NOVEMBER 2016—TISHRE-CHESHVAN 5777—VOL 17 NO 2

November Birthdays 2Resident of the Month 3President’s Message 4November Activities 5

November Activities, cont. 6Marketing 7Dining 8Health Notes 9

HealthDining Marketing

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Staff

Adrienne Fair, Assistant Executive Director 415-345-5077Ira Kurtz, Executive Director 415-345-5080Van Ly, Business Office Manager 415-345-5073Ron Martinez, Director of Facilities 415-345-5088 Candiece Milford, Managing Director of Marketing 415-345-5072Peggy O'Brien, Director of Resident Services 415-345-5082Nicki Pun, Controller 415-345-5083Emily Steen, Director of Programming 415-345-5084Corey Weiner, Director of Food and Beverage 415-345-5069

2180 Post Street San Francisco, CA 94115

415.345.5060 415.345.5061 (fax) www.RGPlaza.org RCFE #385600125

Rhoda goldman plaza

Karen Aidem Carla BuchananDavid DossetterNancy GoldbergDr. Carl GrunfeldDr. Lawrence HillJoan Levison David Melnick Raquel Newman Paul SiegelVera SteinRonna StoneDr. Anita FriedmanKaren Staller

Board of DirectorsNovember Birthdays

Gilda Plaza 5 Charlotte Buchbinder 8Bernard Haas 8Bianca Hirsch 11Adele Blink 16 Judith Nitzberg 20 Joan Haskin 21Betty Larson 23Ellen Marquis 23 Amy Hittner 24 Blossom Levin 24Marcella Nardi 30

Annual Resident Art Show

Thursday, December 8th3:00pm- 5:00pm

Join us in celebrating the creativity in our community. A spectacular exhibit of acrylic, charcoal, watercolors, mixed media, prints,

and ceramics!

Please RSVP (415)345 5084

Art, Music, Food, Wine

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Resident of the Month—Beatrice RobinBea Robin came to RGP quite accidently. She and her husband, Michael, were on a vacation, spending time at their apartment in Los Gatos, when Michael fell, fractured his neck, and needed full-time help. Their son, Alan, who lives in San Francisco, researched for the best place to recover. He discovered Rhoda Goldman Plaza and Bea and Michael moved in. Between Michael’s doctor who operated and provided excellent care, and the RGP care giving assistance, Bea stated that they found themselves well taken care of.

Another example of unforeseen events in Bea and Michael’s life occurred when they were visiting China in 1989. They had planned to be in Beijing for ten days, but unexpectedly the Tiananmen Square uprising erupted. She related that they were quickly evacuated from China on a half-broken Russian plane which landed them in Hong Kong.

Although Bea experienced these major unexpected events, she spent most of her life planning and coordinating to make other people’s lives better—to enable children to succeed in school. She was a member of the first New Jersey mandated child study team created to research and resolve learning problems in the public schools. Bea had received a MA from the Newark State College with specializations in Education and Psychology, and during her seven years of teaching first grade had been certified in the identification and remediation of learning disabilities in children with average intelligence. Bea became a member of the newly-formed team which included a psychologist and sociologist; Bea’s job was to evaluate the children’s learning processes. She explained that there were often many reasons why children did not learn, sometimes due to physical or emotional difficulties, or sociological problems. Not all children learn the same way, she explained; some children learn by hearing, others by touching or experiencing, and others by seeing. In addition, situations in the home can contribute to a child wanting or not wanting to learn, for example, parent’s beliefs and traditional gender roles which inhibit children from learning certain subjects. “I learned that solving problems successfully often

required the team to think outside the box, which made the work both stimulating and rewarding,” Bea explained. During the twenty-five years in the field, Bea said that she and her team had advocated for many children and resolved their learning problems. Children successfully completed high school through their interventions.

“This work helped me to better understand educators, parents, teachers, and children,” Bea said. “I love people and have learned to value differences; I learn from the differences,” she said. “In my work, I learned that a “problem” was not necessarily a “problem” in its own right, but something that arose because of differences in expectations, abilities, or cultural backgrounds. Many problems are resolvable with a good attitude, educational direction, flexibility, and patience.”

Bea said that at RGP there are many different people with whom we are lucky to interact. Daily we have the chance to actively understand and appreciate what each person brings to RGP.

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RGP Resident Council President Hal Auerbach's Message

Employee of the MonthJessica Campos

For everything there is a season: a time to criticize and a time to praise. At our age we’re all pretty good at criticizing, it may be that complaining is a senior’s favorite sport, but we don’t always remember to praise those to whom praise is due. Thanksgiving is a perfect time to

pause, remember, and thank those we sometimes forget to praise. Your executive board would like to thank Ira and his administrative staff for listening to our suggestions and initiating changes whenever possible. The ideas came from you, the residents, your board merely passed them on and recommended them to the staff and for the most part the staff has promptly begun working on them. Examples include scheduled refurbishments for long-time residents, coils to improve hearing-aid receptions, and transportation improvements for weekends and evenings. It’s good to feel that we are justifying our existence by accomplishing something.

Corey and her kitchen staff also deserve praise for their cheerfulness, kindness and patience, and we should remember all our hourly staff by completing our contributions to their holiday fund. To be included in this year’s distributions, payments must be received by November 30th. Checks should be made payable to the RGP Residents’ Council.

All of us have survived difficult challenges, and sometimes we forget to be thankful for what we still have and what good things may yet lie ahead. Let us pause this Thanksgiving to share with our biological families and/or with our RGP family happy memories of the past and optimistic hopes for the future.

Jessica Campos, med tech, has been at RGP since March 2015. She started as a PCA (personal care assistant), and wanting to take on more responsibilities, studied to become a med tech.

Jessica was born in San Francisco and attended

Abraham Lincoln High School. Although she originally wanted to become a teacher, when she was about 19 years old, she changed her mind and decided to go into the medical field, partly through the influence of her uncle who is also in the field. Jessica applied to the Medical Assistant Program at SF’s Obrero College. She also worked at the New Generation Health Center in a front office position, but realized that she wanted a more hands-on job in the field. She attended the CNA program at Arriba Junto College, finished her course work and began working for IHSS (In- Home Support Service). There she gained experience working with the elderly, and realized that this was the work she was most drawn to. Jessica stated that she had taken care of her grandfather and other family members, loved hearing their stories, and enjoyed caring for them.

“I like working with people from different cultures, with varied relationships, and learning from them,” she said. “As a med tech, I like the active involvement—to play a practical and helpful role with residents.”

“I love my job, the staff, residents, and everyday I learn something new. I have learned about different medications, and how to contact and communicate with physicians. I like the challenge of thinking on my feet. I have two small children, two boys, ages three and nine. I am thinking about becoming an LVN, but my dream is to become a RN.”

Special Events 1 Tues 10:30 Tigges Jewelery Repair 8 Tues 1:30 Election Brewing 8 Tues 4:00 Ballot Counting Countdown 15 Tues 10:45 Wu Yee Pre-School 16 Wed 9:00 Marin County Day School Visit 16 Wed 4:00 Joke Telling 19 Sat 3:00 Tech Support 20 Sun 1:30 Gloria Lyon Book Signing 23 Wed 10:30 Bread Making 24 Thurs 1:00 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 24 Thurs 5:00 Thanksgiving Dinner 30 Wed 2:00 Resident Council Meeting Outings 1 Tues 12:00 Presidio 3 Thurs 1:30 Musee Mechanique 5 Sat 1-:30 Ethnic Dance Festival 10 Thurs 1:00 Stonestown Mall 15 Tues 1:15 Mueso Italo Americano 17 Thurs 1:30 American Book Binding Museum 22 Tues 1:30 Lunch Outing: Murray Circle 29 Tues 1:30 Conservatory of Flowers

Clubs and Committee Meetings 2 Wed 3:30 Activities Committee 9 Wed 10:30 Bulb planting with Elizabeth 23 Wed 10:30 Gardening Club with Elizabeth 24 Thurs 10:00 Dining Committee 30 Wed 10:30 Gardening Club with Elizabeth

Literature and Writing Mondays 2:00 Book Discussion with Meghan 16 Wed 10:30 Gratitude Poetry with Elizabeth 17 Thurs 10:30 Script Reading with Emma 22 Tues 4:00 Creative Writing 26 Sat 3:30 Theatre with Amy and Josiah 29 Tues 4:00 Creative Writing Group 30 Wed 3:30 Short Story Discussion Lectures/Discussion 2 Wed 10:30 The Epic Rama Docent Lecture 3 Thurs 10:30 John Rothman Lecture 3 Thurs 3:15 Political Discussion with David Spencer 6 Sun 4:15 Current Events with Jim 10 Thurs 3:30 Adam Harris AIPAC 13 Sun 4:15 Current Events with Jim 14 Mon 10:30 Audiology Lecture with Dr. Balachandran 16 Wed 2:30 That Mystery in History 18 Fri 10:30 Bonnie Weiss—Poets of Broadway 19 Sat 10:30 Supreme Court Case Discussions with JT

Novem

ber Activities

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Art Classes Wednesdays 3:00 Max’s Knitting Fridays 1:00 Max’s Quilting 1,15,22,29 Tues 3:30 Painting with Kimberley 7, 14,28 Mon 10:15 Ceramics with Jeannie 9,26 Wed 1:30 Figure Drawing with Corey 10 Thurs 10:30 Art with Melanie 11 Fri 10:30 Printmaking 21 Mon 10:30 Stone Painting with Emily 28 Mon 1:00 Open Art Studio

Music 6 Sun 3:00 Mary Elizabeth Boutte 12 Sat 2:30 USF Dance Generations 13 Sun 4:00 Richard Faye Cabernet 14 Mon 7:00 Sing a Long with the McCollum Duo 17 Thurs 3:30 Name That Song 20 Sun 3:00 Moon Glow Duo 22 Tues 7:00 Sonic Forest Concert 23 Wed 2:00 Music with Julia and Emma Steinberg 23 Wed 3:00 RGP Happy Hour with Frank Cefalu 27 Sun 2:00 Chris Pucci Opera Singer

Games 1,15,22,29 Tues 1:00 Rummikub with Clarisse 1,8, 29 Tues 10:30 Black Jack with Jeevun 4 Fri 10:30 Apples to Apples 5 Sat 10:30 Dominos with Mallory 24 Thurs 3:00 Thanksgiving Jeopardy 25 Fri 10:30 Trivia 25 Fri 1:30 Bingo with Mallory 27 Sun 1:00 Bingo Mondays 1:00 Crossword Wednesdays 7:00 Rummikub with Clarisse Fridays 1:30 Bingo with Mallory Saturdays 1:30 RummiKub with Clarisse

Exercise Classes 1,15, Tues. 4:00 Afternoon Stretch 5,19 Sat 1:00 Exercise with Janet 10,17,24 Thurs Yoga with Ilya 12,26 Sat 10:30 Chair Yoga with Ilya Mondays 9:00 Exercise with Rowena Tuesdays 9:15 Tai Chi with Janet Wednesdays 9:00 Exercise with Rowena Wednesdays 1:00 Open Gym with a Trainer Fridays 9:00 Exercise with Phil Sundays 10:00 Exercise with Phil Sundays 2:00 Supervised Open Gym

Shabbat Services Fridays 4:00

Novem

ber Activities

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The Olive Press page 7

Candiece Milford,Managing Director of Marketing

When You Have the Right Ad Agency, You Get Results (and are very thankful)

In the spirit of the Thanksgiving season, I want to acknowledge our ad agency, Resin Advertising, give you a bit of their background and why we chose this special agency to help us increase brand presence and occupancy. (By the way, I have waited over fifteen years to work with them.)

You’ve seen their spectacular work, but just who ARE those “wizards behind the screen?”

The creative partners are Jeremiah Treacy, Creative Director and Tim Paschke, Design Director. Jeremiah, on our left, is a wordsmith extraordinaire and Tim, on our right, is a highly sophisticated designer both in print and online. Together they create intelligent advertising that has helped us increase overall occupancy to a steady 80%. That’s up 8% in seven months. We have

also exceeded our budgeted occupancy thanks to this dynamic and creative partnership.

I met Jeremiah in the 1970s when we were both working at Cunningham and Walsh Advertising here in San Francisco. We both worked on the Royal Viking Cruise Line, Pistachio Board and the Oakland Tribune accounts. Jeremiah went on to win many advertising awards at some of San Francisco’s best ad agencies. He and Tim started working together in 2000 and for the last fifteen years managed brand and creative duties in the analog and digital world across the U.S.

About ten years ago, anticipating the “Silver Tsunami,” i.e. people who are starting to move into various retirement communities (74 million plus people), the team focused on and built a national reputation for their expertise in the older adult demographic, mostly in Continuing Care Retirement communities—from San Francisco to Kansas, Virginia, and North Carolina. Rhoda Goldman Plaza is their first solely Assisted Living and Memory Caring community and they plan on helping us become the “gold standard.”

In my eleven years in this industry, this is the very first time that someone has called “out of the blue” to congratulate us on our website. I continue to hear only positive remarks about the elegantly understated design of all our collateral materials, ads and event invitations. In fact, the invitations are so beautiful, one person has started collecting them as art!

So, in the spirit of the Thanksgiving season, thank you, Resin—Jeremiah and Tim—and your exceptional team for elevating our brand excellence to reflect the integrity and values of this jewel of a community.

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Corey Weiner,Director of Food and Beverage

Dining—Eat to your heart’s content

Patience and Gratitude

Patience, they tell me, is a virtue. In November, at Thanksgiving time, you expect gratitude, but this month is all about patience. We can go to gratitude, if our patience is fruitful and the yogurt machine arrives before Thanksgiving. Any day now, really. And, Thanksgiving is coming. Please note positive election results should be factored into the giving of thanks.

If you will be having Thanksgiving dinner here with me (lucky you!), make your reservations at the front desk. Dinner is, as always, $18.00 for guests. Wine is included. We will have a traditional meal, with three kinds of pie, and perhaps even a community table, so everyone can be with RGP family. You can’t argue with that! Well, perhaps you could, but I digress. If you are going out, offer to bring the pie! We will be selling, apple, pecan, pumpkin pie, and cheesecake at $15.00 dollars each. Please order in the café by Thursday, November 17th, and be everyone’s favorite guest.

But before Thanksgiving, we have to hurdle ELECTIONS. So how is patience going to help us in this mess? Impatience (along with angst, incomprehension, and anxiety) will only drive us to eat more than the required daily dosage of chocolate to prevent a potential breakdown. Given the results, i.e. knowing that a diet may be on the horizon, patience might be a better choice....

Now, about that frozen yogurt machine. This one (when it comes) can use a broader range of products than our old one, which means more flavors. Which means—what do YOU want?

Take the RGP-FROYO (Frozen Yogurt) survey, (see first draft below) and let me know what’s important to you.

n Are you addicted to chocolate?

n Mad about fat calories? (the more, the better)

n A slave to sorbet? (any kind)

n Stressed about sugar (absolutely none)

n Watching your waist (only non-fat)

n I will eat sugar-free even if it tastes so-so.

n I will not eat sugar-free. Period.

n Low fat is acceptable sometimes.

n I care only about pure creamy pleasure.

n I love any kind of frozen yogurt, even fat-free, even sugar-free.

An RGP-FROYO survey card will be put in your mailbox. Please return it signed to the dining services supervisors. If you don’t sign it, your opinion won’t count. This is to prevent voter fraud; are you listening Lucy?

So, Aspartame and non-fat yogurt walk into a bar….

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Adrienne Fair, MSN, RN, Assistant Executive Director

Health Notes

Hearing is an important aspect of keeping people socially active. A National Council on Aging study showed that people with hearing loss (who did not use their hearing aids) were 50% more likely to experience sadness and depression, and that people with hearing loss (who do use their hearing aids) were more likely to participate in social activities. There is a 80% chance that if you are over 85 years old, that you will need a hearing aide.

Health Services is actively assisting in improving hearing at RGP in three ways. First, a hearing loop is being installed in the Activity Room.

A hearing loop is essentially a wire that encircles a room and is attached to a sound system. The loop transmits sounds electromagnetically to hearing aids. We decided to install a hearing loop in the activity room so that everyone will be able to fully hear and enjoy all of the movies, guest speakers, and activities. You need to flip on the “t-switch” on your hearing aid which allows your hearing aid to pick up transmission from a telecoil. If your hearing aid doesn’t have a t-switch, you can also use a provided headset that links wirelessly to the hearing loop.

Second, we have invited Rupa Balachandran PhD., CCC-A , the Program Director of Audiology and Associate Professor of Speech Pathology and Audiology at the University of the Pacific School of Audiology to speak on Monday, November 14th at 10:30 am in the Activity Room. This will be a very interesting lecture with an opportunity to ask questions—and you can also try out our new hearing loop in the process.

Third, if you think you might have hearing loss, you can speak with me. If you have a hard time holding a conversation, find yourself asking people to repeat themselves, or have doubts about your hearing, come see me and I can perform a simple hearing assessment. The test takes only a minute. At your annual check-up, your primary care physician can also do a preliminary hearing assessment and can provide a referral to an audiologist.

For those who would like to try a new and relatively unknown hearing innovation, check out the pocketalker—a device that looks like a Walkman and fits in your pocket. It has headphones and a speaker so that you can talk one-on-one with another person. Although, this device doesn’t allow you to hear all the sounds in a room, it can be useful in the case of more severe hearing loss. Best of all, it is relatively inexpensive, costing less than $200.

Sources: • Hearing Loss Association of America. Hearing Loop

Technology. www.hearingloss.org• Walling & Dickson. Hearing Loss and Older Adults.

American Family Physician, 2012 aafp.org• National Council on Aging. The Consequences of

Untreated Hearing Loss in Older Adults. www.ncoa.org • University of the Pacific. pacific.edu

Now Hear This…RGP Hears You

Rhoda Goldman Plaza

Rhoda goldman plaza 2180 Post Street San Francisco, CA 94115

415.345.5060 415.345.5061 (fax)

www.RGPlaza.org RCFE #385600125

Founded by Jewish Family and Children’s Services and Mount Zion Health Fund

The appeal of Rhoda Goldman Plaza is undeniable. Older adults and their families prefer our unsurpassed assisted living and memory care community enriched by culture and tradition.Residents enjoy superb, “made-from-scratch” cuisine that is always well reviewed by our most vocal critics; our residents! While our dining selections please the appetite, accommodations showcase spacious, private apartments designed to maximize space and comfort. In fact, we’re re-defining your life as Living Well With Assistance — we believe our community is every bit as good as a five-star hotel. And, professionally trained, courteous staff promotes your health and well-being with choices of activity programs both on and off-site.

Our Terrace Memory program provides specialized memory care to residents through therapeutic activities that enhance physical, mental, and emotional health. Both privacy and companionship are afforded on our self-contained Terrace. Living Well With Assistance is more than a promise, but a way of life for our like-minded residents and staff who share the vision of our upscale community.

Visit Rhoda Goldman Plaza today by calling 415.345.5072.

Founded by Jewish Family and Children’s Services and Mt. Zion Health Fund in 2000, Rhoda Goldman Plaza (RGP) was established as a non-profit assisted living facility to provide a better and more secure life for Jewish older adults in San Francisco.