In order to continue to meet our senior residents’ and families’ expectations, the entire facility of New Haven San Angelo and the Assisted Living community of New Haven Schertz is currently under reconstruction. We are very excited to offer an updated community with the same great care for our families. We are unfortunately not able to perform live tours for the entire San Angelo facility and the assisted living community of Schertz. We are still available to schedule tours for our memory care community at Schertz and will be happy to schedule a tour! Please call the Schertz office at (210) 585-2827 and the San Angelo office at (325)221-4342 if you would like to receive a virtual tour or speak to one of our sales specialists on how to secure a private apartment in our NEW and improved communities.
February 2021 Winter Storm
Monday, February 15, 2021, a winter storm rolled through the entire state of Texas leaving most without power and water. The New Haven team began to take immediate action to continue to provide the best environment for our senior residents.
New Haven’s mission, especially during these challenging times, is to provide a safe environment for all residents. New Haven is thankful for the management, maintenance, chefs, and care staff who stepped in quickly and sacrificed their time away from their own families to care for all residents.
“Employees throughout all 10 New Haven locations pulled together quickly and effectively in responding to the winter storm crisis,” said Justin Yarmark, CEO of New Haven. “I am very thankful for how well the staff came together as a team to adapt quickly and effectively despite really extraordinary circumstances.”
“I am very proud of our management team and their leadership,” says Tessa Wilson, Director of Operations. “We spend many hours in preparation for these types of circumstances, not knowing when or what type of disaster might strike. Although the water went out in most locations, we had plenty of extra water and food supply on hand to keep the residents well-hydrated and well-fed.”
New Haven communities experienced a few damages during the winter storm, but we have been able to initiate repairs and return back to the normal, comfortable environment for our residents. Our entire team will continue to do assessments and make constant rounds to ensure there are no additional incidents or changes in conditions that may have been missed during the weather and storm outage.
Updates for COVID-19
August 7th Update
As many of you are aware, Govt. Abbott released an update on 8/6/2020 in regard to opening up our facilities. I want to share a few of the specifics that I do know as of today 8/7/2020 as many of you have reached out with questions. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) announced limited visitation rules for Assisted Living Facilities. We will be required to enhance emergency rules requiring additional action to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 as this continues to be a rapidly evolving situation and are constantly assessing what actions are necessary to keep our residents and staff safe in our facilities. Our goal is the reunite our residents with their families and friends.
As we know the access to family and loved ones is an important part of every resident’s health and well-being we also recognize the need to balance the emotional and physical health impacts of isolation against serious dangers that COVID poses to our vulnerable residents.
Although visitors are not allowed in at this time, I will be working diligently over the next several days to prepare for visitation. There are several items I need to have in place per HHSC that are required in advance to assure our residents, families and staff remain safe. My hope is that by mid next week you will all be able to see your loved one at some point.
For the health and safety of our facility residents and staff, public visitation will be limited to outdoor visits only. Physical contact between residents and visitors will not permitted. Additional conditions we will be required to conduct during outdoor visitation include:
- No confirmed positive COVID-19 case in staff in the last 14 days.
- No active positive case in residents.
- Adequate infection control procedures.
- Facility staff MAY be required to test weekly.
- 6ft social distancing between resident and family member.
- Resident and family member must wear mask at all times.
Further information will be sent out next week as I receive information additional information from HHSC.
I want to thank all of you for your patience, love and support during this unforeseen pandemic. It will be a joyous day for us all to allow our families to return and especially the day you all get to wrap your arms around yours and our precious residents.
If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to your Administrator or myself.
Tessa Wilson
Director of Clinical Care and Operations
tessa@newhavenassistedliving.com
12 Common Signs of Alzheimer’s
Memory loss and confusion are the main symptoms of Alzheimer’s, but most families want to understand the early signs and other signs of this brain disease. If you are concerned about any symptoms you are experiencing or are concerned about a loved one’s mental health, be sure to visit your family physician. We understand the difficulties one may face, and the need to protect your family with an early diagnosis.
Memory Loss
The most common symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. Paying special attention to conditions that disrupt daily activities and leads to confusion. In the beginning, short-term memory loss would happen and is gradually replaced by long-term memory loss. For example, fail to keep track of personal objects, appointments, dates, and times.
Problem Solving Issues
Inability to solve problems, work with numbers, or follow plans can also indicate the presence of Alzheimer’s disease. In the early stage, one might have difficulty understanding multi-step issues and complexities. As a result, it might take them a long-time making to-do lists or calculating some basic math.
Object Misplacement
Individuals with Alzheimer’s usually leave their objects in strange places and have trouble retracing the steps. Typically items one might not use frequently or regularly and could possibly progress to daily objects such as cell phone or wallet. This forgetfulness sometimes leads to a lack of critical reasoning or pronounced irritability as to the place of the object. One might accuse other people of stealing their items when they cannot find them.
Speech Issues
Listen to any speech issues as people with Alzheimer’s tend to follow along or lose track of conversations that they are having with others. It can also be hard for them to mangle common phrases or words or repeat themselves. Watch out for strange, random pauses, using incorrect phrases, or slurring in conversation as well. Give a series of long words such as “scrupulous” or “incredibly” and ask them to repeat. If they have one of these signs, then it might indicate Alzheimer’s.
Social Withdraw
People often lose their interest in social activities, work, church, friendships, or hobbies. This might be caused by the troubles of their conditions or a blasé attitude to their interests. Be mindful that these changes should be assessed over time. You can ask them a few questions about the favorite team if they are a fan of sports. If you are not aware of these details, then it might be an obvious sign.
Confusion
Another common sign of Alzheimer’s is the confusion with place and time. These people often check their calendar or watch for the time and lose track of the current moments. Also, they might misjudge lengths of time or lose track of the current place. A simple way to check is by asking them what season or month it is. Sometimes, they might be able to figure it out but after 10 or 15 minutes.
Mood Changes
Alzheimer’s disease usually leads to sudden changes in their relationship with other people and mood. You should look out for any unusual expressions of anxiety, fear, depression, suspicion, anger, or confusion. Individuals might become upset more easily and have many issues with anxiety or depression. Also, they would be suspicious of surrounding people, even friends or family members. A simple way to differentiate this sign from that of other health issues is to pay special attention to how individuals behave when they come out of the comfort zone and are around some new people.
Poor Judgement
Another possible sign in people with Alzheimer’s disease is poor decision-making ability or judgment. For example, watch out for any occasion when they spend cash unwisely or give a large amount of money to telemarketers. In other words, they might be overly skeptical or over trusting of people, even when they are strangers. Also, individuals might have an unkempt look or poor hygiene, thus paying less attention to daily bathing or grooming. In addition, there are many other mistakes that they would make. That’s why it is important to have a plan in place for your loved one. Start exploring Memory Care options or in home care.
Difficulty Performing Familiar Tasks
Those who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease usually find it more difficult to complete their daily tasks and make plans. For instance, they might have difficulty managing the budget, driving to their workplace, or remember their own birthday. It is also common for them to need frequent help working the TV or stove. Many people often mistake that this is a sign of aging. However, the condition might get worse quickly in Alzheimer’s patients if left untreated immediately.
Loss of Concentration
It is not uncommon for people with Alzheimer’s disease to have a shorter attention span. This can be noticed easily when they often ask some repetitive questions and resist changes. As a result, they might have difficulty thinking about everything logically and organizing their own thoughts. This lack of processing skills would be quite obvious in the inability to perform tasks such as forgetting a payment or balancing a checkbook. This is a good indicator that the individual might be appropriate for a Memory Care community.
Behavioral Changes
It’s possible that you might start to see many behavioral changes in those who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. One of the earliest changes would be the loss of interest in surrounding life or those things that they once enjoyed. It might also lead to other symptoms such as unprovoked hostility, emotional outbursts, a lack of spontaneity, less energy, and more. Some individuals would experience a loss of inhibition that causes behavior such as making inappropriate comments or undressing in a public area.
Observing
People with mild Alzheimer’s disease tend to spend more time of the day observing everything around them. One might become more agitated and annoyed. This sign makes them easily get lost when walking around the neighborhood, even in familiar places. It can also occur at night and affect their sleep patterns, thus leading to insomnia. In most cases, it is quite easy to notice this sign as it is quite rare and does not occur in many health issues. Thus, visit your doctor as soon as it happens.
If you are needing assistance and support with memory loss, please do not hesitate to reach out to the New Haven team at (866) 259-3297.
Keeping Our Seniors Engaged
New Haven understands how important it is to not only keep our residents safe during this time of uncertainty, but as well as keeping our seniors engaged. We are staying socially engaged with each of our residents daily. Our Life Enrichment teams are working around the clock to ensure our residents do not feel socially isolated and have implemented one on one activity sessions with the residents in order to prevent loneliness and boredom. The lack of visitors and the need for social distancing has changed, but New Haven continues to keep our residents engaged daily. Here are some ways we are keeping our seniors engaged and staying connected and active throughout this time.
Staying Virtually Connected
Each of our New Haven communities have received new iPads to help our residents to continually stay connected with their families and friends. Our Life Enrichment Coordinator goes around individually and spends time with each resident to assist them in connecting with their family and friends.
Staying Distantly Social
New Haven has started a new program to be able to connect with other communities and younger generations in the surrounding
areas by creating a Pen Pal Program. Seniors can often experience a new enthusiasm by living through a younger generation’s perspective. In addition, the children and seniors can both continue to develop their writing and communication skills sharpened. In these letters, everyone is able to share old memories and create new friendships!
We are also offering many social activities within the community that allows our residents connect but continue to keep their safe distance:
- Ice Cream Socials
- Hallway Bowling
- Coffee and Conversations
- Walking Club
- Rhythm Circle
- Spiritual Reading
Hot Towel Service
In addition to washing hands in the sink, we provide hand massages with a hot towel with essential oils before each meal. Not only does this help with calming but it also helps with an additional precaution. Aromatherapy has been known as a complimentary therapy that uses essential oils to improve a person’s well-being. The aromas help the residents to feel rejuvenated and energized.
Helping Hands
Our residents love getting to help out and staying busy throughout the day, and New Haven’s goal is to continually keep our residents as independent as possible. With Spring right around the corner, we have our gardening club going and are actively planting fresh flowers. There are many positive aspects of gardening for our seniors:
- Physical Engagement
- Mental Engagement
- Sense of Accomplishment
Although the COVID-19 might have slowed many people down socially and actively, New Haven committed to keeping our residents active and their health and well-being a priority. We will continue to go out of our way to ensure our residents are experiencing a normal day to day activities and as safe as possible.
Visit our Facebook to see more fun or schedule a tour to see how you can join the fun! Please let us know if you have any questions by emailing us at hello@newhaventexas.com.
