December 27, 2012

HI, some of you might be wondering if I was still around, and I am.  This month has been hard to use my writing.  I need help and everyone had times to need help, for their family, for their friend, work, church and for people that we do not know.  Yet, I am able to laugh, smile, work, be with my family a friends and people that I met so many new friends.  My friend Rumi who is the Co-founder & Managing Director at New Hope Valley asked me if I would  be on their Advisory Council.  ‘WOW’  I said Me?  I wanted to say: Yes. Yet I needed to go home, and my brain is going fast, I ask Butch what he thought about and he said: up to me and I went on my knees, and I said: YES and called Rumi and said again yes.     

I am inviting to you to come to the New Hope Valley for the ribbon cutting.   Rumi is also in inviting you to!

You will see the information on New Hope Valley.  You will Like it!

  

 Dear community member,

Hope you are well.  I would like to invite you to visit New Hope Valley Assisted Living Home. Our contractors, Geiersbach Construction of Saginaw, have almost completed construction of our community. We will be welcoming our first residents at the start of the new year and we are eager to share our excitement with you. We hope you will drop by for a visit between the hours of 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. on any Friday or Saturday during December, for a tour and refreshments.  Alternatively, we can arrange for a private tour for you, just let me know when during December, would be a good time to schedule this.  We are also planning the ribbon cutting on the 7^th of January, 2013 at 11:30am and it would be great if you can join us for this event. 

You will have a chance to meet Executive Director Lori Haapala, who brings great expertise and compassion to our community, having previously run another premier assisted living facility in the area. I will also be there to greet you.

In case you missed it, Saginaw News and the Township View covered our Community in their publications and the links below will provide you more color on New Hope Valley.  Also, included is a link to our community website and facebook pages.

News Coverage

http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index.ssf/2012/12/new_hope_valley_assisted_livin.html

http://townshipview.mihomepaper.com/news/2012-12-13/News/New_Hope_Assisted_Living_nearing_completion.html

Webpage & Facebook page

http://www.newhopevalley.us/

https://www.facebook.com/NewHopeValley

  New Hope offers a wholesome living alternative for seniors in need of constant care.  Our mission is to create an energetic yet safe and comfortable environment.  We honor the security, independence and dignity of our residents. We believe that each person has his or her own panorama of rich life experiences, and our nurturing environment will celebrate the continuation of this panorama. Our founders have conducted nationwide research of practices of the most forward thinking assisted living homes in the nation. We have adapted the learnings of neurological scientists and university experts to our plan of care for the seniors who will live in our home. New Hope’s carefully selected staff will focus on helping our residents enjoy a balance of the spiritual, physical, emotional, intellectual and social dimensions of their lives.

I am also attaching an article that Lori LaBrie, and I co-wrote on the concept of Life Long Learning.  We feel strongly that the resident centered model with Life Long Learning infused at its core is a good starting point for New Hope Valley’s eco-system.  You can contact Lori at 989-225-8216 or me at 617-872-4267, with any questions.

 

Sincerely,

K. Rumi Shahzad

Co-founder & Managing Director

New Hope Partners, LLC

3785 N. Center Road

Saginaw, MI 48603

Optimal Aging - Lifelong Learner of Life, December 2012

As the population of the world and the United States ages, patterns have started to emerge around what optimal aging looks like.  As we know, there is no “right path” to aging that works for everyone.  However, there are ingredients of success we can observe and learn from. This series of articles aim to highlight those ingredients.

The recognized concepts of human wellness include caring for our physical, emotional, social, intellectual and spiritual wellbeing.   Nourishing these needs by taking a lifelong learning approach to life is a good starting point to optimal aging, that is seeking ideas that stimulate and support our wellness needs.   Lifelong learners open their senses to a vast array of outlets like music, poetry, dance and philosophy.  The key is to dive into learning without having it overwhelm you.

An optimal aging idea that cuts across cultures, religions and geographies is starting the day with an individual practice such as meditation, prayer, reading, movement or playing a music instrument, practices that lead to a peaceful inner state.  For some people deep breathing exercises, morning walks and praying to God, for example are great way to welcome a new day.

In the Great Lake Bay Region, several opportunities are available to lifelong learners. They range from enrolling in some of the 200 classes of Saginaw Valley State University’s Osher Life Long Learning Institute (OLLI)  http://www.svsu-cbed.net/olli/ to participating in the Saginaw and Midland chapters of People to People,  an organization founded in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to promote international understanding and friendship through educational, cultural and humanitarian activities. 

Lifelong learning can be wonderful way to stimulate intellectual capabilities.  Research on Alzheimer’s has shown that a brain-healthy lifestyle may prevent Alzheimer's symptoms and slow down, or even reverse, deterioration.  Lumosity.com is a great website that enables individuals to improve brain health and performance through various exercises.  Lumosity founders have worked with researchers from several universities including Stanford and John Hopkins to create games and exercises that improve core cognitive abilities and enable users to remember more, think faster and perform better.

Another universal wellness concept is helping our fellow human beings.  As the Dalai Lama said, “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.  If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”  A simple act of kindness not only connects us with a fellow human being, it usually has a multiplier effect that improves our lives and of those around us.  So let’s engage in at least one act of impromptu kindness today, and make it a habit to do so each day.-------------------------------------------

K. Rumi Shahzad, who aspires to be a lifelong learner, is a co-founder of New Hope Valley, an Assisted Living Community in Saginaw, MI and Lori LaBrie is the Executive Director of New Hope Valley. Rumi can be reached at rumi@newhopevalley.us and Lori can be reached at lorih@newhopevalley.us