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The Community at Rockhill, a Grace Inspired community, is excited to again be included in the US News & World Report’s Best Nursing Homes list. The news organization published its 2020-21 list on Tuesday, November 3. The Community at Rockhill was one of only 40 Pennsylvania facility ranked as “high performing” in both long-term and short-term care.

Congratulations to all our employees on achieving this distinction and providing outstanding care to our residents in its Health Care unit!

To compile its Best Nursing Homes rankings, US News analyzed data available through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Researchers look at statistics on care, health inspections and staffing amid COVID-19 outbreaks, flu and pneumonia vaccination rates, infection control violations and more.

[Read the US News & World  Report article]

October is National Book Month – another fantastic opportunity to celebrate reading and all its benefits, especially for older adults. While escaping into a good story is benefit enough, current research has found several positive physical and cognitive effects. Check out these five positive benefits:

Improved brain functions

One of the most discussed positives of reading is its ability to improve your cognitive skills. Research published in “Neurology” in 2013 suggests reading books – along with writing and engaging in other brain-stimulating activities – slows down cognitive decline in old age. While it focused on life-long reading, results also found that any reading was better than none and that remaining a bookworm in old age reduced rate of memory decline by 32 percent.

Another study found older adults active in brain-related hobbies such as reading were less likely to develop Alzheimer’s. “The brain is an organ, just like every other organ in the body. It ages in regard to how it is used,” lead author Dr. Robert Friedland told USA Today. “Just as physical activity strengthens the heart muscle and bones, intellectual activity strengthens the brain against disease.”

Reduced Stress

It’s easy to lose yourself in a book and lose track of time. That concentration also helps lower your stress levels! In fact, a 2009 study at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom found reading for just six minutes a day could reduce stress levels by up to 68 percent. Another study found 30 minutes of reading lowered blood pressure, heart rate and distress as effectively as yoga.

Good Night Sleep

There are plenty of medicines to help you sleep at night, but one of the easiest assists is to pick up your favorite book and read just before bedtime. While sleep specialists suggest you read in a room other than your bedroom, the Mayo Clinic suggests reading as part of a regular sleep routine. As noted earlier, reading is calming and can signal the body it is time to relax.

Creates Happiness

A good book allows you to escape into another world, following other lives and adventures. This also lets you leave your own worries behind. As you encounter other lives through literature, you also experience empathy for other places, thoughts and beliefs. All these can improve how you view your own life.

“Research has shown that people who read for pleasure regularly report fewer feelings of stress and depression than non-readers,” According to Sue Wilkinson, the former CEO of  The Reading Agency, a charity that develops and delivers programs to encourage people to read more.

Live Longer

But maybe our favorite benefit of reading is its ability to help you live longer. 2017 research from “Innovation in Aging” found that people who read more than 3 ½ hours per week were 23 percent more likely to live longer than those who didn’t read at all.

So take some time this month to pick out a new book – or pick up a treasured favorite – find a comfortable chair and read to your health’s content.

Looking for a good book? Check out these this list of books for all ages

 

 

Dear Grace Inspired Ministries Residents and Staff,

The year 2020 has been a challenging time for us. We have been struggling to keep the COVID-19 virus at bay while dealing with the economic challenges that this pandemic has created for our business and numerous businesses throughout the country.

In addition to these health and economic issues, we find ourselves facing the critical issue of racial injustice that continues to plague our society. The death of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery are horrifying and appalling. We grieve with and pray for their families.

Thursday marks 57 years since President Kennedy gave his nationwide address on Civil Rights. In this address he asked all Americans to confront a moral issue that is as old as the Scriptures and as clear as the American Constitution. He challenged every American to examine his conscience regarding the issues of racial discrimination and racial injustice. While some progress has been made since this address, far too much has been left undone in the area of racial equality and equal treatment under the law. The protestors who have come together across our nation and around the world speaking out against racial injustice give us hope that “now is the time for our nation to fulfill its promise” as Kennedy called for in 1963.

Grace Inspired Ministries remains committed to providing communities where our residents and staff can live and work in an environment that embraces diversity and celebrates the unique gifts that each individual brings to our community. We continue to strive to have campuses that are inclusive for everyone. We join with our neighbors and the local community in embracing the fight for equality and justice and we pray for God’s healing of our nation.

Sincerely,

Dan McKee
President & CEO
Lutheran Community at Telford
The Community at Rockhill

Community Home Services (CHS), an affiliate of Grace Inspired Ministries, permanently closed June 30, 2020.

Unfortunately, several factors contributed to this decision. CHS has struggled for two years to hire and retain qualified staff to meet the demand for services needed in this area. The inability to hire enough caregivers led to a steady decrease in caseload. These factors, coupled with the losses we are experiencing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, have created an untenable business model leading to the difficult decision to cease operations.

We have been working with current CHS staff and clients over the past several weeks to assist them through this transition.

I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the loyalty and dedication of Mary Tidey, the Executive Director of Community Home Services, as well as the entire CHS team in delivering much needed support and services to their clients over these past 25 years.

 

Dan McKee
President and CEO
Grace Inspired Ministries