Fireworks - The Spectrum Magazine - Redwood City's Monthly ...
Fireworks - The Spectrum Magazine - Redwood City's Monthly ...
Fireworks - The Spectrum Magazine - Redwood City's Monthly ...
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emphysema while others are diabetic or have<br />
heart problems such as congestive heart failure,<br />
Haworth said. <strong>The</strong>y often are put into assisted<br />
living because they are not eating well or need<br />
help taking their medication. <strong>The</strong>y receive<br />
assistance with such things as bathing, getting<br />
dressed and taking medicine. <strong>The</strong>re are 24-hour<br />
nurses on staff in the assisted living building.<br />
One big difference between independent living<br />
and assisted living is that those in independent<br />
living often come by choice, of their own free<br />
will, and they often want to give up the trouble of<br />
having their own house, whereas those in assisted<br />
living are often there because their families believe<br />
it is best for them and it provides their families<br />
with peace of mind, Haworth pointed out.<br />
Woodside Terrace has the capacity to house<br />
180 seniors in independent living and 88 seniors<br />
in assisted living and is currently at 97 percent<br />
capacity, according to Haworth.<br />
Most residents at Woodside Terrace are in<br />
their 80s, with the average age being 85. Many<br />
residents are in their 90s and there are even some<br />
who are 100 and older.<br />
Enriching seniors’ lives<br />
Woodside Terrace’s mission statement is:<br />
“Enriching the lives of those we serve with<br />
compassion, respect, excellence and integrity.” It<br />
has been in <strong>Redwood</strong> City for 24 years and has<br />
always been in its current location, according to<br />
Haworth.<br />
Operated by one of the largest<br />
providers of senior housing<br />
<strong>The</strong> community is operated by Brentwood, Tenn.–<br />
based Brookdale Senior Living, a for-profit, publicly<br />
traded company that is one of the biggest providers<br />
of senior housing, according to Haworth. She<br />
pointed out that Woodside has access to a lot of<br />
resources because it is owned by Brookdale.<br />
Innovative Senior Care program<br />
Woodside implements Brookdale’s Innovative<br />
Senior Care program, a proactive wellness and<br />
therapy service that helps residents retain or<br />
enhance their independence. ISC is designed<br />
to improve certain physical conditions before<br />
they can become problematic. By increasing<br />
a resident’s strengths now, the impact of<br />
future complications can be limited or avoided<br />
entirely. ISC professionals are able to provide<br />
rehabilitation care, education and wellness<br />
programs, physical and occupational therapy, and<br />
a host of support services. Each resident receives<br />
a regular assessment and a “Personal Pathway to<br />
Better Health.”<br />
Optimum Life philosophy<br />
Additionally, Woodside Terrace follows<br />
Brookdale’s Optimum Life philosophy, which<br />
emphasizes residents living well through six<br />
dimensions. Those six dimensions involve making<br />
sure their lives are purposeful and taking care<br />
of their emotional, physical, social, spiritual and<br />
intellectual needs.<br />
A wealth of amenities,<br />
activities for residents<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is a plethora of amenities and activities<br />
for residents to enjoy at Woodside Terrace. <strong>The</strong><br />
community has a heated indoor pool in which<br />
they can do water exercises. “A lot of them go to<br />
the pool exercise class,” Haworth said. “That’s<br />
socialization plus exercise.” <strong>The</strong>re also is a whirlpool.<br />
In January, Woodside Terrace began offering<br />
residents the opportunity to participate in tai<br />
chi after hearing from them it was something<br />
they would like to do. <strong>The</strong>re also are libraries<br />
on campus with hardback and paperback books.<br />
Other activities include bingo, crossword puzzles,<br />
movies, chair yoga, Wii games, writers groups,<br />
dance lessons and Spanish classes. Additionally,<br />
residents can do volunteer work and use the<br />
Internet, Haworth said, noting that Internet usage<br />
among the elderly is higher than you would think.<br />
“<strong>The</strong>y email the grandkids,” she said.<br />
Woodside has a large bus, a van and a town car<br />
that can take residents off campus, so there are all kinds<br />
of ways for them to get around, whether it’s to see<br />
a movie, go shopping or eat at a local restaurant.<br />
Food taken seriously<br />
Food is taken very seriously at Woodside Terrace,<br />
Haworth stressed. <strong>The</strong>re is an executive chef on staff<br />
and seniors receive healthy entrees as an option.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> dining experience is important to seniors,”<br />
Haworth said. “It’s something they do three times a<br />
day.” Woodside Terrace takes a “fresh approach”<br />
to food and uses very few canned goods, Haworth<br />
said. <strong>The</strong>re are separate dining areas for those in<br />
independent living and those in assisted living.<br />
Staff well-trained<br />
<strong>The</strong> 120 people on staff at Woodside Terrace<br />
receive extensive training that covers the community’s<br />
and Brookdale’s mission and vision. <strong>The</strong>y also<br />
receive one to two weeks of on-the-job training,<br />
depending on the department in which they are<br />
working. <strong>The</strong> most important qualities for staff<br />
are attitude and willingness to learn, Haworth<br />
stressed, noting that it is more important than<br />
the amount of experience someone has working<br />
with seniors. “You can train them to work with<br />
seniors,” she said. “You can’t train them to care.”<br />
Seniors give $50,000 to hourly staff<br />
At the end of every year, seniors at Woodside<br />
Terrace pool money together and give it to the<br />
hourly staff as a holiday bonus, Haworth said. At<br />
the end of 2011, seniors gave a total of $50,000<br />
to hourly staff and personally presented each of<br />
them with checks. Each staff member received<br />
an average of nearly $495, Haworth said. “<strong>The</strong>re<br />
were a lot of staff members in tears when they got<br />
those checks,” Haworth said. “<strong>The</strong>y felt like they<br />
were being thanked.”<br />
(continues on next page)<br />
“We hadn’t been expecting this.”<br />
Added Lavoie, “It surprised the<br />
both of us.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Spectrum</strong> 15