Beatitudes Community

Tech Tip Tuesday: JUST GOOGLE IT!! – A Little About Web Browsing

I’m sure many of us using computers today can remember back when you had to go to the Library to research a foreign topic. When was the last time someone actually used their Library card? I wonder if they even still teach how to use a card catalog in school these days? Then along came the Internet, and it has grown and grown and grown. Internet Definition: The global communication network which allows all connected computers to exchange information. That simply means that you can use your computer to send an email to your friend in China. I remember before the Internet gained popularity my stepdad would “Dial In” to dashboards to exchange files and programs. Things have gotten a lot better these days. Thankfully.

A little possibly confusing but interesting techno garble, each device communicating on the Internet needs what’s called a “Public IP Address”. The current version in use is IP Version 4 or IPV4. This version provides about 4.3 billion IP addresses. Well, they ran out back in January of 2011. Luckily someone came up with the idea of using “Private IP Addresses” and with the use of a routing protocol “NAT”, Network Address Translation, you can network thousands of devices behind a single Public IP. So one can only imagine how many computers and devices there are actually connected to the Internet. Among all of these devices are Web Servers. Web Servers are the computers which house the majority of publicly available information or “Web Pages”. In order to view these web pages you need a “Web Browser”. The powerhouse in the beginning was Microsoft with “Internet Explorer” and now you have many choices like Apple’s Safari, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox and more.

Anyways, so now you have a web browser. You have access to billions and billions of pieces of information at your fingertips. How do you find what you’re looking for? The answer: Search Engines. Without search engines the Internet wouldn’t be as effective as it is today. The top 4 search engines are Google, Bing, Yahoo and Ask. Google has become so popular the phrase “Just Google It” refers to any search on the Internet. A Search Engine takes a simple request that you type in and compares it to all of the billions of records out there and delivers you possible choices called “Hits” to review. The more general your request, the more unrelated hits you will get. For instance, the difference between searching for red flower as opposed to Red Rose. While you will still get millions of hit’s for Red Rose, the more you can specify what you are looking for, the more useful your hits should be. You can really drill it down by searching images for long stem red rose with a butterfly. I just searched that and got more pictures of long stem red roses than I did butterflies. To tie this back in to the Library, it’s the equivalent of visiting every main Library in the world in a matter of seconds. Pretty amazing, huh? What’s even more amazing is that now days you can also do that from your phone!!

In the end it’s difficult to quantify the value of this information overload. The beauty is that it’s mostly free. The danger is that it’s mostly unregulated. Just because you “saw it on the Internet” doesn’t actually mean it’s true. So be diligent about checking sources and as always a little common sense goes a long way. Even still, the next time you have a question or are pondering something, I recommend you Google It!

Tech Tip Tuesday: BCC Me… PLEASE!!!

I’m sure you’re all very familiar with getting emails that have multiple recipients in the address field. The typical scenario is sending an email to recipients who are directly involved in the discussion with possible indirect participants who are CC’d or “Carbon Copied”. However, when someone wants to share news or information they can get a little overzealous with the “To” list. Then when each recipient “Replies All” everyone gets a copy. Like a group text! Ugh! While there is good purpose and intent with the Reply All command in certain situations, an email with 50 or more recipients can become quite annoying to some. Not to mention how much email it builds up in people’s Inbox and in the email server database. Well there is a better way!

Bcc stands for “Blind Carbon Copy.” This means that if you add 20 recipient names in the Bcc box, each recipient will only see their own. Then if they choose Reply All, only the sender will receive a copy. As I said before, if you’re addressing a small group where each recipient needs to view the collaboration of the email, this is useful. But if it’s sharing some personal news or advertisement, Bcc is a good way to curb the potential Email Gone Wild scenario. You may also want to use Bcc to keep other recipients email addresses private to the group. Respecting peoples private information is very important these days.

As useful of a tool that Bcc is, you may experience a few problems. Bcc is widely used by spammers. For that reason some junk email filters may flag them as junk when an email arrives with the recipient name in this field. Making sure you’re on the Safe Senders list of whoever you are sending to will keep this from happening. Here on campus this will not be a problem. Another possible problem is using distribution lists in the Bcc field. If a recipient has any rules in place to sort emails by recipient, this will cause them problems. However, sorting is usually indicated where repetitive emails arrive for a specific reason. And lastly, many email providers limit the number of recipients to try and repress spammers. You will get errors and warnings if this is the case.

So how do you use this field? Each email client is different, including the many webmail options, but the CC and Bcc options are usually very obvious and easy to get to. On campus we use Outlook for email. At first glance when you open a new email you won’t see the Bcc option. But if you click the “To” button, a dialogue box will appear with the whole campus list of email users and distribution lists. At the bottom of this box will be the “Bcc” field. Use it the same way you would the “To” and “CC” fields. Maybe practice using it with a few coworkers or friends. So the next time you want to send out some cool info, the Bcc field will prevent you from becoming the origin of an EMAIL STORM! Lol!

HDD: Hard Disk Drive, Disk Drive, Hard Drive

Everything you install and save on your computer is stored on your hard drive. Operating system, applications, emails, pictures, songs, documents, etc. all live on small metallic disks spinning inside the hard drive enclosure. As with all other computer components, there have been many advancements in hard drive technology. Because of this, we have several options available for consumer PC’s. It’s very easy to get overly technical so I will keep this simple. Luckily there’s only a few things to consider when deciding on which one you want.

SIZE or CAPACITY

No matter what the manufacturer, hard drives are typically referred to by their main characteristic, SIZE. The size is measured in units of Gigabytes (GB) and Terabytes (TB). For example 180 GB HDD, 500 GB HDD, or 1 TB HDD. Keep in mind that a Terabyte is 1000 Gigabytes and a Gigabyte is 1000 Megabytes. With some pictures taking up 3 to 5 Megabytes of space or more, you can see how important it can be to be sure you get enough storage space depending on your intended use. The good thing is that most hard drives sold today usually start out at 80 to 120 Gigabytes and are more commonly sold at 1 Terabyte. That’s way more storage than the average consumer will ever use.

SPEED

The internal disks I mentioned earlier are constantly spinning while your computer is turned on. There are only two speeds available in most consumer PC’s, 5400 RPM and 7200 RPM, while server drives spin at 10,000 and 15,000 RPM. Because your data is being stored and retrieved on these spinning disks, the speed affects the data transfer rate. So obviously the faster the drive, the faster the data transfer, the better the performance. But for the budget minded, typically the 5400 RPM will come with a lower price tag.

LATEST AND GREATEST

As hard drive technological advancements continue, the latest competing technology is “Flash Memory” in the form of “Solid State Drives” or SSD. In these new drives there are no moving parts. They use the same storage technology that’s found in small Thumb Drives or USB Drives. The data transfer is faster and they are more reliable. However, as with everything else, this new technology comes with a premium price tag. Where you might find a 7200 RPM, 1 TB HDD for just over $50.00, a 1 TB SSD will set you back $250.00 or more.

SUMING IT UP

The good thing is that 9 times out of 10 you will be looking at pre-built computers for purchase. As you compare prices notice that the size and speed of the hard drive does affect the overall price. So again, keep in mind your intended use, how much data you plan to store, and your budget and go for the best you can afford.

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This concludes the three part series on RAM, Processor and Hard Drive. While there are many other technical specs found in consumer PC’s, these three components are the most important when it comes to computer performance. I hope I’ve given you enough basic information to understand each one’s association to the other without a lot of confusion. If you’d like to understand more and really dig into the technical side of things, there are tons of articles and videos that go into much greater depth and detail on the Internet. Just Google It!

CPU, Processor… COMPUTER BRAIN!!

All three of these words actually refer to the same part in a computer. Definition: The electronic circuitry within a computer that carries out the instructions of a computer program by performing the basic arithmetic, logical, control and input/output (I/O) operations specified by the instructions. Yeah, how does that help you? I’ll give you some explanation of more common terms you will come across regarding processors when considering a new computer that will hopefully help you make a better choice … for you.

History

As with most things, long ago computers were more simple and there were less choices. I remember Dick Lawless telling me he once worked on a computer that was built inside of a good sized room! Years later Allen Bloch was a sophisticated young accountant sporting one of the first portable computers … about the size of an old sewing machine. These days your cell phone has a ton more computing power than any of those early computers. With technology advancements moving faster and faster all the time, everything is getting smaller, faster and “smarter”. The main ingredient in all of this … The Processor.

Manufacturer

There are many different manufacturers of processors for many different equipment applications but for retail personal computers you  will likely only come across two mainstream products: Intel and AMD. This is truly a Ford vs Chevy situation where some people will swear by Intel while others will argue the benefits of AMD. You can find benchmark tests on websites that show a bunch of confusing statistics of each ones performance given a certain application.  This tends to make the competition pretty fierce so each of them work to come out with a new model line seemingly with the changing of the season’s. So what you end up with is a plethora of choices that can befuddle the typical laymen.  Aye Yai Yai!!

Clock Speed

While there are other factors that affect the overall speed of a computer, this is where the rubber meets the road. The clock speed refers to how fast a processor can perform all of the operations listed in the afore mentioned definition. How does this help you? Well, the higher the clock speed is, the better the performance you will get out of your computer when comparing the same model processor. It will seem faster because it’s actually processing faster. Clock speeds are shown as a decimal and generally range from 2.1 GHz to 3.8 GHz. Unfortunately, this high performance is always synonymous with higher prices as well. $$$$  So as any good manufacture should do, they each offer a budget class and a premium class. AMD’s premiums are their A-Series, E-Series and FX and their budget class includes Phenom, Athlon and Sempron. While Intel has the “i7”, “i5”, and “i3” for their premium and Core 2, Pentium and Celeron for their budget class. Each one of these has multiple models with different specs and generations. A little Google research shows that the FX models are AMD #1 and the “i7” models are Intel’s best. With Intel currently showing as the strongest in most current benchmarks.

Other Specs

You will also see 32 bit or 64 bit processors and possibly L1, L2 Cache. The bit rate essentially refers to how much RAM the processor is capable of utilizing. 32 bit is good for computers with 4 GB of RAM and less while 64 bit is good for 4 GB of RAM and more. It’s important to point out that a 64 bit processor must be matched to a 64 bit operating system and a 32 bit to a 32 bit OS. But that will likely be taken care of for you. Also, software applications are written in 32 or 64 bit. A 64 bit computer can use 64 or 32 bit applications, but a 32 bit is restricted to only 32 bit applications. And finally, the L1, L2 Cache refers to what can be considered as the processors own built in personal RAM. Simply said, the more the better.

Summary

So as with everything else, what it boils down to is your own personal needs for computing and your budget. Sure, if money was no object I’d say go out and buy the most expensive and advanced computer you can buy. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. However, I believe the majority of us can’t do that. Once again, think about what it is you want to do with your computer. Web browsing, emailing and general use does not warrant the best performing computer available. But at the same time an online gamer is going to be disappointed if they go with a bare bones budget computer. I’d say look at your needs, look at your bank account, and find the best deal that you can afford. Given the details I’ve shown in this three part article of course. 🙂

“RAM” – Noun or Verb? Animal or Action?

Neither! At least when you’re referring to computers. 🙂

RAM is actually an acronym which stands for “Random Access Memory”. Because of this, it’s reference is typically shortened to “Memory”. For example, How much memory does your computer have? It’s size or capacity is measured in powers of 2 and these days the increments are in Gigabytes or “GB”. For example, 4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB etc. Without a doubt, RAM has the greatest effect on computer performance. If there’s not enough, it can choke and slow your computer to a crawl no matter how fast the processor is. The processor actually relies on RAM to do its job. Imagine RAM as being the top of your desk. The bigger your desk is, the more things you can work on at the same time. If you have a tiny little desk, chances are you can only work on one thing at a time. So still the question remains, HOW MUCH?? To be honest, there’s no exact science for determining this. It’s kind of up to you and your intended computer use. But here’s a road map to help.

All software programs and applications loaded on your computer will take a bite out of available RAM while in use. Including your operating system and antivirus which are always running many services in the background. So if you add to that by opening more programs and applications, you continue to subtract from available RAM. This means the biggest consideration when determining the amount of RAM you may need is how many applications do you intend to use “at the same time”. The most typical user will have email open while browsing the Internet or social sites like Facebook (4 to 8 GB). A more heavy user may do that but add to it heavy word processing, PowerPoint presentation or publication creation (8 to 16 GB). And an even heavier user may be a photographer or graphics artist engaging in heavy duty photo editing and movie creation (16 to 32 GB). So you see, while I’m sure any salesman can convince you that more is always better, in the end only you hold the answers to “How Much” RAM you really need. Be aware, It’s possible to reach overkill if you don’t truly need it and additional RAM seems to come with a pretty hefty price tag. The beauty is that it can be upgraded later if you find you really need it. So don’t stress. Think about what you might need and go for it.

Passwords, Passwords, Passwords!!!

Never before has so much information been so accessible to so many people electronically. Welcome to “The Internet”. In many ways the “Information Age” is a wonderful time to be alive. But as is often the case, there is a dark side. The same technology that makes it really easy to store, search and view all of this information also makes it possible for others to get hold of personal information. When it comes to using computers and the Internet, we are challenged to create a plethora of user names and passwords to protect our information. But how do you make up a username and password that will be easy for you to remember but impossible for anyone else to figure out? Here’s some advice…

First of all, there are good passwords and bad passwords? An example of a bad password is any word that is in the dictionary or a name. If someone wanted to “crack” your password using computer software they would probably start with lists of common passwords like that. So don’t make it easy for them. For the dedicated “password cracker” there are actually huge lists of common passwords available online. Also, when you hear on the news that the accounts of the XYZ Company or the ABC Website have been hacked, those passwords can end up on websites where other hackers can access them.

So what makes for a good password? Here are some basic suggestions:
DOs:

  1. Avoid common names, dates, phone numbers or things easily associated with you.
  2. Avoid common words or phrases as they would be the first thing checked by password cracking software.
  3. Use a combination of numbers and letters. For example, substitute numbers for letters and letters for numbers in a word or phrase. “H!Th3r3!”
  4. Make it something you can remember all by yourself. Think of a sequence or acronym.
  5. Try to make it at least 8 – 16 characters long. Obviously the longer the better. Cracking gets exponentially harder with each additional character.
  6. Plan on changing your password often. Experts suggest changing your passwords at least every 6 months. Your employer may require it more often.

DON’Ts:

  1. Don’t use naturally occurring keyboard sequences like “qwerty” or adjacent combinations.
  2. Never share your password! Protect them like you do your SSN. With either one, anyone can pose as you.
  3. Don’t write it down anywhere! That’s just a given. Once again, don’t make it easy.
  4. Avoid using the same password for multiple sites or applications. Cracked once and they have everything.
  5. Avoid saving passwords. What’s convenient for you is convenient for a hacker.

Whether it’s about protecting the money in your bank account, restricting access to your email, or protecting employer information, you’ll need to have good usernames and passwords to protect yourself. Choose wisely.

The View from a Kaleidoscope

When I was a kid one of my favorite toys was the Kaleidoscope—a cardboard tube filled with colored glass, mirrors, and designs, which when you look through it and turn it, it changes into a myriad of beautiful designs and patterns. It makes magic with light and mirrors. The name Kaleidoscope comes from Greek words meaning beautiful, form, and view. Part of what makes a Kaleidoscope so fascinating is that as you turn it, the contents shift and you look at them from a different perspective. You see something you hadn’t seen before. Perspective is one of the strongest powers of the mind and spirit. It can affect our mood, how productive we are, how we tackle obstacles and much more. In times when we struggle to keep life in perspective, it can be helpful to remember that it’s all in how you look at things. Turn the kaleidoscope clockwise and see a wave of geometric shapes and a splash of blues and greens. Twist it the other way and you find yourself staring at a completely different pattern of reds and yellows. The different views represent your life; it’s just a matter of finding the right angle from which to look at it or at least see that everyone’s life holds within it beautiful complexity and some chaos too.
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Another way of keeping life in perspective is to see that our perspective is not the only one. We each see the world from our own perspective given our own background and life experiences. However, it is helpful as we go through life to learn to see the world through other lenses, from other perspectives. Often it takes just a slight shift or turn to begin to see through someone else’s eyes, to see the world in a new light. When we value and respect the uniqueness in people we live and work with, it becomes easier to be less critical and judgmental. We begin to understand and appreciate that the people we’re close to see the world in their own unique way, which may or may not be similar to our own view of the world. This leads to more tolerance and acceptance in relationships and can heal many rifts. Curiosity, respect, an open mind and a generous heart tries to understand life from someone else’s perspective. When you view our Beatitudes Campus as if through a kaleidoscope, you see an amazing array of humanity, richly diverse and beautiful. Each person brings their own unique design and pattern. What a blessing!

Welcome to the Employee Portal!

Welcome to the all-new snazzy Employee Portal, where all your resources are available and easily accessible from anywhere! This is the very beginning of this part of the site, so please send us your feedback with what you think we should include! As it stands now, this will be an instant overview of what is available in printed form inside the Teamtalk! employee newsletter.

We’ll have more information from our wonderful HR department coming soon – in the meantime, have a look around – and definitely let us know what you think!

Another Successful Year for Power of the Purse

On Sunday, October 11, almost 400 people from the community came to Beatitudes Campus for our fifth annual Power of the Purse, our signature fundraising event.

Our guests had a marvelous time meeting our residents, visiting with each other, participating in the auctions of purses and sports memorabilia, and playing with “funny money” at our casino corner. The campus was festive, with plenty of food, wine and purses! This was a day where we demonstrated the radical hospitality for which the campus is known.

For those of you that don’t know, Power of the Purse is a cocktail party (on a grand scale) where gently used designer purses of every stripe and color are auctioned off and the proceeds used to benefit residents and special causes near and dear to our hearts. Although the final count of money raised isn’t completed yet, this year, we raised over $105,000 in sponsorships and donations alone.

Whenever an event of this magnitude takes place, there are so many people to thank. We especially want to thank all of our sponsors for their incredible support of this event. Year after year, these companies and individuals step up to the plate and we are forever grateful for their love and support of the campus and our residents. Our Steering Committee spent many hours planning this event—they are an awesome group of women and we are indebted to their unwavering support of the campus. Months of preparation go into planning Power of the Purse, and we are blessed with a marvelous staff who pulled out all the stops to help create this day of community.

We are so inspired by our residents, who were so present on Sunday and the days leading up to it. Your goodwill and warm welcome to all our guests was so evident. You all are marvelous ambassadors for the campus and for what we do.

So many wonderful people contributed to the amazing success of Power of the Purse. We thank you for your generous and continued support. You are truly the foundation for so many great and daring endeavors! When we come together like we did on Sunday for such an incredible cause, we have shown the world that anything is possible! We joined hands and made history. We are the Beatitudes Community.

My Mid-Term Reflection as Scholar in Residence at Beatitudes

The Scholar in Residence Program is designed to bring individuals to  Campus who will help  enhance the quality of life through both presence and education and is funded by a special grant from the Beatitudes Foundation  

The month of September marks the mid-point of my tenure as Scholar in Residence at Beatitudes Campus. This past year has been one of the most satisfying of my life and one full of blessings here at Beatitudes. I have felt embraced by the community for which I am most grateful. I have also been provided the opportunity to engage in a number of teaching activities as a member of the Lifelong Learners Committee including serving on its Executive Committee. My teaching activities included the following:

  • Presented a course introducing the Psychology of C.G. Jung to 12 residents in 2014. Participants have continued to meet weekly to deepen their knowledge and fellowship with each other.
  • Facilitated a weekly evening seminar being presented by Barbara Marx Hubbard on Conscious Evolution. Participants continue to meet weekly every Monday evening as a support group.
  • Facilitated three sections of a course based on six TED Talks in the first Lifelong Learners term of 2015. The course involved 45 residents in the three sections.
  • Repeated the TED Talks course for 45 residents in the Spring/Summer term of 2015.
  • Designed a course for the Fall term that will present six TED Talks focused on ecology.
  • Designed a new course on the Psychology of C.G. Jung that will be taught in collaboration with a new resident, Dr. Scott Haasarud, during the Fall term.
  • Designed a course to inform residents about the 350 refugees living in our neighborhood, and our plans to provide ELA instruction. The course will be presented in the Lifelong Learners Fall term.
  • Brought a new course on SoulCollage to the Campus for the Fall Term.

In addition to teaching I have been involved in these organizational initiatives:

  • Organized monthly coaching sessions involving volunteer teens and adults from Hands On Greater Phoenix, to increase the skills of residents on iPhones, iPads and Android Tablets.
  • Founding member of the Senior Roundtable with the Tanner Community Development Corporation.
  • Engaged the Department of Human Services from the City of Phoenix in providing assistance in the initiation of Our Neighborhood Project.
  • Led the start of Our Neighborhood Project in collaboration with Leroy Calbom.
  • Led the effort to organize an English Language Assistance (ELA) Program for the 350 refugees living in walking distance of the Campus. 17 residents have volunteered to assist in this Program.
  • Managed the relationship with Refugee Focus in relation to the ELA project and initiated observations of ELA classes at the Refugee Focus headquarters for Campus residents participating in the Program.
  • Coordinated the interface with the Area Agency on Aging to offer ELA instruction to elder refugees being supported by the Agency.

I am looking forward to the coming year and the additional opportunities it will provide to serve this very special community as its first Scholar in Residence.

A Gift To Come

The campus was blessed a year ago, when the Nina Mason Pulliam Foundation awarded the campus with a generous grant to create a sensory garden outside the entrance to the Health Care Center for residents to enjoy with their families and caregivers. After months of planning and design, the garden will become a reality soon, when construction begins this week. The garden will be named in memory of the mother of Harriet Ivey, the founding CEO and president of the Pulliam Foundation who is now retired. Harriet’s mother died many years ago from Alzheimer’s disease and Harriet recalls having no place to visit with her mother other than in the facility where she lived. That situation was distressing to Harriet, her mother and her family. From this, the idea was born to create a sensory garden at Beatitudes Campus.

A sensory garden is a garden environment that is designed with the purpose of stimulating the senses

Sensory-Garden-overallA sensory garden is a garden environment that is designed with the purpose of stimulating the senses, courtesy of plants and the use of materials that engage the senses of sight, smell, touch, taste and sound. The majority of the garden will be completed in the next three weeks. A water feature for the garden is scheduled for completion in the fall. A formal dedication of the garden, which will be named for Harriet’s mother, will take place in the Fall.

The Phoenix-based Parsons Design Studio, a landscape architecture and urban design studio that specializes on urban infill and adaptive reuse projects, designed the garden. EnviroScape, a landscape construction and installation company in Glendale, is the constructing the garden.

Start date: July 6, 2015
Completion: TBA

The garden will be open for the enjoyment of all residents, visitors, and staff. The garden will feature two water features, an arbor, seating areas, an infinity walkway, potting benches, and plants designed to attract butterflies and birds.

The main entrances to Buckwald’s and the Health Care Center will remain open. The resident smoking area will be relocated within the porte-cochere that is south of the large fountain.

Be Still…

We all have a history and a story

I hope you all enjoyed the 4th of July celebrations? Commemorative and celebratory events like those which so many people have taken part in during the last few days are a wonderful way of reminding ourselves of our past, and they also help us to consider how we are living our lives now. The celebrations around Independence Day, with the words of the founding fathers echoing down to us through the centuries, provide a fixed point in the life of the nation to stop for a moment, to remember the virtues upon which its foundation is based, and in considering this, to reflect upon how well we are living up to that heritage in our own time.

Reflecting-Beauty-teddybear64-20015615-400-276The same can be said in our own lives as well, where there are certain days of the year which cause us to pause for a moment and re-evaluate ourselves. Perhaps for you that day might be your birthday or wedding anniversary. Perhaps it is Christmas, Easter or New Year’s. Whatever the day, and whatever that day’s significance to you, it is a good thing every now and again to pause and reflect.

We all have a history and a story. One of the most interesting aspects of my role here at the Campus is being able to listen as people tell me how the roads they have taken in their life have lead them, often in a very interesting way, to this place which they now call home. Just as our nation has done this weekend, it is good for each of each of us to reflect upon our own lives. Sometimes we can lose track of what is truly important to us as we get caught up in the bustle of our daily lives. Psalm 46 gives us some good advice- ‘be still’. Be still and know who you are. Be still and know that God loves you. Be still and reflect. Be still and remember all that you have accomplished. Be still and consider what makes you happy, and then think about whether you are doing that in your life today. Be still and pray for those you love, and those who love you. Be still and pray for yourself and your own needs.

The wonderful truth about our nation and our Campus is that each of our stories is so very different, with them all blending together to make for a vibrant and varied community. Sometimes in the midst of that we would all benefit from taking a moment of rest and reflection. Be still.
It is almost a year since I began working here at the Campus, and so I myself have been looking back and reflecting over the past year. I consider myself so privileged to walk alongside this community in its life and look forward to doing so in the years to come.

The Longest Day

I have some exciting news to share with you! To begin, on June 21st a small, yet powerfully motivated group of volunteer community leaders focused on dementia and Alzheimer’s awareness, had a successful event called The Longest Day. The Longest Day is a team event held annually by the Alzheimer’s Association on the summer solstice which is the longest day of the year. Through the duration of the sunrise to sunset event it symbolizes the challenging journey of those living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia’s as well as their caregivers. The group decided that for their event they would have a day of yoga. And can you believe it ended up falling on the same day as International Day of Yoga! A perfect fit.
Longest Day15.7 million family and friends provide care to people with Alzheimer’s and other dementia’s in the United States alone. You may not know this, but Alzheimer’s Disease is the 6th leading cause of death in the U.S. and the only one in the top 10 that has no way to prevent, slow down or stop it. I am sure we all understand why awareness and support are so important for this cause. Unfortunately, many of us know that dementia does not care about your gender, race or political views (whether blue or red). I find it very interesting that the Alzheimer’s color for awareness is purple. As a constituent, I believe part of my job is to make sure the leaders within our State and Nation know that, just like the disease, it doesn’t matter which side of the fence they are on. This is a national crisis that we all need to come together to end.

Now to OUR big news—the group came to the campus with an amazing opportunity to take awareness to another level. They had a vision that, not only on June 21st should we honor those caregivers but for a month thereafter. Their thought was to turn our State Capitol purple for the cause! Beatitudes Campus graciously accepted this amazing partnership, and since June 21st until July 20th our State Capitol is lit a beautiful deep purple. I am proud to know that, I work for an organization that not only provides great care and awareness within our own walls, but also cares a great deal about the community and state we reside in. Over the next few weeks, we are planning some great ways to let the rest of our state know of this feat we have accomplished and why. We hope that you can help us in sharing our news.

It’s a proud day to be a part of this campus!

Home Health Vs. Home Care

Every now and then we need a little extra help at home. Did you know that Beatitudes Campus can help with that?

Here on our campus, we have two different services to assist with your needs. Beatitudes Home Health and Beatitudes at Home are the two programs and there tends to be some confusion about which program offers what services. If you have been confused about the difference between Beatitudes Home Health services and Beatitudes at Home services, I hope the remainder of this article will help clarify.

BeatitudesHomeHealthLogoHome Health Agencies such as Beatitudes Home Health are licensed by the Arizona Department of Health Services which means this program has regulatory oversight. Also:

  1. All patients must require skilled care which usually involves skilled nursing services and at least one of the following: physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. Medical social services or home health aide services also may be provided with one of the skilled services mentioned above.
  2. Skilled nursing services include wound care, short-term medication administration including IVs, patient education, etc.
  3. The skilled care services must be needed on an intermittent basis for a planned program of care over a specified period of time and ordered by a physician.
  4. Clinical records must be maintained on all patients.
  5. A physician is needed to follow the care, write orders for all care and treatments and conduct a face-to-face encounter with the patient to qualify.
  6. On average, visits typically last about an hour. Please note it may vary based on need.
  7. Currently Beatitudes Home Health is able to accept Medicare for Home Health services.
  8. To qualify for Home Health services you must meet the definition of “home bound.” Homebound does not mean you must be confined to bed or a wheelchair, or even to your house, but rather, that you either require assistance (human and/ or a device) to leave home, or leaving poses a taxing effort to you.

BeatitudesatHomeLogoPNGFor more information about Beatitudes Home Health or to schedule an in home consultation, please call (602) 544-5000.

Home Care Agencies such as Beatitudes at Home are not licensed by any government agency so instead of regulatory oversight, they are managed by policies and procedures based on standard operating practices of Home Care Agencies. Also:

  1. Typically clients or families request home care services to allow the client to age in place longer.
  2. Services available are non-medical in nature such as companion services, medication reminders, running errands, household maintenance and housekeeping services.
  3. Physician orders are not required for services.
  4. Visits are at the request of the client or family and minimum visits can range from 15 minutes to 24 hours a day. Typical visits range between 2 and 4 hours.
  5. Paid for privately by the client. Services are not able to be billed to Medicare or other insurance since they are non-medical in nature.

For more information about Beatitudes at Home or to schedule an in home consultation, please call (602) 544-8527.

Pets Keep Us Happy and Healthy

Pets can play an important role in our lives. As we grow older, knowing that you’re loved, or that someone cares about you, isn’t necessarily enough, and that need to feel needed-and appreciated for what you do-increases. Pets fulfill this need because they depend on their owners for care and attention. In return, the pets offer love and unqualified approval.

Studies have documented that petting a dog or cat lowers blood pressure in hypertensive patients and that older people show improved alertness when caring for a pet. Pets often seem to be especially valuable for some people experiencing major life changes, such as illness or the loss of a loved one.

Depression can often be avoided. Pets also encourage their owners to be more physically active by playing with them or taking them on a walk. Pets amuse us, make us laugh and improve our overall morale.

Pet owners tend to remain more interested in events in their community and in their surroundings. They are not as lonely as perhaps they once were. They prevent or reduce absent-mindedness or bewilderment by communicating the sense of time and by maintaining a rhythm of the day. They help us to “Forget oneself and one’s problems” and to “live one’s free time in a meaningful and interesting way”. Animals are wonderful, courageous little souls, and with that being said, I invite all of you to our first Resident Dog Show where residents will be showcasing their dogs to everyone. You will hear a little about each pet, how they ended up with them and what makes them special. We will have 1st, 2nd & 3rd place winners who will be judged by 3 residents. We hope to see you at the Dog Run/Park on Thursday, June 25, 2015 at 10AM to see some of the amazing pets that fulfill the lives of their owners. *

Taizè Worship

Though we are many, we are of one body in the one Lord.

As war was raging across Europe, Roger Schütz crossed over the border from Switzerland to France and settled in the small community of Taizè, nestled in the hills of Burgundy.

Sixty years later I also travelled to Taizè, but rather than finding a sleepy village, I was following in the footsteps of many others who had been drawn to what this place had become in the intervening years.

Gradually over time, from its founding in 1940, an ecumenical Christian community begun by Br. Roger has blossomed in that place, now comprising more than one hundred brothers from both Protestant and Catholic traditions, who originate from about thirty countries across the world. This community has become one of the world’s most important sites of Christian pilgrimage. Each year over 100,000 young people from around the world make pilgrimages to Taizè for prayer, Bible study, sharing, and communal work. Through the community’s ecumenical outlook, they are encouraged to live in the spirit of kindness, simplicity and reconciliation. Unity and diversity have become synonymous in this remarkable place, which truly exemplifies that ‘though we are many, we are of one body in the one Lord’.

Some of my most abiding memories of Taizè are of its distinct style of worship. Since its beginnings, the Taizè community has been known for its reflective and contemplative style of worship, allowing for people of any faith background to dwell within the presence God. The simple Taizè practice of prayerful silence accompanied by music with words taken from scripture doesn’t belong to any one denomination or group, and so the distinctions and differences of history are left at the door of the church. The differences between those worshiping is not what is important, for that place shows that there is far more that unifies rather than divides us.

Here on this campus, we live amongst a colorful spectrum of faith. We have residents and staff who worship in communities and denominations across the Valley, as well as residents who worship alongside each other here on the campus. So wouldn’t it be a wonderful expression of our faith and love for one another to gather all of that diversity into a special act of worship! For that reason, the campus will be hosting a Taizè style prayer service on Saturday, August 1st, at 6PM in the Life Center. We are inviting members of our surrounding faith communities as well as all of our residents and staff to join together for this act of worship, where each and every person will be ‘at home’ in the presence of God. For many it will be something new, but for all, there will be an opportunity to abide in the love of God together as one family. I look forward to seeing you there.