Tagged with VMRC …

Celebrating the Opening of Woodland Park – Part II

Several years ago, when Jody G. started working at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC), she watched a video about the Green House Homes that were to be built. Immediately she fell in love with the concepts and wanted to become a shahbaz, the name for each person who works in the home. I knew right then … Continue reading →

Celebrating the Opening at Woodland Park – Part I

“Now I don’t mind getting old,” exclaimed Marie Detwiler, age 91, as she explored a new Woodland Park Green House Home at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC). She understands the Woodland Park philosophy as do lots of others attending the first of two grand opening events in Harrisonburg, Virginia. After chatting with Mrs. Detwiler, I remembered … Continue reading →

Woodland Park Green House Homes in the Snow

Lots of people are working all over the place at the Green House Homes at Woodland Park in Harrisonburg, Virginia. At Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC) the staff is in training, the furniture is arranged, and everywhere people are making last-minute tweaks. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE the kitchens? One of the homes will … Continue reading →

The Green Houses are Here — at VMRC!

If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time or even occasionally, you know that I’ve been keeping track of the new Green House Homes at Woodland Park with descriptions, pictures from the groundbreaking, and many construction images. The new neighborhood in Harrisonburg, Virginia, will be a special community that enables elders who have traditionally needed … Continue reading →

Woodland Park Green House Homes-Finishing Details: November 22, 2012

Today is Thanksgiving, and I am grateful that I had a chance to tour one of the Green House Homes at Woodland Park in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Woodland Park is a part of Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community, and it’s almost finished! I learned today that when people visit one of the beautiful homes, they will ring … Continue reading →

VMRC Green House Homes Update – September 22, 2012

I get to Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC) to visit my parents about every two weeks. Each time I drop by the Woodland Park construction site to see how the Green House Homes are coming along. The hope is for new residents to move into at least some of the homes in January. As I’ve … Continue reading →

Woodland Park (VMRC) Green House Homes Update: August 26, 2012

Construction of the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community Green House Homes at Woodland Park is moving along. On two of the buildings the outside stonework will be completed soon. The stonework was so lovely that I shot a close-up with my camera.

Woodland Park Green Houses Have Roofs! June 3, 2012

Last weekend I spent the day with my parents at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community. On a beautiful Shenandoah Valley late spring day, we walked around near the construction site and shot these pictures of the Green Houses slowly turning into Green Homes. Two buildings have walls and roofs and the third has its foundation. So … Continue reading →

Woodland Park Green House Walls are Rising – April 28, 2012

The walls continue to rise above the foundations at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community.

Green House Homes News from Maryland

A Kaiser Health News article, Maryland’s First Green House Project Nursing Home Aids Low-Income Seniors, described a new community on the site of the old Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Associated Catholic Charities will run the Green House Residences at Stadium Place. Am I mistaken or is does the headline contain an oxymoron? Is it possible to … Continue reading →

Green House Construction Update at VMRC – April 8, 2012

Easter Sunday at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community Construction Site April 8, 2012 My posts on the Woodland Park Construction and other Green House® Homes information include:

Green House Construction Update at VMRC – April 3, 2012

A few weeks ago I spent a day with my parents, and I checked out the Green House Homes construction at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community. The earliest part of construction, right now after the groundbreaking, is the most challenging time for everyone to watch, because we want to see more than we are seeing. It’s that … Continue reading →

Helping Parents Stay Out of a Nursing Home?

The Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times recently published an instructive article explaining in detail what adult children can do to help our parents stay out of nursing homes. Written by Karen Ravn, the article suggests focusing on nine specific issues that make an enormous difference in the safety and security of a senior parent’s home environment — … Continue reading →

Dale Carter’s Eden Alternative Interview on BlogTalk Radio

The past two posts here on AsOurParentsAge have described the Woodland Park groundbreaking for Green House® homes at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC). A good deal of the Green House project philosophical basics grew out of Eden Alternative, and Dale Carter over at Transition Aging Parents has an excellent interview on the Eden Model at her blogtalk radio … Continue reading →

Pictures from 2012 VMRC Green House Groundbreaking

January 5, 2012 Click on each thumbnail to see a larger image. To learn more please read these posts about Woodland Park Green House Homes, a new community at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community. Woodland Park Green Houses Have Roofs, June 3, 2012 Woodland Park Green House Walls are Rising – April 28, 2012 Green House Homes … Continue reading →

Green House Homes Groundbreaking at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community

Late yesterday afternoon, January 5, 2012, I attended a groundbreaking event at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC). Several hundred residents, family members, VMRC staff, board members, and friends celebrated the beginning of construction on three new Green House® Homes — the first residences in a new community to be called Woodland Park. While most of the event … Continue reading →

Green House Homes are Coming: Following the Construction #1

Earlier this month (July 2011) I took pictures (see below) of the demolition at the site of the future Green House® Homes at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC). In a recent article in the Harrisonburg News-Record, VMRC Vice President for Support Living, Melissa Fortner, reminded readers that the goal is for these new homes is to blend … Continue reading →

Aging Seniors: What a Difference a Word Makes #2

Words matter, especially words that describe people who are aging. In every day conversation, disrespectful phrases such as “old people” or “old folks,” are commonly used. My parents and many of their friends detest these comments. This week I listened to a podcast of a panel discussion, produced by a well-known media outlet, and buried … Continue reading →

Replacing a Nursing Community with Green Houses: Part II

Ideas about changing the nursing care at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC) began when carpets were replaced in one of the memory neighborhoods. For several days residents with memory disabilities spent their waking hours visiting a more home-like assisted living area. The caregivers immediately spotted a change — people from the memory neighborhood were more … Continue reading →