Paul Ballard, J.D. to Discuss Importance of Planning for Your Medical Future

When: Wednesday, June 24th from 5:30 – 7:00 pm

Where: Sagepoint Senior Living Services- 10200 La Plata Rd., La Plata, MD 20646

RSVP: http://bit.ly/AdvanceDirectiveSeminar (Though the event is free, we ask that you RSVP so that we can plan accordingly.)

If you were in a serious accident that left you temporarily or permanently unable to make your own medical decisions, who would make them for you?

Sagepoint Senior Living Services is pleased to present Paul Ballard, J.D., Assistant Attorney General, for a discussion on what advance healthcare directives are and why they are so crucial for everyone to have. The discussion will cover how you can take control of your healthcare decisions by creating an advance directive. Should a situation ever arise where you are no longer able to make healthcare choices yourself, having an advance directive can provide great comfort to you and your family.

Making Sense of Living Wills and Other Advance Directives is the first of Sagepoint’s Community Education Series. The purpose of this series is to help educate members of the Southern Maryland community on a variety of topics related to health and aging. We hope that you will benefit from this informative session and find it useful for you and your family. Adults as well as their adult children are highly encouraged to attend. Consider coming with a friend.

Paul Ballard is an Assistant Attorney General and Counsel for Health Decisions Policy for the Attorney General. He is also Counsel to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Office of Health Care Quality, which agency licenses and regulates health care programs and facilities in the State of Maryland. Prior to performing his present duties, Mr. Ballard was counsel to various health occupation licensing boards, including the Dental, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Psychology, Social Work and Acupuncture Boards. Before being assigned to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, he was an Assistant Attorney General with the Maryland Department of Transportation. In 2005 he received the Attorney General’s Exceptional Service Award. He has been practicing law since 1987.

More information on advance directives including forms: https://www.oag.state.md.us/healthpol/AdvanceDirectives.htm

Blue Crabs to Donate $6.50 per Ticket to Sagepoint

When: Friday, May 15th at 7:05 pm

Where: Regency Furniture Stadium- 11765 St. Linus Drive, Waldorf, MD 20602

Tickets: $13 (Must use promo code SSLS during checkout)

Come out and enjoy a baseball game with family and friends at Regency Furniture Stadium while supporting Sagepoint Senior Living Services! Tickets are just $13, $6.50 of which will be donated to Sagepoint if you use promo code SSLS. Join us as we root for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs as they take on the Somerset Patriots. We hope to see you there. Thanks in advance for your support!

Game Details

Friday Night Lights with Student After-Party, Police Memorial Night (Tribute to Corporal Claggett), Charles Regional Medical Center Feature Night & Jersey Auction, “Home, Sweet Homers” presented by Southern Maryland Real Estate Network, Pack Your Bags Friday Night, Launch-A-Ball

Dianas Celebrate 66 Wedding Anniversary

Congratulations to our residents Lou and Jean Diana on celebrating their 66th wedding anniversary this past Saturday at The Prime Street Grille with their family! Lou is a resident at Sagepoint Gardens Assisted Living and his wife Jean is a resident at Sagepoint’s Memory Care.

LA PLATA, Md. (May 6, 2015) – Lou and Jean Diana of La Plata recently celebrated their 66th anniversary at Prime Street Grille in White Plains with their family. They were married April 20, 1949, at Madonna del Castello Catholic Church in Swissvail, Pa.

Sagepoint Senior Living: Same Sage Advice. Same Trusted Senior Care. Brand New Name.

LA PLATA, Md. (March/April 2015)

For more than a decade, I’ve been fortunate to be part of a great nonprofit, community-focused organization that many families in Southern Maryland have known as the CCNRC Family of Care.

Over the past 30 years, thousands of people have turned to us for senior services and high quality care- at CCNRC, at our Assisted Living residence Abbey Manor, and at Homeplace, our innovative residence for Memory Care. I’m proud to say that in a recent survey, 100% of the families we serve said they would recommend our care.

But for many local families- and for too long- we’ve remained the region’s “best kept secret” in senior care. So when our Board of Directors and leadership staff began planning for the future, we realized it was time for a change. We needed a single recognizable name that helped link all the services we offer seniors and their families.

Read the Full Article at SOMD Woman.

Family, Friends, Caregivers Turn Out To Celebrate 100th Birthday For Resident

LA PLATA, Md. (March 25, 2015)

When Catherine Whalen was born March 22, 1915, women still didn’t have the right to vote in the U.S. The World War I Siege of Przemysl, a huge defeat for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, ended that day. Babe Ruth had just begun playing Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox. Whalen, a resident of the Sagepoint Senior Living Services in La Plata, celebrated her 100th birthday Friday — with family, friends and Sagepoint staff.

Erin Young, Sagepoint activities director, said the facility’s staff knew Whalen’s 100th birthday was approaching and “to make it as fabulous as possible,” arranged for family and friends to attend Friday’s celebration. Charles County commissioners’ President Peter F. Murphy (D) presented Whalen with a certificate in recognition of her 100th birthday.

At Sagepoint, we’re committed to continual improvement in our quality of care. It’s our mission to provide excellence in rehabilitation and aging services, and our vision to set the standards for care and innovation. We’re proud of our staff who helps us deliver top quality care by these measures and others:

Consistently Recommended

The Maryland Healthcare Commission conducts an annual survey of families with loved ones who reside in Maryland nursing centers. Families were surveyed on the quality of care. Sagepoint is honored to be highly recommended for our excellent care by the families of those we serve.

5-Star Medicare Rating

Sagepoint recently received a five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the highest rating possible. This rating system relies on rigorous site visits and performance data, including health inspections, staffing and quality measures.

Top 25%

Sagepoint Long-term care was ranked in the Top 25% of Maryland Nursing homes by the Maryland Pay for Performance Program, in categories including staffing, quality of care and family satisfaction.

Musicians Alan Yellowitz & Adam Mason run “The Beat Goes On,” a health and wellness program that uses “ Rhythm Enrichment” to brighten the day at Sagepoint for seniors and especially those who have dementia.

“We go around to a lot of senior residences and get seniors to participate in the love of rhythm,” says Alan. “A lot of people would call it ‘drum circle’ but we refer to them as rhythm enrichment programs.” They note that rhythm is innate in people, and participants love to respond and move to rhythms in a way they might not respond to other activities. “Music is medicine,” they explain.

Alan Yellowitz, a pioneer in the development of percussion-based activities at Senior Communities and the founder of “The Beat Goes On,” has been a percussionist and drummer for 30 years. Alan has brought his passion for drums and music and blended it with this unique cutting edge rhythm therapy inspired by close friend Steve Gurney (publisher of Guide to Retirement Living / The Source Book).

Alan partnered with longtime friend and fellow drummer Adam Mason in 2010.The duo have the ability to get people to respond, engage and to touch individuals through percussion with this exceptional rhythm therapy program. Seniors respond to their leadership in ways that often surprise the staff, family members and the seniors themselves at Sagepoint.

At Sagepoint’s Memory Care residence and also for our Adult Day Services, you’ll see seniors working together with staff and therapists on touch screen computers. “It’s Never 2 Late” (IN2L) is an innovative program that puts computer systems that empower individuals to connect, engage and enhance their cognitive abilities through technology.

Using modern technology can help elderly people with dementia. We live in a wired world, yet older adults are often left out. IN2L provides dignified, state-of-the-art activities and therapy experiences that enables creative and meaningful dementia programming. The system is built on a picture-based, touch-screen interface that allows users to simply “touch” their way to find engaging, educational, spiritual, and personalized content that is appropriate to their level of cognitive and physical ability.

IN2L’s technology allows activities adapted to each resident’s unique abilities and interests; improves socialization and quality of life; enriches communication with family and community; increases cognitive stimulation.

By introducing aging adults to the world of assistive technology, IN2L has provided the opportunity to experience and learn new life skills that enhance the quality of their lives.

Reflects nonprofit organization’s growing continuum of care for seniors in Southern Maryland

LA PLATA, Md. (January 12, 2015) – The Board of Trustees for the Charles County Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (CCNRC) announced today that the organization has officially changed its name to Sagepoint Senior Living Services.

For more than 30 years, Southern Maryland families have counted on CCNRC for trusted advice and a unique continuum of care for seniors. The leaders of the nonprofit organization see tremendous changes coming, with triple-digit growth projected for the area’s senior population over the next couple of decades, and new demands on the healthcare industry to adapt how and where these seniors will receive care.

The Board chose the name “Sagepoint” to better reflect how the organization provides “sage advice at every point in senior care” during what can be a challenging time for families caring for an aging loved one.

“While our name is changing, we’re still the same nonprofit organization, the same people, the same trusted resource—with the same commitment to the community,” said Carolyn Core, Chair of the Board of Trustees. “We’re proud of our experienced advisors and caregivers who have a passion to serve. And now, we’re ready to grow and better serve the next generation of Southern Maryland families.”

Sagepoint Senior Living Services will continue to provide an unmatched range of care and services that include:

• Sagepoint Adult Day Services. Professional care, supervision and medical services during the day, in a positive, welcoming environment.
• Sagepoint Rehabilitation. Superior short-term care and therapies to help people recover, regain their independence, and get back to life.
• Sagepoint Gardens Assisted Living (formerly called Abbey Manor). Helping hands and a warm community to help residents enjoy a more active lifestyle and live every day to the fullest.
• Sagepoint Long-term Care. Skilled nursing services delivered with clinical excellence, in a comfortable and caring environment.
• Sagepoint Memory Care (formerly called Homeplace). State-of-the-art living and personal, caring supervision for those suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia.

The community is invited to stop in and see the ongoing renovations to the main campus or talk to a Sagepoint Advisor by calling 301-934-1900.