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Year: 2016

Shout Out: Kathy Amend and Gabi Holberg

Fri, March 4, 2016 Published by

This was recently submitted by a former resident: I’m finally getting things in order as I have been wanting to write you a note regarding the superior treatment I received during my move from the whole Beatitudes staff, but especially from you and Kathy and Gabi.

Kathy Amend, Resident Services, Team Member since November 1998

Kathy Amend, Resident Services, Team Member since November 1998

Gabi Holberg, Resident Services, Team Member since August 2009

Gabi Holberg, Resident Services, Team Member since August 2009

Kathy was always available for any questions and/or helping my kids make the move as quickly and efficient as possible.  (Moving is not easy for a 94 year old!!)  I was told that she and Gabi made the bags of trash disappear so that the Back Street people could collect their stuff. THANKS AGAIN. — Mary Stephenson

Campus WIG Updates

Fri, March 4, 2016 Published by

Regarding the Campus-wide WIGs (War and Battles), here’s how we’re doing through January 2016:

  • WAR: Increase Campus Operating Income from $2M to $2.5M by 9/30/16. To date, operating income was $807,000 against a budget of $866,000, so we were $59,000 or 7% unfavorable to budget at the end of January 2016.
  • Battle 1: Increase DCOH (Days Cash on Hand) from 65 to 73 by 9/30/16. To date, we are are 76 days of the end of January 2016!
  • Battle 2: To increase Resident Satisfaction from 87.6/88.4/88.0 to 89.3/89.7/90.0 for IL/AL/HCC residents respectively by 9/30/16. To date, we have not yet completed the mid-year resident surveys yet.
  • Battle 3: To increase Employee Satisfaction from 83.3 to 85.1 by 9/30/16. To date, we are at 85.15 after the closing of the employee online satisfaction survey that ended February 15, 2016.  Yay!  We are already at goal and we will hopefully really smoke the goal by 9/30/16.  There is still a lot of work to be done in other satisfaction areas as well through the year.

Regarding WIGs in your departments, how are you doing?  What’s going well?  What is challenging?  I’d also love to hear where you are seeing successes so that we can celebrate your department.  I have giveaways that are gathering dust in my office waiting for a chance to be given out to staff that are meeting or exceeding their WIGs!  Accounting and Facilities were recently given some movie tickets to raffle off to thank them for presenting at the January All Staff.  Let me know at Ext. 6114 or email me at [email protected] if YOU would like to present at a future All Staff! Thanks!  WIG Coach Tara

Tech Tip Tuesday: “Shoot Me The Link”

Tue, March 1, 2016 Published by

Where’s the one stop shop for almost all information these days? The Internet right! As of March 1, 2016 it is estimated that there are about 47 Billion web pages on the World Wide Web. (FYI: There’s only about 7 Billion people on Earth today.) All 47 Billion of those web pages have addresses and believe it  or not, they’re all different.

The good thing is that we don’t have to know the address of a web page in order to find it. That’s the beauty of search engines. Say you wanted to find a good recipe for Chili. Of course you know from the Tech Tip about web browsing that you’d search for “chili recipe”. Or maybe even “award winning chili recipe”! In your search results you will a list of titles that are all colored blue. (All web links are colored blue) These blue titles are “Links” (short for “hyperlink”) that direct you to those web pages. So, Chili Recipes – Allrecipes.com actually directs you to this web address:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjXkPKf8p_LAhVW_mMKHS6KCFsQFghmMAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fallrecipes.com%2Frecipes%2F173%2Fsoups-stews-and-chili%2Fchili%2F&usg=AFQjCNFC4jKB2WWyP1gERCT7CCGJVzbhZQ&sig2=7SYGYazTquX3sy9StS7iqA

Pretty crazy huh? It’s not important to know what all of that means. Just be happy someone does. J

So now say you’d really like to share this recipe with a friend. Well you can write it down or print it out, or you can send them the Link. As always there are a few ways to accomplish this. As you may already know, when you move your mouse pointer over a link it turns into a pointer finger and the link is underlined. When you see this, right click and click “Copy Link Address”. You can now paste that into an email or document. The recipient will need to then copy that address and paste it into a browser address bar. However, if the address is too long, as it is above, you can copy the link as it appears, “Chili Recipes – Allrecipes.com”. To do this, simply drag and highlight the whole link with your mouse pointer. Then right click and just click “Copy”. Paste this as you normally would any text. It should still show up as blue in your document or email. Now the recipient only has to click that link to see the recipe.

So what if you’re on a page and you didn’t use a link to get there? While on any web page, you can always click on the address in the browser address line (where you see the http://) and it will highlight the entire address. Even if you can’t see the end of it. From here click copy and paste as you normally would. When you paste it though, the whole address shows up as above. Hit your space bar once and it all turns blue. For those who like the advanced option, right click your newly pasted link and click “Edit Hyperlink”. In the window that pops up, change the field “Text To Display” to anything you want. Then when your recipient clicks on your link, they will still be directed to that long address of the desired web page.

Congratulations, you’ve now shared a Link!

By the way, all of this works with smartphones too, but it’s a little different application and too long for this article. But the same principle applies.

March Anniversaries

Mon, February 29, 2016 Published by

Congratulations to the Beatitudians celebrating an anniversary in March.  Please be sure to come to the March 24th All Staff at 2:30 PM to receive your new years of service pin and card!

Candy Dixon 1
Raymond Gonzales 1
Adrian Horner 1
Muhannad “Mo” Kusairy 2
Cecelia Lauterio 2
Siah Fayah 3
Terri Kosmulski 3		 Christine Monroe 3
Cho Cho Aung 4
Hal Bierly Jr. 4
Michael Ford 4
Suzanne Lewis 5
Liudmila Bosovski 8
Matt Hinsley 8
Nebiat Andemicael 9		 Andrew Hom 11
Allen Bloch 14
Renata Brescic 15
Donna Warchol 15
Keith Hobbs 16
Kirsti Rusanen 19
Mary Long 23
Judy Orlando 28

Step Lively: Creative and Fun Approaches to Building Balance

Mon, February 29, 2016 Published by

The SAFER Stepping Fall Prevention Course has begun its third session and continues to offer residents targeted balance and leg strengthening exercises, as well as fall risk education and great tips for preventing falls. If you’re interested in signing up for the next fall prevention course this spring, call Jessica at x6110. For those who are also curious about less formal methods for building balance, consider the following two innovative ideas.

Studies show that dancing can improve balance and gait patterns. One study compared seniors who were social dancers with senior non-dancers. The social dancers averaged 80 years of age and danced four times a month. The study found that while the dancing seniors were not stronger than their non-dancing counterparts, they had better balance, safer walking patterns, and more confidence in their balance abilities. Another study of older adults participating in tango classes twice a week found senior tango participants did have better leg strength than a similar group who walked for the same amount of time each week. If you’d like to have fun at Beatitudes while improving your balance, you might try participating in Zumba Gold dance classes on Mondays at 2PM in the Motion Studio or Open Dance Floor in the Recreation Center every 1st and 3rd Tuesday at 4PM.

Another fresh approach to building balance and mobility confidence involves the use of walking poles. Nordic walking is walking with poles similar to ski poles. The use of trekking poles for Nordic walking can provide stability, improve gait length, speed and posture, reduce load-bearing weight on the knees, hips, and spine, and increase strength and endurance in the upper body, making walking a full-body workout. In fact, Nordic walking is widely used as an effective therapeutic walking technique for individuals with Parkinson’s disease. While Nordic walking, you should walk in an upright position and make sure you do not lean forward or backward. Your head should be up and looking forward. The poles are held close to your body with your elbows bent at approximately 90 degrees. When the leading foot moves forward, the opposite arm swings forward to waist height. The opposite pole strikes the ground level with the heel of the leading foot. Trekking poles can be purchased at most sports stores and in many camping departments at department stores. Test out your trekking poles with the morning walking group and take advantage of the beautiful weather! *

Tech Tip Tuesday: “Print Screen” – Your Computer’s Selfie

Tue, February 23, 2016 Published by

A unique situation exists when trying to provide support for a computer issue over the phone or when something happens intermittently while you’re working – we can’t see your screen. We usually get interesting descriptions like, “The little dilly whopper won’t move over like it usually does”. In all my years of computer support, I still don’t know what a “dilly whopper” actually is. So Microsoft did us a favor and built in a function where you can take a picture of your screen and paste it into a document. This is especially helpful when an error window pops up with a description of what the problem is. You can take a picture of it and send it to us instead of closing it and saying, “Ooooh, I think it said something like the thing messed up and there were some numbers and stuff”. A picture is much better. 🙂

There are a couple of options when using Print Screen. The first simply takes a screenshot of everything you see on your screen exactly as it is at the time. This picture is copied to your clipboard. (You can’t see your clipboard, by the way) So now you can paste it into an email, Word document, etc. If you have multiple screens it joins them all together into one picture. Try it and see. To do this, all you have to do is find and press your “PrtScn” key which is usually located at the top right of your keyboard but may be at the bottom as well. It may also be any variation of “PrtSc”, “PrntScrn”, or “Print Scr” but I’m sure you’ll be able to identify it easily. Keep in mind that you won’t receive any confirmation that the screenshot has been taken. Now open a new Word document or email and click “Paste”, or “Ctrl+V” for those who remember the keyboard shortcut. Your screenshot should be visible on the page now. It’s possible that it’s too big and you’ll need to size it down by dragging the corners in.

Another option is to capture a picture of only the “Active” window. Meaning the one on top or the one you’re working in. You can make a window active by clicking in it. Now press the “Alt” key at the same time as the “PrtSc” key. When you paste this screenshot you will only see the active window and the size is determined by the size of the window when you took the screenshot.

A third option, if you really want to get fancy, is to use the “Snipping Tool”. You access this little program via Start MenuAll ProgramsAccessoriesSnipping Tool or just type it in the search field of the Start Menu. This program allows you to select only a very specific part of your screen. When you click on Snipping Tool, a small window will open. At the top of the window you’ll need to click “New” to start your snip. You can also click the down arrow next to it and choose from Free Form, Rectangle, Window or Full-Screen Snip. When you do this your window will shade and you will see that your mouse cursor has turned into a plus sign like this cursor. You will use that cursor to click and drag to make your snip selection. This may take a little practice. If you mess up, just click “New” again and start over. As a more advanced option, play around with the other menu items in the Snipping Tool to learn to make notes and annotate your screenshot and save as a pic file.

Trust me, after you’ve mastered this little skill and use it, support people everywhere will appreciate your efforts for helping with troubleshooting and it will hopefully help to find a resolution much sooner.

Employee Online Survey Winners and Recap

Fri, February 19, 2016 Published by

Thank you to those of you that completed the recent Employee Online Satisfaction and Benefits survey!  230 of 425 staff members (54%) participated in the short survey.  Of the 230 respondents, we had 61% of eligible full-time staff respond and 37% of eligible part-time staff respond, so we were shy of the 85% participation goal, but still had pretty good response overall for this first attempt at our own internal survey.

As a thank you for your time, all participants that let us know they completed the survey were entered into a raffle for exciting prizes.  Please be sure the following winners come to HR at their earliest convenience to claim their prize:

  • Constantin Iovite (Dining) – $50 Target Gift Card
  • Tyra Mirabal (Housekeeping) – $50 Target Gift Card
  • Mahree Morin (Marketing) – Box of Cerreta’s Gourmet Chocolates

Specific details from the survey will be shared at the March All Staff Meeting.  Save the date – March 24th at 2:30PM in the Life Center!

Black History Month

Fri, February 19, 2016 Published by

black-hist-IMG_1772February is Black History Month and Beatitudes Campus provided the 3rd Annual Black History Month Program with great flair and panache. On Thursday, February 18th, this year’s event centered on a music festival theme and was a spectacular gathering of residents, staff, and guests. The program featured piano playing, singing, readings, and dancing. Music history facts were shared by the readers and touched on topics such as how:

  • Music helped preserve the African culture when slavery occurred
  • The musical influences of jazz and the blues brought our great nation together
  • The Freedom Riders’ songs rang through the streets during the Civil Rights Movement

The program also paid tribute to B.B. King, an African American blues musician, who was named “The King of Blues” during his career and who believed that “Music was the way to the heart” with his lady guitar! It was an amazing celebration of music!

black-hist-IMG_1758As with any program of this magnitude, many thank you’s must be shared. It could not have been possible without the participation of Beatitudes Campus residents Louis Smith, Barbara Beerling, Doris Lyke and Dosia Carlson who highlighted the show with singing and playing the piano! Shirley Kendrick and Ella Adams (members of the Campus Housekeeping Department) showed up and cleaned the dance floor putting on an amazing performance of “Baby Love” by the Supremes with Chris Mason (Life Enrichment). I must also give a shout out to the staff in the Health Care Center and Housekeeping Departments that graced the dance floor in a praise dance performance, shared quote filled readings, and so much more!

black-hist-IMG_1756Special thanks must be given to Josie Gay (Staffing Coordinator, Health Care Center, 17 year Campus employee) and Chris Mason (Life Enrichment Specialist, Health Care Center, 9 month Campus employee and a firecracker recruit from Wisconsin last spring). Josie was the original catalyst behind the Black History Month program three years ago and just when we thought her energy and passion couldn’t be matched, she teamed up with Chris. These ladies tirelessly planned, encouraged, practiced and executed an educational and fun event in addition to their daily work here at the Campus. Co-planner Chris Mason stated, “We just want to thank everyone who participated, especially our audience, we couldn’t have asked for a more involved and encouraging crowd.” Our congratulations also go out to,  Louise McCarthy and Bob Mulligan, who each won a raffle prize of an amazing gift basket full of unique items put together by the Black History Committee. Enjoy!
If you missed the show, never fear, video clips will be available on the Community Website soon. I also encourage you to get in touch with Josie (@jgay) or Chris (@cmason) if you have an interest in helping with the 4th Annual Black History Program in 2017. As they say, “There’s no business like show business!” Have a wonderful week! *

Beatitudes Employee Earns U.S. Citizenship

Tue, February 16, 2016 Published by
Ma Twin, Laundry Member since 2010

Ma Twin, Laundry Member since 2010

It is with great excitement that we share Ma Twin (Laundry) has recently earned her U.S. Citizenship!  Ma has worked in the Beatitudes Campus laundry department since September of 2010.  She always has a smile on her face and it is obvious she loves her work here.  Her supervisor, Angie Miller, shared that although it was difficult and challenging at times, she is so proud of Ma for sticking with her studies and improving both her English speaking and writing skills. Congrats again, Ma!  Your friends at Beatitudes Campus are proud of you too!

Tech Tip Tuesday: You’re Invited!

Tue, February 16, 2016 Published by

Meetings, meetings, meetings, we all have meetings. Have you ever forgotten a meeting? Yeah me too. To remedy this we use calendars. Calendars not only track our personal events but scheduled events with others as well. This is why I try to live by my calendar. But sometimes when I tell people to shoot me a meeting invite, I get a blank stare. So today I’ll give the quick and easy steps to creating and sending a Calendar Invite in Outlook.

First thing’s first. Click on your calendar link at the bottom of your screen in Outlook. At the top left you’ll see “New Meeting”. Click this and a new “Untitled-Appointment” window will pop up. This is similar to a new email with a few differences. You’ll give it a subject and then a full description in the main body (the big blank area), plus you’ll have to assign a location and Date/Time as well. If this is just a personal reminder for something like a birthday, you can click the “All Day” box and not assign a specific time. Next you should pay attention to the “Show As” button and choose whether you’ll be busy, free, out of office, etc. Then assign a reminder. I usually choose 15 to 30 minutes for meetings depending on travel time and 24 hours for all day events. If this is an event that occurs on a regular basis at the same time and same place, click the “Recurrence” button and choose how often this appointment occurs. Now you’ll need to consider if you want to invite others to your meeting. If this is just a personal reminder, click “Save and Close”. If you want to invite others, click “Scheduling Assistant”. Here you’ll see your name to the left and a timeline showing availability to the right. Click the “Add Attendees” button at the bottom and an Address Book window will pop up with all of the campus names listed. Scroll through or use the search window to find who you want to invite. Click on their name to highlight it and then click “Required” or “Optional” at the bottom. When you’re done click okay and you’ll be back at the Scheduling window. Hopefully there won’t be any time conflicts with other appointments for anyone but if there is you can look for a time that’s available for all. Now you will notice that a “Send” button has appeared to the top left of the name list. If you’re sure everything is set, click send and each recipient you chose will receive a calendar invite. They now have the choice to accept, decline or propose a new time. Hopefully everything works out and you have a good meeting. 🙂

Here’s some quick reference steps:

  • Calendar/New Meeting
  • Subject/Location/Time/Date/Description
  • Show As/Reminder/Recurrence
  • Scheduling Assistant/Add Attendees
  • Save and Close/Send

Interesting Tidbit – Julius Caesar introduced his own calendar around 45 BCE. to better align the months with the lunar cycles and the seasons. The Julian Calendar uses 365 days, 12 months, and a leap day every four years.

A Dog Named Angel

Mon, February 15, 2016 Published by

Last month, on my way to work each day, I would see a homeless man and his dog on the corner of Thunderbird and 7th Street with a sign saying “Social Security is not enough”. After seeing him each day I decided to stop and talk with him to find out his story.

He told me his name is Richard and his dog is Angel. I, being a rescue dog owner of three dogs, was drawn to him by Angel. He told me he has advanced neuropathy in his legs, loss of teeth and memory lapse all due to exposure to mercury vapor while at his place of employment for the past decade.

I brought food for both him and his dog. After talking with him I sensed that he was a good guy and not a scammer. He just fell on hard times and needs someone to give him a helping hand. Both he and Angel looked miserable since it was very cold. They both were dirty and in need of a shower. I found him a hotel room for the night and drove him there. He cried when I got him to the hotel room. I told him all was good, to get a shower, bathe the dog and be ready for the next day.

I picked Richard and Angel up the next morning to visit social services to get shelter. We went downtown to Jackson Street where the homeless center is located. It was shocking to see hundreds of homeless people and pets camped out around the facility. We found our way there and got into the office only to be turned away due to the fact that Angel did not have proof of all her shots. We left there and headed back to central Phoenix. We tried a weekly apartment complex. He had money to pay but the manager turned us away saying his dog was not allowed. She was too big. This was not true since we heard a large dog barking in one of the apartments. She just did not like the way he looked, homeless.

I took him to his medical appointments and then back to Sunnyslope where he camps out, back on the street once again. I told him I would continue to help him and Angel get back on their feet.

I contacted my veterinarian, Dr. Cook, at Lookout Mountain Vet Clinic in Moon Valley. I asked if he could donate spay and shots for Angel. He offered to do microchip ID, all shots, and spay for just $100, his cost. I then needed to find a place for Angel to recover from her surgery. I contacted Second Home Pet Resort also in Moon Valley. Jordan, the director, offered a week stay and bath for free. Both places deserve a big thank you for their kindness.

During my weekly visits with Richard at his “work corner” I was amazed and pleased by the outpouring of support from drivers stopping to help. Angel was supplied with bags of food, treats and doggie vests to keep warm. Richard got money, food, gift cards and clothes. It was nice to see that there still is some compassion in our world these days.

Halo Animal Rescue Thrift store had a customer buy a brand new dog vest from PetSmart. Angel loved wearing it. Michelle, at the Halo store, has offered to help furnish a place once Richard is settled. The outpouring continues. Everyone to whom I tell the story offers to help.

I am now working on finding Richard a new home, either an affordable guest house, trailer park home, or apartment so that he can once again feel good about himself and look forward to each day once again. So you see, angels come to us in the most unexpected ways. Angel, his dog and companion for her three years of life, beckoned me to approach them. Her eyes said please help us. She truly is his guardian angel.
I have learned a lot from my befriending Richard and Angel. I found parts of me that were buried deep inside. The joy I feel in helping them is so rewarding. The fact that I can make someone’s or an animal’s life better makes it all worth doing.

I now am so thankful that I have our home, my partner David of 17 years and my career at the Gift Shop at Beatitudes Campus to support us. God has blessed my life. He has given me the means to help others. Giving and sharing is what life is all about. So, thank you to a very special dog named Angel. *

Tech Tip Tuesday: How Do You Do? I Mean Undo?

Thu, February 11, 2016 Published by

Ever make a mistake? Yeah me neither … NOT! Don’t you sometimes wish you could just click a button real quick and undo what you just did? Well guess what. You can! At least when it comes to Microsoft Office anyways. 🙂  There’s a simple little command that I actually use very often called “Undo”. And just in case you Undo something you really wanted to do but don’t realize until you Undid, there’s a “Redo” for you too. Sounds like a Dr. Seuss book, huh?

So let’s say you’re typing along in a new email and accidentally misspell a word. It’s pretty easy to simply backspace a few times and retype it. Right? But what if you just cut and pasted a whole paragraph or maybe just applied a font format you decide you don’t like. All you have to do is “Undo”. You don’t have to select or highlight anything. Clicking the “Undo” button reverses the last action you made no matter what it was. And it works more than once. You can actually click it up to 100 times. And once you’ve clicked the Undo undo, a Redo  redo appears. Or if you really like what you did and want to do it again and again you can click Repeat  repeat. You can access these commands via several options in any Microsoft Office product.  The keyboard commands are Ctrl+Z to Undo and Ctrl+Y to Redo and Repeat. Otherwise you can find them in the menu bars depending on your version of Office. I’ll leave a couple of examples below. Happy editing.

office-ribon

edit-menu

arrow-to-undo

quick-access-toolbar

National AMD and Low-Vision Awareness Month

Wed, February 10, 2016 Published by

By Mark Pelkey, Mildred Bulpitt Memorial
Low-Vision Support Group Co-Facilitator

February is National Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Low Vision Awareness Month. Many of our fellow residents, like myself, find our environment to be somewhat challenging due to issues relating to low vision. Fortunately, a visionary woman (pun intended) here on campus founded a support group dedicated to addressing the issues of the visually impaired.

The Mildred Bulpitt Memorial Low Vision Group meets on the second Friday of each month to share resources and support for those of us who are coping with varying degrees of vision loss. We publish a reference list of eye doctors, optometrists, and local organizations that provide services for the visually impaired. Included on this list are specialists who treat macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa and, of course, the more commonplace near and farsightedness.

Our reference collection also includes information about Guide Dogs for the Blind, Veterans Administration contact numbers, access to campus and off-campus transportation services, local pharmacies, grocery stores and more.

At our meetings, we share news and information about the latest developments in eye care and technological advancements available to the low vision community. Technologies such as Talking Books, Audible.com, e-book readers, and various other programs and computer enhancements make dealing with a darkened or blurred world less stressful. The Mildred Bulpitt Memorial Low Vision Group strives to make certain that information about these products and services is readily available here at Beatitudes Campus. A further goal is the encouragement of a compassionate environment that ensures a level of comfort, not only for those of us with low vision, but the rest of campus residents as well.

As previously noted, February is National AMD and Low Vision Awareness Month, and you’ll be seeing some of your fellow residents sporting buttons announcing that we have low vision. We with low vision may not recognize even our close friends at times, and the buttons will serve to encourage friends and acquaintances to identify themselves when greeting one another. Also, sometimes we may appear to be a bit turned around in our surroundings or we may need extra time to orient ourselves due to changes in lighting. Again, the buttons offer a quick and simple explanation to any helpful observer.

The Mildred Bulpitt Memorial Low Vision Group invites residents, family, and friends who may have questions or concerns relating to low vision support to join us on February 12 at 1:00PM in Boardroom East at our regularly scheduled meeting. Please contact Mark Pelkey at ext. 5586 or Mary Lou Philips at ext. 8371 for additional information. *

Great Romances and Great Love

Wed, February 10, 2016 Published by

He first saw her in Sunday school when he was six years old and she was just five. “She had golden curls and beautiful blue eyes,” he recalled. They graduated from high school together in 1901, but went their separate ways — he moved to Kansas City and she to Colorado for a year — until becoming reacquainted nine years later. It was then that Truman, who once wrote of Bess, “I thought she was the most beautiful and the sweetest person on earth,” began his first and longest campaign — to win the heart of Bess Wallace.

On January 10, 1845, Robert Browning wrote to Elizabeth Barrett for the first time, after reading her volume of poetry, Poems. He was a little-known thirty-two-year-old poet and playwright, she was an internationally renowned poet, an invalid, and a thirty-nine-year-old spinster. “I love your verses with all my heart, dear Miss Barrett — I do, as I say, love these verses with all my heart,” the letter said. Over the course of the next twenty months, they would write each other close to six hundred letters — one of the greatest literary correspondences of all time. The pair’s last letter was exchanged on September 18, 1846, the night before the two left for a trip to Italy, and two weeks after their secret marriage. Their romance, which she would eventually credit with saving her life, lasted for fifteen years and spawned some of the world’s most beautiful poetry.

The world has seen many great romances and as we look to another Valentine’s Day this week we celebrate all the things that bring us together in loving relationships. I would contend, however, that it is even more important to celebrate those things that keep us together year after year, for 50, 60, 70 plus years. St. Paul spoke of loving another patiently, attentively, unconditionally—moment by moment, day by day. Love encourages, it builds up, it comes alongside and affirms the other. Love is much more than the chemistry of our feelings at any given moment–sometimes love is taking out the garbage and working that second job to pay the bills. Dostoevsky said, “Love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing compared with love in dreams. Love in dreams is greedy for immediate action, rapidly performed and in sight of all…But active love is labour and fortitude.” Let us celebrate the many couples on our campus who have lived out that active love of labour and fortitude together for many decades. Let us celebrate love in all of its marvelous manifestations! Roses and chocolates, candy hearts and valentine’s cards are important but let us celebrate labour and fortitude, patience and forbearance, forgiveness and compassion, trust and hope, and all the things which make up the stout fabric of which a lasting love is made. *

Welcome to Heart Health Month: February 2016

Mon, February 8, 2016 Published by

February is American Heart Month and here is a great article from the American Heart Association on how to protect yourself from Heart Disease. This and other articles may be found at www.heart.org.

More than one in three adults has some form of cardiovascular disease. The good news is 80 percent of heart disease and stroke can be prevented.

So how do you protect yourself?

Protect yourself from heart disease, the nation’s No. 1 killer, with Life’s Simple 7® — easy-to-embrace ways to significantly lower your risk of heart disease and improve your health. How simple is it?

Just take a look:

Get Active. You don’t have to join a gym or run in a 5K. Start small by incorporating physical activity into your daily routine more and more: Take the stairs instead of the elevator, park at the farthest end of the parking lot or use your lunch break to take a quick walk. When you’re ready, aim for at least 2 ½ hours of moderate physical activity each week. “That’s basically taking a 20-minute walk every evening,” said V. Seenu Reddy, M.D., a heart and lung surgeon at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.Up for a more intense workout? You’ll get heart-pumping benefits with at least 75 minutes of vigorous exercise throughout the week. Along with gaining strength and stamina, exercising regularly can lower blood pressure, keep body weight under control and increase your HDL — otherwise known as “good” cholesterol. Exercise also better regulates blood sugar by improving how the body uses insulin. You’ll help prevent bone loss, sleep better and feel good. Learn the American Heart Associations Guidelines for Physical Activity in Adults.

Control Cholesterol. We all have cholesterol, a waxy substance in the bloodstream and in the cells of our body. But despite its reputation, cholesterol it isn’t all bad. In fact, it plays an important role in keeping us healthy. But a balance must be struck to prevent too much cholesterol in the blood. There are two types: the “good” kind (HDL) and the “bad” kind (LDL). High levels of bad cholesterol can clog your arteries, increasing your risk of heart attack and stroke. This is where good cholesterol comes into play: HDL cleans out that bad cholesterol from the arteries.You can produce more of those housekeeping HDLs by exercising regularly and limiting saturated fat, and cholesterol by avoiding too many animal products such as red meats and full-fat dairy, and including healthier fats such as certain vegetable oils. It’s also important to limit trans fats, too. For some people, diet and lifestyle changes alone aren’t enough. Your doctor may prescribe cholesterol-lowering medication to keep your cholesterol levels in check. If you don’t know your cholesterol levels, talk to your doctor about scheduling a cholesterol screening.

Eat Better. Eating the right foods can help you control your weight, blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol. Follow a dietary pattern that includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and other healthy choices. Penny Kris-Etherton, Ph.D., R.D., a nutritionist at Penn State University who herself uses Life’s Simple 7 says, “It’s important to choose fruits and vegetables over empty-calorie foods.”
What’s a heart-smart diet? Looking for foods stamped with the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check mark is one sure way to know you’re choosing a food low in saturated fat and cholesterol. Read the full American Heart Association’s Recommendations for Diet and Lifestyle.

Manage Blood Pressure. One in three Americans has high blood pressure — yet one out of every five doesn’t even know they have it. That’s because high blood pressure, “the silent killer,” has no symptoms. Keeping your blood pressure in a healthy range starts with eating a heart-healthy diet. Other important factors are exercising regularly; not smoking; maintaining a healthy weight; limiting salt and alcohol; and taking medication prescribed by your doctor.

Lose Weight. Extra weight can do serious damage to your heart. Too much fat, especially around the belly, increases your risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. So give your heart a break by dropping the extra pounds — and keeping them off. Every little bit helps. You can shed 24 pounds a year by dropping just 2 pounds a month, and losing as little as 3-5% of your body weight can decrease your heart disease risk. The trick is to increase your aerobic physical activity each week while reducing the calories you take in, to a point where you can achieve energy balance and a healthy weight.

Reduce Blood Sugar. Diabetes can quadruple your risk of heart disease or stroke, so keeping blood sugar levels under control is crucial to preventing medical problems involving the heart and kidneys. If left untreated, diabetes can also cause blindness and nerve disease, among other health complications. You can minimize the impact of diabetes on your body — and even prevent or delay the onset of diabetes — by eating right, controlling your weight, exercising and taking medication prescribed your doctor. In some cases, lifestyle changes result in less need for medication.

Stop Smoking. It’s time to kick the habit. Going smoke-free can help prevent not only heart disease and stroke, but also cancer and chronic lung disease. The payoff is almost immediate. Quit smoking and you’ll have the same risk level for developing heart disease as non-smokers within only a few years. *