Staying Active and Independent: The Key to Healthy Aging

Passions Grow, Passions Bloom: Cultivating Wellness at Willow Valley Communities Among the most popular passions at Willow Valley Communities is gardening. And, Residents here have a wide variety of ways to indulge. Three generous gardens are situated across our sprawling 210-acre campus for Residents to use in a multitude of configurations of their choosing. Willow Valley Communities hardworking Grounds Team tills each garden in the spring and plows them in the fall, making them ready for Residents to dig right in. Whether Residents are experienced pros or novices, gardening is a wonderful way for them to get outside, enjoy nature and each other, and learn new things. Some Residents have been gardening for decades, while others have only started gardening after moving to Willow Valley Communities. In keeping with our Life Lived Forward philosophy, some Willow Valley Communities Residents take their love of gardening to deeper levels. For example, several Residents from across the country have achieved the distinction of Master Gardener. Master Gardeners are certified in their home state, and the program can take six months to a year to complete and includes a minimum of 40 hours of classroom training, a score of 80 percent on the final exam, and 50 hours of volunteer service. In another example, Residents Annabelle Simpson and Susan Kelly worked with the Penn State Extension of the Pennsylvania State University to have one of their gardens certified as an official Pennsylvania Pollinator-Friendly Garden. The stunning garden is well-known for attracting huge numbers of bees, butterflies, insects, and birds, helping our ecosystem to thrive. Residents are also able to partner their gardening skills with their desire to volunteer and give back to the Lancaster community. With the areas rich, fertile soil, and the extra special care and attention the plants receive, Residents often have an abundance of vegetables and donate them regularly. Throughout the growing season, the Solanco Neighborhood Ministries food bank receives a variety of beans, lettuce, kale, peas, carrots, eggplant, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, spinach, and much more from Willow Valley Communities Resident gardens. Additionally, every fall, a harvest of hundreds of pounds of sweet potatoes and butternut squash goes to the Lancaster County Food Hub, a community resource for free, nutritious food and gently used clothing. Some Residents maintain gardening plots every year just for this purpose.Annabelle Simpson and Susan Kelly Gardening time is couple time for Residents Mike and Susan Ziegler. Sue is an avid gardener, and Mike loves being outdoors supporting her gardening passion at Willow Valley Communities. They both love being together in nature, and Sue is amazed by how magical gardening can be. Its just a miracle when the seeds come up, she says. Resident Pat Mortensen challenges herself every year by growing something completely different. Once she enjoyed a robust harvest of King Tut Purple Peas, a very rare garden pea said to have been taken out of the tomb of King Tut! Resident and Master Gardener Angela Booker-White is originally from Virginia but has lived all over the country. Her interest in gardening grew as she read and learned more about it. In her plot at Spring Run, Angela grows all sorts of fruits, vegetables, and flowers and always tries something new. She has the most success with seeds she purchases from the dollar store! Angela has also learned how gardening can help during challenging times. She is grateful to her garden, as well as to her fellow Willow Valley Communities gardeners, for helping her during the difficult time of her husbands unexpected passing. Gardeners, and she doesnt know exactly who, would come and help by doing extra work around her plot. Residents just came in and helped, Angela says. Weeding, cutting, trimming, harvesting whatever work needed to be done. Thats the way Residents are here at Willow Valley Communities: very supportive. Resident Keith Yoder, who coordinates the Spring Run Garden, is not at all surprised by the variety of gardeners at Willow Valley Communities or by the reasons they enjoy the activity so much. He agrees that gardening is definitely a hobby that enhances well-being. Though hes known this himself for years, he refers to an article put out by CNBC that states how gardening can add years to your life. And life to your years, Keith adds. Gardening gets you into nature. Its good exercise for your body and your mind plus, you get to eat what you grow!

The Willow Valley Communities Day Spa is a destination for wellness and renewal. Its a critical component of the comprehensive Mind, Body, Spirit approach to wellness of Willow Valley Communities. The Day Spa offers many ways to soothe, calm, invigorate, or rejuvenate. A full range of professional services, all performed by our attentive and inviting staff, allows Residents to create their own regimen for personal well-being and beauty. These services include manicures and pedicures, skin care, facials, revitalizing peels, waxing, tanning, microdermabrasion, and body treatments with a wide range of different massage modalities, wraps, and scrubs. The Relaxation Room, with its beautiful waterfall and Himalayan Salt Wall, is a main feature of The Day Spa. It provides a peaceful and well-appointed environment in which to relax and offers a perfect and welcome respite between services. Himalayan salt rich in negative ions and essential nutrients and minerals offers numerous health benefits for our bodies, such as stress reduction, energy increases, and mood boosts at a biochemical level. Day Spa Manager Diamando Wallace says, Self-care is essential. Although manicures and pedicures are a well-deserved treat, they offer so much more to Residents sense of well-being. You can see the boost in a clients self-confidence as they walk out feeling refreshed.  Massages are one of the most popular services requested by Residents, and The Day Spa offers a wide menu of options, including hot stone and aromatherapy. Emily Ransing, Willow Valley Communities Day Spa Massage Therapist, says, Massage is meant to enhance your well-being physically and mentally. I frequently remind my clients that this is their time to focus on themselves to feel healthier. I do all I can to send each client home feeling better than when they arrived. A Willow Valley Communities Resident was asked about her massage as she was leaving The Day Spa one afternoon. She said, After a massage with Emily, your body is so relaxed that you can focus on the things that you often overlook the air is sweeter, the birds are more melodious, the day is brighter. You are better equipped to face the next days, whatever they may bring. As she walked out of the Cultural Center to her car, she added with a smile, Its also a way to take the tension out of your body although theres not much tension at Willow Valley Communities!

Best Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys for Serious Neglect and Injury CasesA serious injury in a nursing home can raise difficult questions fast. Was the fall preventable? Were pressure sores treated early enough? Did staff miss signs of infection, dehydration, or a medication problem?Families are often left trying to piece together what happened from medical records, care plans, staffing notes, and explanations that do not always line up. It helps to document suspected elder abuse as concerns come up, especially when injuries or changes in a residents condition seem unexplained.These cases can be hard to evaluate without experience in long-term care litigation. Lawyers who regularly handle nursing home claims tend to know where to look for gaps in care, missing documentation, staffing problems, and other details that may show whether an injury could have been prevented.Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys and Legal Teams Worth ConsideringLevin & PercontiLevin & Perconti has been handling nursing home abuse and neglect cases for decades. Founder Steven Levin has practiced law since 1976, and nursing home negligence has been a significant part of the firms work.The Chicago-based practice takes on cases involving falls, medication errors, pressure sores, wrongful death, and other serious failures in care. Among its published results are a $12.2 million jury verdict involving negligent nursing care that led to a residents death and a $4.1 million recovery tied to medication mismanagement.That level of experience can matter when a case depends on more than a single medical record. Inspection histories, care plans, charting, and facility policies may all become part of the picture.Senior Justice Law FirmSenior Justice Law Firm has a narrower focus than many general personal injury practices. Its attorneys concentrate on nursing home abuse, assisted living neglect, and other long-term care cases involving serious injury or death.The firm reports more than 50 years of collective experience and over $100 million recovered for clients. Its published case results include a $14.7 million nursing home wrongful death verdict, a $12.5 million bedsore verdict, and a $5.5 million verdict involving a medication error.For families dealing with a complicated injury, that specialization can be useful. The firm also represents residents and families rather than long-term care facilities, which keeps its practice focused on the injured side of these disputes.Nursing Home Law CenterNursing Home Law Center focuses specifically on nursing home abuse, neglect, and wrongful death matters. It is not a law firm. Instead, it works through a network of affiliated attorneys who handle cases in the states where they are licensed.Its website reports that affiliated attorneys have more than 100 years of combined experience and have recovered over $490 million for injured clients and families. Its published results include a $1.7 million settlement for a resident who suffered a subdural hematoma and hip fracture after inadequate fall precautions.The work often centers on the details that can get overlooked early in a case. Care plans, staffing records, charting gaps, and medical timelines may help show whether staff responded properly or whether an injury was preventable.Pintas & MullinsPintas & Mullins has represented nursing home residents and their families for decades. Its nursing home practice includes abuse, neglect, wrongful death, falls, pressure sores, sepsis, and other injuries linked to inadequate care.The firm reports having resolved more than 10,000 nursing home abuse and neglect cases and says it has served clients for more than 35 years. Its current case results also include a $3 million nursing home settlement.Case volume alone does not tell the whole story, but it can point to familiarity with the records and issues that often shape these claims. Medical evidence, staffing practices, facility policies, and missed warning signs can all matter.Garcia & ComanGarcia & Coman has focused on elder abuse and nursing home cases for more than 30 years. The firm handles claims involving neglect, falls, pressure sores, physical abuse, wrongful death, and other serious injuries in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.Its published results include a $38.6 million elder abuse settlement in California and a $12 million settlement in a case involving claims of understaffing at long-term care facilities. The firm has also reported settlements involving preventable falls, bedsores, medication mistakes, and other failures in care.That background makes Garcia & Coman worth considering when a case involves more than one problem at a facility. Staffing levels, care plans, medical records, and whether warning signs were ignored can all become important when trying to work out how an injury happened.What Families Should Check Before HiringExperience in nursing home litigation should be specific, not vague. A lawyer who has handled pressure sore cases may be better suited to one family, while another case may call for experience with falls, medication errors, infection, abuse, or wrongful death.Published results can be useful, but they should be looked at in context. Families should also ask how often the attorney handles long-term care claims, who will actually work on the case, and how the firm approaches medical records and facility evidence.Residents in Medicare and Medicaid-certified nursing homes have federal rights and protections related to care, dignity, safety, and the ability to raise concerns about treatment.It is also worth confirming that the attorney handling the case is licensed in the proper jurisdiction and has experience with the medical and regulatory issues that often come with serious nursing home claims.Choosing the Right Legal TeamThere is no single firm that will be the best choice for every family. A strong track record can be reassuring, but past verdicts and settlements do not guarantee what will happen in a new case.The better question is whether the lawyers experience matches the facts in front of you. Ask about similar injuries, how the claim will be investigated, who will be handling the day-to-day work, and what records may become important.Those details usually tell families more than broad claims about being aggressive, experienced, or results-driven. The goal is to find a legal team that understands the type of case and can explain clearly how it plans to approach it.