

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Regular Reminders

Labeling Laundry

If you or your loved one resides in our long term care or skilled nursing facilities we ask that you please clearly label all laundry with the owner's name. This helps ensure that all laundered items are returned to their proper owner in a timely fashion. For questions or assistance with labeling, please speak with Brenda our Housekeeping Manager. Her whereabouts can be found through Tina at the front desk. 

 

Transportation to Appointments

We offer transportation to appointments on Thursdays during business hours for our assisted living tenants. If you or your loved one need to schedule transportation, please speak with Tina at the front desk who will direct you to Terry our Maintenance Director/Appointment Chauffeur. Reservations are taken on a first come, first serve basis and we appreciate as much notice as possible to ensure proper accommodations can be made. 

 

Change in Meal Rates

We are so thankful that so many friends and families choose to dine with us.  With the increases in food costs since we opened in 2017 and in the labor costs due to more and more people dining, we see a need to increase the cost of our guest meals.  Beginning September 1, 2019 guest meals will be $8.00.  We will continue to use the punch card system; 5 punch card for $40 and 10 punch for $80.  We highly recommend using the punch cards.  When purchasing we can take cash or check.  Please keep in mind that the staff does not have access to cash for change. You may purchase your punch cards at the front desk.

 

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Birthdays

Rosemary M. - 9/6

Harlan B. - 9/10

Arlene M. - 9/11

Bob Z. - 9/11

Edna M. - 9/15

Pearl E. - 9/17

Lois E. - 9/19

Margaret T. - 9/20

Linda Y. - 9/23

Barb Z. - 9/23

Bill B. - 9/28

Be sure to wish these folks a very happy birthday when you see them and join us for our monthly birthday party on Thursday, September 19th at 3:00pm in our Piano Lounge with the Accordion Club! 

 

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In Loving Memory

Helen Burgess-Spring

5/10/1924 - 8/7/2019

 

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Volunteers and Donations Needed

Volunteer Opportunities

Nail Painting

We have lots of ladies that love getting their nails done!

We are currently on the search for anyone who would enjoy painting nails! 

One on One Visitors

Studies have linked socialization to tons of increased mental and physical benefits. Human thrive with social interaction and we want to give our residents more of it! We have lots of residents who would benefit from having a visitor! Sit and chat over ice cream or a cup of coffee, play cards or a board game, the possibilities are endless. 

If you are interested in a volunteer opportunity please contact Eva at (319)930-8768 or ecoblentz@thegardenscr.com

Donations

Halloween is right around the corner and we are looking for candy for our residents to pass out during a trick or treat event! Our residents will love getting to see the kids in costumes and making them smile with treats! Donations can be taken to Tina at our front desk. We will be collecting until Halloween. 

Thank you!

 

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Gardening Tips From Our Master Gardener, Emil

 

Early fall is almost here, it's a busy time of the year. Make sure you are getting ready for the first frost! Put rose cones on plants. I also put weights on top of the cones and place stakes around the plants. 

If possible have your garden tilled or spade it up. You will have much better soil for next year. It will dry out earlier and have better control over wintering. Good luck for next year's crop. Thanks for reading.

 

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Phone List

Main Line     632-1350

Fax Line      632-1389

Nurses Station Suites 200      Ext. 111 , 632-1484

Nurses Station Suites 100     Ext. 112 , 632-1485

Memory Care Wing     632-1481

Assisted Living Wing     632-1448 , 632-1489

Millennium Therapy      Ext.110 , 632-1483

Amanda Loesche- Office Manager      Ext.102 , 632-1482

Jenna Gardner Administrator      Ext.103 , 632-1476

Amy Kubik-Hasley - Community Relations Director       Ext. 109 , 632-1477

Desiree Howard -DON LTC/Skilled      Ext. 107 , 632-1478

Dallas Urbain- Assisted Living DON      Ext. 106 , 632-1480

Eva Coblentz- Activity Director     (319)930-8768

Bridget Martin- Social Worker      Ext. 152 , 632-1487

Matt Munyakazi- Restorative Nurse      Ext. 152 , 632-1487

Kitchen      Ext. 105 , 632-1486

 

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