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“We’re Green, we’re Grey, and we’re NOT going away!” That’s the motto for the 15 chapters of Senior Stewards Acting for the Environment…SSAFE. Wake Robin is one of those chapters and last month, we hosted two officers of the national organization.

Michelle Goodwin, CEO, and Joel Brady, Chair of the Board of Directors, were our guests for a couple of days. They came to give a presentation to our residents and spent some time walking around meeting people, sharing meals in our dining room, and exchanging ideas with our own Climate Action Task Force. All are interested in learning from each other how we can best work together to address climate change.

SSAFE started at Kendal at Hanover and has added 14 more communities since 2020. They said the key word in the name of the group is “Acting.” The movement is growing quickly and they are about to embark on creating a five-year strategic plan. On the website is a Resource Hub offering templates, ideas for funding, case stories, videos, recommended reading and viewing, and a newsletter. One chapter at a time, the goal is to achieve carbon neutrality or net-zero emissions by 2050.

Michelle and Joel heard about Wake Robin’s environmental stewardship activities and explored possible collaborative efforts. In their presentation they described some of the work of the various chapters and why they chose to create this organization comprised of retirement communities. They said the members of senior communities are perfect sources for leadership to push the agenda. They have experience, they have resources, and they have time to devote to this work.

They liked what they heard here so much that they have invited resident Sarah M. to give a presentation to the SSAFE General Committee. Sarah’s topic is “The Epic Tale of Reuse and Repurpose at Wake Robin” or what is better known as “The Tag Sale.”

For more information: ssafe.org

Operating a health center means you must be licensed and that involves a review every year. These surveys are unannounced. You are under review the moment the survey team comes to your door. Wake Robin recently got some very good news from one of our state regulators. This report comes to us from Heather Filonow, Director of Health & Resident Services.

The Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging, & Independent Living, Survey & Certification Team arrived at the Linden Health Center the morning of Monday, October 7th to begin the annual re-licensure process. The focus of this survey was our skilled and long-term care neighborhoods (Cedar and Juniper). The survey team was on-site for three full days. The highest rating you can get is “no deficiencies” and Heather was proud to tell us “We had a deficiency-free survey!”

The survey looked at medical records of current and discharged residents back to August of 2023. They interviewed numerous residents and family members about the care and services we provide. They reviewed our policies and procedures and asked the staff questions. They observed our daily operations – care, meals, activities, housekeeping, therapy, responses to pendants, our engagement with residents, our infection practices in action and more – and they determined that Wake Robin is in compliance with all of the State and Federal regulations to which we are accountable.

Closing thoughts from Heather: “Excellent quality outcomes in our Health Center are not the result of one person or one department. Excellent quality outcomes are the result of everyone working together and supporting one another with the shared goal of providing high quality and compassionate care, with respect and dignity, to the residents that have entrusted us with their care. The Linden Health Center staff make this happen every hour of every day.”

For the uninitiated, we start with a definition: Fairy Gardens—also called enchanted gardens—are minuscule plots that include live plants, tiny statues, and other accessories such as furniture, fountains, or swings. They’re constructed indoors or out from items you already own, purchased from a store, or things you find: pine cones, sticks, stones, miniature decorations. Maybe pumpkins!

In a small plot of soil next to the entrance to the Hornbeam building, you will find Wake Robin’s newest sitework…our very own Fairy Garden. The garden’s creator, Sue G., worked her way up to this fantasy project through her lifelong interest in gardening.

Through two previous house moves, Sue said she missed the greenspaces she had cultivated over the years and left behind. Coming to Wake Robin, she quickly volunteered to work as a helper with our landscape crew. Her tasks included weeding and dead-heading gardens around Hornbeam; then she thought she might try something more whimsical.

Sue had made a small Fairy Garden in a pot when she lived in Maine, and that gave her the idea to transform a larger area at her new home into something fun. She adopted a space that was mostly mulch and adapted it for a more playful use. She transplanted some items from overgrown areas and added a few Fairy touches such as doors, fencing, flagstones, and small figures.

At first, Sue wondered if other residents and staff would appreciate her effort or even approve of it. Then she found other people making little additions to her Fairy Garden…another small plant, three ceramic dogs, personal touches that added up to group participation. Residents from Maple have made the trek up the hill to Hornbeam to see for themselves. Sue says the “unintended celebrity” surprised her.

If you are looking for inspiration to start your own Fairy Garden, Sue is happy to consult. She’ll even sign an autograph!

Tasia leading a meditation session with residents

Simply put, an Occupational Therapist spends time with individuals to find out what they usually do in their day-to-day life and identifies challenges they face. Then they help to find ways to overcome those challenges.

The University of Vermont recently started an Occupational Therapy (OT) training program and Wake Robin is part of their field study component. Tasia Benham, M.S. OTR/L, C-MLD, is their instructor while they are with us. So far, we have had three UVM students do their Wake Robin rounds and there will be one more this winter and another in the spring. One OT student did her 3-month rotation here. Another OT student did her 2-week observational fieldwork with us and requested a return to do her Capstone research, a kind of final thesis.

To support the wellbeing of our residents, Wake Robin offers Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Speech-Language Pathology. These are standard offerings in many retirement communities contributing to a holistic approach to healthcare. They differ in their purposes with OT focused on fine motor movements, hygiene tasks, or improving cognitive abilities. PT is designed to help people perform tasks independently and reduce their risk of falling. A Speech-Language Pathologist can help with speech problems and communication disorders, as well as assessing difficulties with eating and swallowing.

Tasia says the UVM program is a welcome opportunity. She herself had to find a school outside of Vermont as there were no OT training programs in the state at that time. She is now certified as a field-work educator contributing to the professional standards established by UVM in their doctorate-level OT program. She says over her years of work she finds Wake Robin to be the most client-centered approach she has ever experienced. Tasia is part of a team of six full-time therapists at Wake Robin who all share the same approach to their work: we provide health services to our residents and are always aware that “we are in their home.”

Dr. Chris Hebert with his family and friends at the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail

The Lamoille Valley Rail Trail is a recreation path spanning the breadth of northern Vermont, all 93 miles of it. It is a treasured corridor for cyclists, horseback riders, snow shoers, and cross-country skiers. Now imagine doing that distance on foot, in one session. That was the personal challenge that Wake Robin’s Dr. Chris Hebert gave himself just a few weeks ago.

Chris started the run at 5:00 PM to avoid the heat of the day and completed it by noon the next day. Running and walking for that period of time is daunting enough on the legs and feet, but Chris said going without sleep was almost harder. His inspiration was a very personal and purposeful cause.

Nobody does a run like this alone and Chris had plenty of support. His running group thought it was a good idea, and he had two special friends who met him at various points along the trail all night long to be sure he had the food and water he needed. This ultramarathon had a special purpose. Chris ran this route in honor of his wife Lisa who passed away in February. After her memorial service he said, “I just had an empty feeling, I didn’t know what to do with myself, so it helped to have a goal to shoot for.” His overnight run was meant to raise awareness for Lisa’s scholarship fund at South Burlington High School.

Funds raised through Chris’s effort allowed for a scholarship to be given this year to an SBHS graduate. Goal completed. And an additional bonus was the gathering at the finish line of Lisa’s friends and family to acknowledge this accomplishment and to remember.

Dr. Chris Hebert, his children, and the recipient of the Lisa Hebert Memorial Scholarship pose on graduation day – credit: The Other Paper

If you were one of the lucky residents of Wake Robin, you were seated for an amazing tasting menu of seafood dishes and complementary dessert. This was the second in a series of special meals our kitchen staff has created to flex their culinary muscles and have some fun.

Interested parties signed up and a randomizing program selected 40 diners for this experience. The lead chef for the evening was Josh Krechel who designed the tapas-style menu working closely with our seafood supplier out of Boston Harbor. They had a lead time of two and a half months to work out the theme partly based on fish migration and what is at peak season in early June. Josh explained there is much more to consider than simply what to cook. This involved the geography of food, in this case, ocean locations and seasons, where the fish are, and what would make a good combination for a sequence of courses.

Josh favors the New York City style of plating that arranges food by vertical design…pile it up! He was also designing by color and chose bright accents such as a strawberry gazpacho, beet root gravlax, and yellow romesco sauce. The featured seafood included lobster, scallops, gravlax (cured salmon), octopus, and sea bass.

After the bounty of the sea came a stunning dessert created by Deborah Stearns, Wake Robin’s pastry chef. She has been part of the Wake Robin kitchen team for 20 years and says these tasting menus are a chance “to do the fun stuff!” Coordinating with Josh on the visual aspect of each course, she was free to come up with something that would be the conclusion of this feast. Deborah chose to work with the classic flavor combination of goat cheese, pear and wine to build her Chevre Panna Cotta with Wine Poached Pear. But she needed one more component to finish it off. She quickly learned how to do “spherification” and turned raspberry jelly into “caviar.” Deborah loves the art of baking, but food science really interests her. “I’m a science geek” she said as she explained how she made food into spheres for the final accent on her dessert.

The tasting menus come up every couple of months with a lot of anticipation from our residents. For the Dining Services team, food is more than cooking to provide sustenance. Food is a science and a joy for the chefs of Wake Robin.

We have observed one more Memorial Day and what better time to tell you about a recent donation from resident Peter Maytham. Peter currently serves as the president of the Wake Robin Residents’ Association and is a vintage car buff. He served in the U.S. Navy aboard the John Paul Jones in the mid-1950s, and after many years of service, retired as a Commander. In 2018, Peter was awarded a Quilt of Valor while attending a reunion with his shipmates in Tennessee.

His award reads:

United States Navy Atlantic and Mediterranean 1955-1985

On behalf of the Quilts of Valor Foundation

In recognition of your service for this nation

It is a privilege to serve honor and comfort upon you

Though we may never know the depth of your sacrifice to protect

And defend the United States of America

As an expression of gratitude

From a grateful nation

We award you this Quilt of Valor

19^th day of August 2018 in Franklin, Tennessee

Previous enewsletters had stories about the Trillium Trail Quilt, an in-house honor bestowed on Wake Robin residents as they make their final exit from our community. Peter’s donation of his Quilt of Valor is meant to share the honor and gratitude with all Wake Robin residents who have served. There are over 60 veterans living on our campus with 20 living in the Linden Health Center. He says he “hopes to bring comfort to their families in the same way the Trillium Trail quilt has honored other residents.”

Much of the information we read comes to us on various screens…computers, tablets, e-readers, even phones. The residents and staff of Wake Robin still treasure the experience of holding a real book with a sturdy library binding and protective cover. Whatever the content, a book has substance and weight. It is a comfortable tactile experience.

The library at Wake Robin is named after one of the original residents, Jean Connor. She got her degree in Library Sciences from Columbia University and had a career in the state library system of New York. Jean was the natural choice when it came to starting the collection at Wake Robin. In the early days, the “library” was a couple of boxes of books to lend and share. The collection has grown substantially and is housed in a beautiful, airy room with an adjacent lounge in the Community Center. There are extension libraries in the Butternut lounge and the Balsam neighborhood of the Linden Health Center.

Today, the Jean Connor Library contains about 5,000 general interest books with 200 new titles added each year. It is managed by 17 resident volunteers who take care of the day-to-day tasks of making entries to the database, returning books to the shelves, putting covers on new acquisitions, labelling the spine, and, yes, even creating cards for the card catalog!

In addition to the books, there are daily newspapers (NY Times, Burlington Free Press), a reference section, large dictionary, atlas, magnifying reader, and dozens of periodical titles.

Jean lived at Wake Robin for nearly 30 years and left us at the age of 102. She got to witness the growth of her library and left us all a legacy we can enjoy every day.

There are many ways for residents to take part in life at Wake Robin. There are dozens of activity groups and committees, options to serve on boards – the Wake Robin Resident Association and Wake Robin corporate – or sometimes serve as advisors for various aspects of resident life.

The Dining Advisory Group (DAG) provides input on the food and dining experience. They are the conduit for information between dining management and residents. For example, Kate Hays, Director of Dining, will send out satisfaction surveys and communicate the results to the DAG. Two issues now up for discussion are the reservation system and vegetarian options. The Group will talk through those issues, perhaps come up with action steps, and report to the population at large.

One recent innovation is the Open Seating effort on Thursday nights. Rather than make the usual online reservation, people show up this night ready to sit anywhere in the Café (the fireplace room) and have dinner with someone new. DAG member Geri A. said, “it’s hard to ask if you can join someone, especially if you are a single.” She and fellow member Bob D. saw a way to change the habit. “At first, we called it The Friend You Haven’t Met, but soon realized that many people actually had met other people, even if they didn’t know them well. Now we are taking a more playful approach and calling it Potluck Seating. The goal is to make it easy to mingle in ways you might not otherwise.”

As Geri and Bob have launched the idea, they would like to take a more backseat approach as individuals become more self-sufficient, seating themselves without oversight. It seems to be a popular idea and we have already seen that this ever-changing group of diners lingers longer on Thursday nights.

Food is an important part of life for all of us. Bob sums it up: “Joining others for events and dining is all a part of the Wake Robin Community, and it’s what sets us out from the rest. We can’t wait to meet you!”

Executive Chef Bill Lliff adding vegetable scraps to the power knot

We are all more aware of food waste these days and the need for composting rather than adding material to our landfills. When food scraps go to a landfill, the decomposition process produces methane which is much more harmful to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. This in turn contributes to global warming.

The usual practice of composting places food scraps in a container and saving them until you have a batch to put into your own composter or have it picked up by a trash service. While it’s waiting around, food has a nasty habit of decomposing on its own, creating unpleasant odors and attracting unwanted pests. Then, it has to be moved somewhere else to be used in your garden or hauled away.

At the level of a commercial kitchen, disposing of uneaten food is an ongoing challenge. Wake Robin’s daily meal preparation requires hundreds of pounds of food – fruit salad, green salad, soup, animal protein, plant protein, and more. Some food can be re-purposed, such as using bones and vegetable trim to make flavorful stock. In the end, all unusable food waste becomes compost.

The Power Knot screen

 

We started looking for an alternative almost two years ago. After much discussion and research by the Climate Action Committee (a group of dedicated Wake Robin residents) and approval from the Town of Shelburne, we committed to purchase a Power Knot biodigester.

A biodigester is an automatic composting machine that disposes of food continuously. Think of it as a stainless-steel stomach in which microorganisms digest organic material. Water is injected into the machine to maintain the correct balance of microorganisms while they rapidly decompose the food waste and send it out as wastewater. A rotating arm inside the biodigester slowly churns the food waste to constantly mix the food, oxygen, and microorganisms. New food can be added at any time and the process continues. The only byproducts are carbon dioxide and water from a natural process that is carbon neutral.

The Power Knot is such a welcome addition to our main kitchen that we also put one in the Linden Health Center. Together, the biodigesters process 400 pounds of compost each week. Reduce, Re-use, and Recycle…you can even do it in the kitchen!