Juniper Hug Day and Hugs and Bears Workshop!

Juniper Village at Forest Hills celebrated "Hug Day" with a "Hugs and Bear" Workshop presented by Resident Ambassador and Volunteer Susan Fanke RN, BSN, M.ED., CHES. Susan discussed the importance of "Hug Therapy" and "Teddy Bear Therapy". Susan handed out treat bags filled with Hersheys Kisses and Hugs as well as Teddy Bears for all who attended. Susan also passed out handouts on the various therapies as well as encouraged hugging throughout the presentation.

Susan Franke' is a registered nurse and has worked as a public health nurse, staff nurse and supervisor. She is also a licensed PA nursing home administrator. She received a BSN degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing and a Masters Degree in Health Education from Penn State University. She is also a Certified Health Education Specialist.  

In addition, Susan is a former bereavement counselor with the Burger King Cancer Caring Center. She is a former member of the American School Health Association and a former pediatric nursing instructor at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA.

Susan has over 20 years of experience in health care and community services and has given over 650 presentations to schools and community groups since 1998. Her children's programs received an award of excellence from the Pittsburgh Public School District. Susan was recently featured in the Murrysville Star and the Green Tree Times. She was also a guest on the KDKA Morning Show with Jon Burnett, where she discussed her Teddy Bear Therapy, disability awareness, bully prevention and Hug Therapy programs.

Susan was also recently interviewed by "Caregiver Magazine" and will be featured in the July 2011 edition. We are very fortunate and pleased to have Susan here at Juniper Village Forest Hills. Both residents and staff appreciate and enjoy Susan very much!  She has been a huge help acting as a resident volunteer helping out with our Bingo, Bible Study and Hydration Cart.

For more information on "Hug Therapy" or "Teddy Bear" therapy please check out Susan's Website at: http://www.hugsandbears.com/

Our Juniper "Hug Day" also featured entertainment from local musician Tracy Lee Simmen "The Ukulele Lady"!

This activity proved to be both fun and informative for all!!! National Hug Day is every January 21st, but Juniper Village Forest Hills thought it appropriate to have ours in February around the Valentines Day Holiday!

For more information on "Hug Day" go to http://www.nationalhuggingday.com/

Juniper Vintage Fur Fashion Show With Patti Peer Of Paper and Lace!

Residents, families, community and staff photographed in the pictures displayed here enjoy a Vintage Fur Fashion Show presented by Patti Peer Of Paper and  Lace!About 36 years ago, Patricia Peer's mother-in-law gave her two authentic Victorian outfits. Today, she wears them to work.

Mrs. Peer, 67, of White Oak, collects, restores and presents authentic vintage clothing dating from the 1890s to the 1960s for audiences in a program she calls "Paper and Lace."

Mrs. Peer describes herself as vintage collection addict and a "stuffologist."

"My husband, Lynn, and I met when we were 16 years old, and he was already interested in old things," she said.  He introduced her to the world of antiques and "I have been hooked from the start," she said.  She called their home a "flea market house" because everything in it is from flea markets, antique stores or estate sales.  "You can't walk in our basement," she said of their collection.

Typically, when her show begins she tells the audience: "Sit back, relax. I'm going to show you how you would get dressed to come here about 100 years ago."  People are always surprised at the amount of clothing women wore in yesteryear.  "These women lived in torture," Mrs. Peer explained.  "They carried smelling salts and a handkerchief. Many times, they passed out from lack of oxygen because their clothing was very tight. The ideal waist was 18 inches. The layers of clothing were stifling hot in the summer."

Women were covered from the neck to the toes in the Victorian era (the reign of Queen Victoria, 1837 to 1901). By 1901, after her death, styles loosened slightly and women began to show their necklines. By the 1920s, there was a clothing revolution -- corsets and bustles were gone along with waistlines.

"It was a very liberating time for women, and men finally got to see [women's] legs. Then, in the 1960s, we covered them up again when the pant suit came into style," Mrs. Peer said.

She has eight different programs in her show-and-tell repertoire and presents about 40 to 50 outfits. She keeps it informal, fielding questions as they are asked. Her clothes are all authentic, but they are too small and too fragile to allow people to wear.

The programs can include fashions, wedding gowns, fur coats and children's clothing from 1890 to 1960, and a quilt presentation that covers 1900 to present day.

She frequents antique shops to find pieces, but many items are donated as well. She recently received a footlocker filled with items worn in World War II by a member of the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service).

Fifty percent of her business is with personal care homes and Juniper Village Forest Hills was very fortunate to have her and will always welcome Patti back with open arms. She's been invited to present at ladies' teas, fundraisers, women's church groups, garden clubs, bridal shows and even for a class of middle school girls.

"I had never done a school before. I had no idea how I would keep these kids interested in a Victorian fashion show. But they were blown away. They had never seen anything like a girdle or a corset and they had so many questions. The [time] just flew."

This is her second career. Life took an unexpected turn for her at age 60, when she was asked to retire early from her job as an account executive for a food company.

Her husband had lost his job as director of planning for Joseph Horne Company some years earlier and then became an artist, creating sculptures from found objects. But without her income or health insurance, the future was uncertain.

In the meantime, she was helping her 90-year-old aunt settle into a personal care home. Mrs. Peer noticed the various entertainers who came to the home.

"A light bulb went off. For years, I'd been collecting pretty pieces of vintage clothing. I'd hang petticoats and parasols in my house. I told my husband, 'I think I can get in front of these people and show a bustle, a corset, a petticoat.' " She asked for permission to present a vintage fashion show at the nursing home. "They wheeled 50 people in front of me and no one fell asleep. They were so interested."

Mrs. Peer got on the phone and called other personal care facilities. In the first year, with no advertising, she and her husband did 103 shows. Her husband works behind the scenes.

As you can see by these photographs displayed here it has been the perfect fit!

For more on Paper and Lace, call 412-673-0213 412-673-0213, or e-mail ppeer@earthlink.net.

Juniper Village Valentine Sweetheart Dance!

What a better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than being with the one you love! That is what residents, families, community and staff pictured in these photos did at Juniper Village's Valentine Sweetheart Dance! Everyone enjoyed themselves with a delicious dinner, Swing Era Music  that was provided by local DJ Julie Zubryd of  Jewelz Karoke, and featured Ballroom Dancers Christian and Jessica of Arthur Murray Dance Studio, Monroeville PA.

"Manicure Day" By: Christine Doreian Michaels, published by Pittsburgh Post Gazette Saturday, February 5th 2011

"Manicure Day" By: Christine Doreian Michaels

published by Pittsburgh Post Gazette Saturday, February 5th 2011


Ruth bowls along the hallway,
two weeks past Christmas, bawls, off key,
"- red nosed reindeer, you'll go down in historee".


Jean pads behind in her wheelchair,
vacant gaze, her face lights up
when anyone greets her.


Aide Lauren's already enthroned
waits for her subjects in Wellspring's lounge,
center stage, a bottle of nail polish.


Clipping, filing, buffing,
Hot Pink , the color of the week,.
brush loaded, "pay attention!"


She draws enamel down each nail
"hold still till it dries!"
She gently imprisions each fluttering hand.


Flesh withered, muscles atrophied ,
minds deserting them, but manicures intact.
Released, butterfly fingernails flit and flirt.

In Memory...Dr. Richard Michaels...

Rev'n For Seven, Go Steelers!

Juniper Village Residents and Staff in these photos are "Rev'n For Seven" ! Residents and Staff have watched all season long anticipating Our Home Team, The Mighty Black and Gold Pittsburgh Steelers to lead us to the Super Bowl . They did not disappoint us when they won the AFC Championship against the Chicago Bears! Everyone her at Juniper Village Forest Hills will be "showing their team colors and spirit" as The Pittsburgh Steelers take on The Green Bay Packers at Super Bowl XLV in Dallas, Texas at Cowboy Stadium this coming Sunday, February 6th. Come On Steelers! Bring Down That Steel Curtain! Here We Go Steelers! Here We Go!