| Auburn Hills |
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HarborChase of Auburn Hills Celebrates Christmas!
The holiday season is in full swing at Harbor Chase of Auburn Hills. Residents gather around the tree to sing Christmas carols to the music of the live entertainment that played at the party. We enjoyed a festive meal with family and friend and a great time was had by all. Even Santa came to visit the residents and delivered a personalized gift to each resident!
| Aiken |
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Aiken Memory Ride Hunter Show
The Memory Ride Hunter Show and HarborChase Assisted Living & Memory Care presented a check to the Alzheimer's Association of South Carolina for $7,000. The Memory Care Hunter Show, Luncheon and Silent Auction was held September 25 at Three Runs Plantation. Over 60 riders rode in the show and Diane Voss ran a beautiful and successful silent auction. A fun day for a wonderful cause!
| Columbia |
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HarborChase of Columbia Luau
Samantha Sherlock, Miss Summerville Teen USA, came out to visit our luau and passed out drink bottles to all of our residents and signed autographs. She will be competing for Miss South Carolina. We also had a belly dancer that came and did a demonstration. We had several hospices donate time and door prizes to help with the event. It was a wonderful time! Also, Chip Huggins who is a member of our house of representatives came as well to visit.
| Coral Springs |
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The Story of Eva Egri, Holocaust Survivor
By Erika Pesantes/Staff writer South Florida Sun Sentinel
Music composed some 100 years ago by Eva Egri’s father, and lovingly preserved by the 90-year-old Holocaust survivor, traveled silently through Hungary, France and Canada, and finally to South Florida.
At 23, Egri was taken from her home in Eger, Hungary, and sent to concentration camps and eventually to Auschwitz, where she endured medical experimentation in the block where Nazi Dr. Josef Mengele frequently was seen.
Yet she survived and was liberated after a year behind the barbed wire. A year later, she found her way back to Eger, and discovered that her father had entrusted a neighbor with his beloved music.
She kept that music close for more than 60 years, treasuring it for a decade while she lived in France and Canada, then bringing it with her to America in 1966. But she never heard it performed.
In May, with the help of a former neighbor’s son, the compositions for piano and vocalists were performed for the first time, at a synagogue in Smithtown, N.Y. She watched that concert online, but on Thursday, she’ll experience their live performance for the first time at Florida Atlantic University.
The tribute concert also will feature piano performances of compositions by Wladyslaw Szpilman, who was portrayed in the movie “The Pianist,” and Hans Gal, a Jewish composer who was exiled in Germany.
Egri’s father, Samuel Blasz, was a composer and the chief cantor at the synagogue in Eger. Before World War II he ran a school for Jewish children out of his home, and also created music for Council of Catholic Bishops and other religious institutions.
Seeing her father’s music performed live once again will draw out overwhelming emotions, Egri said, as sweet childhood memories of her seven siblings and parents resurface.
“How can I explain that?” she asked. “My childhood was excellent, beautiful. Then came the war.”
Egri, who recently moved into an assisted-living facility in Coral Springs, calls her father’s compositions one of her life’s most beautiful souvenirs.
The May performance was transmitted on Skype from Temple Beth Shalom on Long Island to Temple Kol Ami Emanu-El in Plantation, where her daughter, Julia Goldner, belongs.
“Music is an art to be shared. It can only be appreciated if you share it with other people,” Goldner said. “This was a tremendous loss in our lives because grandparents are God’s gift, and unfortunately we didn’t have the opportunity to know them. This is a thread that binds us together- this music and the stories.”
A faded tattoo scrawled on Egri’s left arm bears the ID number the Nazis gave her: A-9711. It’s a constant reminder of the atrocious past she has long tried to repress.
Her parents, Rivka and Samuel Blasz, perished in the gas chambers; three siblings also died in the concentration camps, Goldner said.
Egri and her husband, along with four other siblings, survived and eventually were reunited. Details of her starvation, medical experimentation and her bearing witness to the killing of the other Jews were reported in an affidavit submitted to the Claims Conference in Geneva.
“While in the free world, I often wanted to tell of my experiences in the Auschwitz experimental block, from where few people survived,” she wrote. “But I did not have the strength to relive the horrors. My conscience is clear that now I will not have to take these memories with me to the grave.”
At her mother’s request, Goldner traveled to Hungary a few years ago, only to find the Eger synagogue had been turned into a horse stable, then a restaurant and finally demolished. But the Blaszes’ names were included on a cemetery memorial for Holocaust victims.
Now Samuel Blasz’s music will be heard in Boca Raton.
Egri doesn’t like to talk about the Holocaust horrors, but survivors must not remain silent, she said.
“It’s my generation,” she said, “If you don’t talk about it, you forget.”
| Gainesville |
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HarborChase of Gainesville goes Hollywood!
This month the residents and their family members enjoyed an evening full of the Hollywood glitz and glam! They walked the red carpet and took their seats for the big screen premiere of Easter Parade! Everyone was dressed to impress! With the concession stand open serving all your favorite movie night snacks like nachos, popcorn, candy, and ice cold Coca-Cola!
HarborChase of Gainesville enjoys Valentine's Day and a Mediterranean Cruise
For the month of February the residents at HarborChase celebrated Valentine's Day with a sweet hearts dance. We had Mr. October here singing some old time love tunes while the residents enjoyed sweet treats and dancing!
We celebrated our February Family night with a Mediterranean cuisine cruise. Families and friends gathered to enjoy foods from Turkey, Portugal, Greece, Morocco, and Spain. Finishing the evening with some authentic Spanish guitar players to really make you feel like you were visiting another country!
| Huntsville |
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Huntsville celebrates October.
Falling into the season, we begin to decorate our doors with beautiful fall wreaths and start to welcome the holidays by celebrating this time of year, with a Halloween costume party. Our resident enjoyed dressing up and participating in all the activities they used to do when they were kids. The Amazing Chiaverini, tantalized us an amazing magic show, followed by local children trick or treater's. The day ended with childhood memory delights, cotton candy, popcorn, Halloween sugar cookies and even a witch's brew.
We welcome in November by welcoming our families for a true traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Remember when Dad carved the turkey? Well, this year we will be bringing those memories back with family style dinner. In addition we are working on finishing our Christmas tree for the Festival of trees fundraiser, getting into the holiday spirit by working together and being thankful.
| Jacksonville |
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Jacksonville Fall Festivities
The sounds of festive zydeco music and excited cheers rang throughout the hallways of HarborChase of Jacksonville, as residents, family members, and staff alike joined in this year's "Mardi Party" Celebration! The kick-off of the day's festivities began with our annual Mardi Gras Parade. Cheering assisted living residents and staff lined the "parade route" to pass out plenty of beads & trinkets, as our memory care residents came through, all decked out in their purple, gold, & green, eager to receive them! After our parade, we all enjoyed a BIG slice (or maybe two) of our very own Chef Lisa's homemade "King Cake,"… which even our native Cajun folks agreed was the best they had ever tasted! Our residents absolutely love this event, and we look forward to it every year!
| Naples |
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Community School of Naples making a difference at HarborChase
A group of sophomore students and parents from Community School of Naples made a big difference in the lives of our HarborChase residents this month. These girls baked cookies, made lemonade, set up a stand and sold their product. Then they donated all of the proceeds to HarborChase Naples so our residents could have a day at the Naples Zoo. Doing this project was part of the student's community service hours at Community School but these young women did far more than fulfill a community service requirement. They went above the expected and made life a little richer for our HarborChase residents.
| North Collier |
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North Collier heads to the park
This past week residents, families, and associates all enjoyed a beautiful sunny day at Veteran's Park. With assistance from several volunteers and support from multiple family members, we were able to take over 25 residents to a local park for an exciting afternoon of grilling, games, and good times. There was a little something special for everyone. As lunch was cooking and the smell of freshly grilled hotdogs and hamburgers was wafting in the air, residents had the option to take a scenic stroll around walking paths, observe puppies playing at the dog park, play lawn darts or bocce ball, enjoy music, and pose for photos with their loved ones; it really was a day to remember. The food was delicious, the sun was shining, and the residents were smiling. What a wonderfully joyous afternoon for the HarborChase Memory Care family!!
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| Palm Harbor |
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Resident Celebrates 102nd Birthday!
Simo (Radulovich) was born in Croatia (pre Yugoslavia) and remembers being a young boy there during WWI. He trained as a tailor as a young man and then moved to Paris where he was a tailor in the high fashion houses, including the House of Lanvin. He returned to (then) Yugoslavia during the WWII years and met his future wife, Stella. They married on March 5, 1950 and emigrated to the U.S. soon after. It took them 7 years to procure visas to leave Communist Yugoslavia. They settled in Chicago where they had relatives, and Simo owned his own tailoring shop for many years as he and Stella raised their son Milan and daughter Jovanka. About 20 years ago Simo and Stella decided to buy a second home in Tarpon Springs, FL in which to spend the winter and also to be closer to son Milan, his wife Christa and their son and daughter. Both in Chicago and Tarpon Springs the couple was very active in their St. George Orthodox church, and many of those church friends cam to his birthday party. The Radulovich's have lived at HarborChase since January 2012 and in addition to celebrating Simo's birthday last week, celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary here, too. Simo still likes to speak to the ladies in a little French from time to time. He says, "After learning French so many years ago I still remember it."
Palm Harbor Summer Olympics
Our residents enjoyed taking part in several different activities for our Summer Olympics. We had a wide variety of choices so everyone could find a game that would interest them. Our games included; Shuffle board, bean toss, bocce ball, volleyball, & chuk-em. It turns out that, chuk-em was chosen as the favorite game by our residents. Chuk-em has since been incorporated into our monthly activities for the residents. It was really fun to see the residents enjoying the day!
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| Rock Hill |
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Celebrating SPRING!
With the warm weather and the blooming of flowers here in Rock Hill we have been blessed with 9 new residents and 5 new associates joining our HarborChase family. The beginning of March our life enrichment team partnered with our residents and planted over 10 different fruits and vegetables from seeds and nurtured them into plants. On April 1st Todd, our director of maintenance tilled up an area in our memory care courtyard for our garden! We are exciting to enjoy in the fresh produce that we have grown and will be using them for our daily social!
The month of March is a very busy time here in Rock Hill. Rock Hill hosted its annual "Come See Me" festival, where over 5,000 people come to our area to celebrate in this traditional week long celebration of Spring. HarborChase was a sponsor this year and on March 25th we hosted the Come See Me VIP party which kicked off the festival! We had over 500 people in our community and we featured the culinary skills of our very own Scott Duncan who provided an extensive menu featured around the culture of Hawaii.
On March 23rd we treated our local ambulance stations, churches, and firefighters with personal visit and deliveries of baked goods. On our very own bus we deliver hand made pound cakes with our residents to the different stations to thank our EMS drivers, ministries, and firefighters for everything they contribute to our community.
We are excited to announce that our respite program has taken off! For the month of April we have had 5 respite stays and already 3 respites stays scheduled for May! On April 12th we hosted the monthly "walk to end Alzheimer's" meeting here in our community. We had over 18 people and Scott served a wonderful lunch! On April 16th we were honored to sponsor the Teepa Snow Seminar which is a credited educational seminar on Alzheimer's and dementia. We sent two of our very own associates, Marion Graham from Life Enrichment and Deb Thomas from our direct care staff. As always we are excited to see what May has in store for us! On May 1st our new Director of Resident Care, Terri Rivers will be joining our team!
| Sterling Heights |
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Sterling Heights Residents Visit the Detroit Zoo and Henry Ford Mansion
HarborChase of Sterling Heights has been getting out and having fun! Recently, we went on 2 outings with our residents. One trip was to the Detroit Zoo. The residents loved to see all the animals and be outside for the day. The other trip was to the Henry Ford Mansion. We took our residents and some of their family members to the mansion for the day. They went on a tour that was so awesome. During the outing, one of our progressed dementia residents spoke to the tour guide and answered some questions. This was a miracle to our associates… this resident is usually not verbal with us at all. Taking her on this trip actually brought her more happiness than anyone could imagine. J We cannot wait to go again!
| Tallahassee |
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HarborChase of Tallahassee Golf Tournament Raises $4,800 for Alzheimer's Project
The HarborChase Hole-in-One Golf Tournament, held on November 8, at the Southwood Golf Club, raised $4,800 to support the services and programs provided by the Alzheimer's Project. HarborChase of Tallahassee is an ardent supporter of the Alzheimer's Project, which provides comfort, support and education free of charge to the caregiver's of those with Alzheimer's and related dementias. "In celebration of National Alzheimer's Month, we enjoy working with other businesses and sponsors in the community each year to conduct an annual fundraising event that helps raise much needed funding to support the Alzheimer's Project's services and also to raise awareness of the wonderful programs that they provide," explained Vicki Bell, Executive Director of HarborChase of Tallahassee. This success of this year's golf tournament was attributed to the hard work of the organizing committee and the generous support of the golfers, 26 participating sponsors, 40 in kind sponsors, sale of mulligans and proceeds from raffle tickets. The organizing committee was comprised of James Smith, Alzheimer's Project; Geno Santopadre, Home Instead Senior Care; Brenden Lata, Maxim Healthcare Services; Susie Leinhauser, Sara Dyer, and Deborah Pryor, Family Partners; and the HarborChase team including: Linda England, Diane Sullivan, Jane Siskind, Michelle Tabano, Angle Hardee, Deanne Bess, Vicki Bell and Dominc Demartino.
Tallahassee Celebrates Christmas 2012!
HarborChase of Tallahahassee held their annual Holiday Open House on Saturday December 8th from 4 to 6 pm. Residents, family members and guests enjoyed the wonderful food prepared by Food and Beverage Director Deane Bess and his staff. Beautiful music was performed by flautist Tiphanie McClenton throughout the event. The night would not be complete without a visit from Santa and everyone enjoyed having their picture taken with Ole Saint Nick!
| Tamarac |
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It's the Holiday Season at HarborChase of Tamarac
December was a festive month at HarborChase of Tamarac. From the moment you opened our doors, you were greeted with the sights and sounds of the holiday season, our beautifully decorated Christmas tree in our rotunda and Main Street adorned with lighted garland, bells and our Hanukkah display of menorahs and dreidels. We began our month of holiday celebrations with a Holiday Brunch for our residents and their families. We began with buffet tables lined with appetizers including cheese, crackers, bagels and lox, crudités and a beautiful seahorse ice carving surrounded by shrimp and much more. Following this, we served all of our residents and guests a full lunch of ham, turkey with all of the trimmings, create your own omelettes prepared by Chef Larry along with potatoes and vegetables. We ended with an array of pies, ice cream and assorted fruits. Everyone ate to their heart's content. We were entertained by the wonderful sounds of Winston McBean followed by singing the holiday songs with our piano player, Mae. Everyone enjoyed spending time with their families.
On Hanukkah, we lit the menorah as we said the prayers. We were led in a sing a long by Cantor Risa and dined on potato pancakes (latkes) and brisket.
We also took our annual bus trip to the Alzheimer Family Center Holiday Fantasy of Lights where we saw beautiful light displays including "Santa in a hot air balloon" which was sponsored by our own HarborChase of Tamarac community. We had an early visit from Santa- who treated our residents to candy canes, small wrapped gifts and of course, a holiday sing-a-long.
We ended 2012 with a bang as we welcome in the New Year and we are looking forward to more exciting events in 2013 here at HarborChase of Tamarac!
| Venice |
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HarborChase of Venice Community has been recognized by The Venice Gondolier Sun, Reader's Choice!
We are proud to have been awarded the following awards by The Venice Gondolier Sun, Reader's Choice:
First Place Winner in…
• Best Assisted Living Facility Overall
• Best Large Assisted Living Facility 50+ Beds
• Best Nursing/Rehab Center!
Finalists in...
• Best Physical Therapy Facility
Congratulations to all the associates at HarborChase of Venice who made these awards possible!
Venice Pumpkin Pie Giveaway was a big success!
To help celebrate the Thanksgiving Day tradition of spending time with your family with a wonderful meal we welcomed visitors to come see us pick up a free pumpkin pie. In three hours we gave over 250 pumpkins pies away. We had a wonderful time with our residents while they helped us welcome, tour our guests and give away the delicious pies. This has become a holiday tradition here at HarborChase of Venice. We have hosted a Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie give away for six years and truly enjoy the opportunity to invite the community into our home. We are so very grateful for all of our blessing and we love to give back to the Venice community as they have been so good to us!
| Vero Beach |
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A beautiful winter in Vero Beach, Florida!
This winter has turned out to be beautiful. Sunny day s and crisp cool evenings. This is why we are called the Treasure Coast. We have managed to make it through the holiday season unscathed, ringing in the New Year with family and friends; we start the year off with a super bowl party! Although we are ready to sip some champagne and cuddle with our sweethearts by the fire, we will end the month by celebrating Fat Tuesday in style, beads, and masks with feathers. We will also crown out King and Queen of Mardi Gras!! HarborChase of Vero Beach, has a fantastic month Planned, we can't wait to see all our superb residents join in all the activities.
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