Juniper Village at Forest Hills Welcomes Rosemarie Malanoski as Connections Director

Juniper Village at Forest Hills is pleased to welcome Rosemarie Malanoski as the new Connections Director. Rosemarie is originally from northeastern Pennsylvania. She attended Corning College for Nursing and began her career as a Licensed Practical Nurse in a skilled nursing and rehabilitation center.

When Rosemarie’s husband was transferred to Pittsburgh, she accepted a position as an activities coordinator for a local non-profit organization. She was there for 13 years, then worked for 7 years as an activities coordinator at a personal care community in Pittsburgh.

As Connections Director at Juniper Village, Rosemarie will plan, direct and implement the day to day operations of the Connections Activities program to ensure maximum levels of resident social engagement, physical activity and mental and psychological well-being.

With more than 20 years of experience as an activities coordinator, Rosemarie looks forward to bringing her skills and talents to Juniper Village at Forest Hills Connections Department as its director.

Juniper Village at Forest Hills Wins 2016 Best of Assisted Living Award

Juniper Village at Forest Hills, a personal care community, was presented with a 2016 Best of Assisted Living Award for receiving consistently high ratings from residents and their families this past year on SeniorAdvisor.com, a premier ratings and reviews site for senior care and services nationwide.

Winners of the SeniorAdvisor.com Best of 2016 Awards represent the top tier of in-home care, personal care, assisted living, and other senior living providers, based on the online reviews written by seniors and their families. This exclusive designation places the winners in the top one percent of senior care providers according to those who matter most - the consumers.

Of the nearly 100,000 providers currently listed on SeniorAdvisor.com, about 1,000 have been recognized with this award.

Mary Huzinec wrote in December, “If you're looking for the highest possible quality care for your senior family member, Juniper Village at Forest Hills is the place to go - warm, welcoming, clean and compassionate, this place has it all. My family is so thrilled with the care my father is getting at Juniper, that my cousins just moved my aunt there. Now we all have peace of mind!”

"Families are increasingly looking to online reviews to find out who truly delivers great care for our

seniors, not just who claims to deliver great care," said Eric Seifert, President of SeniorAdvisor.com.

"Our SeniorAdvisor.com Awards program is all about celebrating the exceptional people who do just

that. We're honored to spread the word about these organizations whom families can entrust with the

care of their senior loved ones."

To qualify for inclusion in the Best of 2016 Awards, providers must have maintained an average overall rating of at least 4.5 stars while receiving three or more new reviews in 2015. 

January 2016 Events in Pittsburgh, PA: Welcome New Beginnings

Happy New Year! January is the time when we all welcome new beginnings and set resolutions to make this year better than the last. But how does one keep those resolutions throughout the year ahead? The New York Times offers four suggestions: First, make a concrete plan, something visual to embed it to memory. Second, put something you value on the line – is it your health or your pocketbook – keep that in mind when you are tempted to break your resolution. Third, bundle your temptations. For instance, you want to exercise more, but struggle getting to the gym and you also have a fondness for gossip magazines but feel they are a waste of time. Combine the two – read the magazines only at the gym! And fourth, seek social support. You can achieve more by pursuing goals with the help of a mentor.

Still haven’t made any resolutions? Resolve to join us every month for a wide variety of events and activities. This month we explore our creativity through music with outings to local musical performances, Elvis’ birthday celebrations and concerts by our Joyful Noise Choir. We invite you to Welcome New Beginnings and make regular visits to Juniper Village part of your new year’s goals!

Our fabulous January 2016 events in Pittsburgh, PA at Juniper Village at Forest Hills include our:

§  New Year’s Day Lunch to join your friends at Juniper Village for a traditional New Year’s Day lunch featuring pork, sauerkraut, kielbasa, pierogis and all of the traditional ethnic New Year’s Day favorites on January 1^st at noon. (Free for residents and just $5.00 for guests.)

§  Caregiver Support Group Meeting approved by the Greater Pennsylvania Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association and are affiliated with the National Alzheimer’s Association and this month we will discuss how changing your approach can help you welcome new behaviors and achieve your desired results from a loved one with memory loss on January 13^th at 1:30 pm.

§  Back To The 50’s Again Sock Hop with dinner and a musical performance by local Elvis Presley impersonator Randy Galioto in “Elvis: A Tribute To The King,” so dress in your favorite 50’s style clothing and join us on January 21^st at 5:00 pm. (Dinner is free for residents and just $5.00 for guests with proceeds benefiting the American Cancer Society. RSVP by January 18^th at 412-244-9901.)

§  Benefits of Music Therapy as we’ve all heard the saying that music soothes the savage beast, but did you know that it can also help people unwind, relax and even promote physical healing, so join us as board certified music therapist Jessica Mull from Mull Music Therapy demonstrates how music can address the physical, emotional, cognitive and social needs of seniors on January 29^th at 3:00 pm.

We look forward to sharing our January 2016 events in Pittsburgh, PA at Juniper Village at Forest Hills with you as we Welcome New Beginnings.

Trinity Children’s Choirs

On Monday, December 21^st, the second and third grade students from Trinity Christian School in Forest Hills visited Juniper Village.  Over 20 students performed a variety of religious and holiday songs. The students then invited the residents to sing with them, and moved into the audience, selecting a new friend to join in song.  Our thanks go out to the students, their families, the teachers, and of course the students for spreading their holiday cheer and bringing a smile to all of our residents faces.

Forest Hills Holiday Celebration

On Thursday, December 17^th, family members of all ages gathered for Juniper Village at Forest Hills Family Holiday Celebration.  Over 85 residents, family members and guests attended this year’s event. The evening included a nice array of delicious desserts along with plenty of singing and dancing to the holiday sounds of the Mikey D Band.  “What a great way to bring our families together for the holiday season!” states Janet Wangler, Juniper Village’s Executive Director.  As you can see…a wonderful evening was had by all.  Happy Holidays!!

Juniper Village at Forest Hills Announces Their Celebration of Trees Holiday Display Winners!

Juniper Village at Forest Hills is pleased to announce the winners of their 7^th Annual Celebration of Trees Holiday Display. This year over 27 local businesses and non-profit community organizations decorated Christmas trees and competed for prizes for their favorite charities.

“Participants are encouraged to decorate a tree in a theme related to their business or organization and compete against other trees for prizes. This is our 7^th year for the display and it just keeps getting better and better."  States Bonnie Caripolti, Director of Community Relations for Juniper Village at Forest Hills.  “This year was especially fun because the vendors were very creative with their decorations and designs.  We had a spinning tree, a gofers tree, fireman’s tree, a dog tree, 3 ladies dress trees, Santa on a bicycle as well as numerous others.  Juniper Village is a personal care community and a lot of our residents cannot get out for the holidays.  So the Celebration of Trees is a great way for us to bring the beauty of the season to them.”  

Juniper Village is pleased to announce the 2015 First Place winner and recipient of a $250.00 donation to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital was Senior Lifestyle Connections, LLC.  A local senior placement agency.

The Second Place award and $50.00 prize was presented to Denise Jobe’s Hair Salon, and the Third Place winner of a $25.00 prize was awarded to Genesis Therapy, a Physical Speech and Occupational Therapy provider.

The Celebration of Trees Holiday Display will run until January 4 and is open to the public for tours.  

Juniper Village at Forest Hills Named “Caring Star of 2016” for Personal Care and Memory Care

Honored as Top Senior Living Community in the Nation

Juniper Village at Forest Hills is pleased to announce that it has been selected as a “Caring Star of 2016” for service excellence as a personal care and memory care community. The positive consumer ratings and reviews from older adults and their family members led to Juniper Village at Forest Hills to receive a 5-star consumer rating. This is the highest possible score; and it also met other qualifying criteria for this national honor.

“At Juniper, associates at our communities strive daily to deliver high-quality care coupled with an outstanding living environment for our residents. This award helps validate our delivery on that promise,” said Lynne Katzmann, CEO and Founder of Juniper Communities. “On behalf of our community staff and leadership, we thank those who took the time to share their positive experiences and satisfaction with the services we offer; and to Caring.com for recognizing these communities as a Caring Star of 2016.”

Some of the positive feedback that led to Juniper Village at Forest Hills being named a Caring Star of 2016 from Caring.com include:

“I'd really rate them a five plus. One of the things I really like about Juniper Village was the activities that they had. There were many activities and there's a very warm feeling.”

“My aunt lived here for the last 3 years of her life. She entered into assisted living, then moved to the dementia care wing after 2 years. The staff at Juniper were wonderful -- very caring and attentive. The facility was nice, and had a more intimate, hands-on feel than most of the other places we looked at.”

Americans are increasingly seeking insights provided by online reviews to help guide important senior care decisions. Having a source such as the Caring Stars list helps consumers reliably narrow senior living options for their loved ones to the most-acclaimed communities, particularly as they gather for the holidays and discover increased or urgent senior care needs.