Category: Press

When Jeanine Semon’s husband, Ed, used to leave for work every morning around 7:30 a.m., he would advise her to stay off the phone until after noon. “That’s all he’d say,” said Jeanine, with a chuckle. “He knew my high-energy painting time was nine in the morning. And then after 12:30, he knew I’d painted. And he was right.” Ed Semon recently passed (April 25, 2022), but even while grieving, Jeanine can still feel his quiet support in her artistic endeavors. “I’ve been painting for more than 65 years,” said Jeanine. “In all that time, Ed never had an opinion, a preference about my work, neither criticism nor compliments. All he did was go along with what I wanted and he was always there to help with the children or cooking or whatever I needed, whether it was driving the car to New Mexico and West Virginia to show and teach, or to art museums and galleries in Chicago and Madison. He was a wonderful man.” Jeanine Gassman grew up in Portage, Wisconsin. She attended University of Wisconsin in Madison for a year, then transferred to Parsons School of Design in New York to study costume design. Disappointed in her New York choice, Jeanine decided to leave Parsons and New York and return to Milwaukee, taking art classes at the two arts schools available. “They were mediocre classes,” said Jeanine. “So, I left and got a job working at the Red Cross.” It was during that time that Jeanine met Ed Semon. They married and had two boys, Bruce and Jesse. Later, Betsy would follow. One day when she was 26, Jeanine took her sons—so small they occupied the same buggy—to the Milwaukee Jewish Community Center. There was an art show on view. “I didn’t know there was an art exhibit,” said Jeanine. “I looked at the paintings, and was electrified. I went out to the desk and asked where the art had come from, and they said that there was an art class on Wednesday nights at seven. I said, ‘That sounds perfect.’ “The following Wednesday, I was in that class, and from there I never stopped painting.” In the beginning, Jeanine concentrated on Wisconsin landscapes. She grew to love the native American philosophy of nature and its respect for creatures and trees. She made jewelry and learned stain glass. She began to have galleries of her own, and she taught art classes in Menomonee Falls, Wisc., Flagstaff, Arizona, and Rome, Italy. “I was always meeting people that connected me,” said Jeanine. “I’m a person that opens the door when it’s offered.” Jeanine describes her work as “healing art,” images that “give joy, comfort, and make you feel good.” She said a friend undergoing chemotherapy set up Jeanine’s dolphin prints in her treatment room for comfort. The hospital in Menomenee Falls where she and Ed raised their family has Jeanine’s paintings on their walls. When Betsy was in school all day, Jeanine returned to the University of Wisconsin part time taking two classes each semester. She graduated with a bachelor of fine arts at age 48. That was in 1978. “I loved every minute of it,” she said. “It didn’t make any difference to me that it was taking a while. I was in no hurry.” Jeanine’s art was a constant by then as Ed taught school and wrote books. Many a winter the couple rented space in Oregon to visit Betsy who had taken a job at KEX Radio in Portland. During one of their stays, Ed suffered a stroke, and the pair moved to an assisted living facility. Several years ago, Jeanine and Ed moved to Rose Schnitzer Manor at Cedar Sinai Park. “There are a lot of good, interesting people here, and wonderful activities,” said Jeanine. “I am a people person, and that’s why I live here.” In May, Jeanine’s work was displayed outside the Manor’s May Café, and she is considering teaching a class to residents. She is writing her third book about art. There are several large canvasses in her apartment upon which she has sketched emerging scenes, some in colors she has never tried before. She is hoping to exhibit her work soon at the Hillsdale library, since her first exhibit was in her hometown library and she loves books. “This one is a series on creation,” said Jeanine, unrolling a set of five prints. “It is interesting because I discovered something psychologically about myself. Every one of these paintings has an exit. There’s a place to go out. There is freedom. “These guys are coming out of the water and they’re floating and they can get out; there’s always an escape, a place to move beyond. These characters started as horses and as they migrated to the sides of the frame, becoming a different sort of water-sky creature. “They represent passages and freedom to me. You know, you can’t keep animals alive and healthy by putting them in a protected place; they need to be able to mix their genes freely to survive.” Jeanine is on a brief painting hiatus while she mourns Ed. But she wants people to know that ideas don’t have an age limit. “I think people ought to know that when you’re 92, creativity is still coming,” she said. “When Ed was sleeping, I had so many ideas in the evening. I think it’s healthy to see that older people can achieve.” For information on Jeanine’s books, go to amazon.com or jeaninesdream.com. ###

One of the beauties of residing in an assisted living community is that there are always new ideas to share and challenges for solving! Residents with decades of life experience bring their thoughts and interests to Rose Schnitzer Manor to lead activities and take lives in a new direction. “Our residents are involved and have so much to offer,” said Life Enrichment Coordinator Fabiana Dal Cero. “Some of the new activities come about through the Resident Council, but many are happening simply because residents see a need and they step up to help make change happen.” For example, Harriet Dietz raised questions about safety during a Resident Council meeting that led to the formation of a Safety Committee, which resulted in a series of helpful presentations from local agencies about security. Eve Rosenfeld has joined Harriet Block in revitalizing the welcome committee, actively greeting and including new members and guiding them in all that Rose Schnitzer Manor has to offer. Books are of interest, and a number of residents have stepped up to ensure all are included in reading. Volunteers took on the task of reorganizing and coding nearly 3,000 titles in the RSM library. Paula Nelson, with other book lovers, began meeting once a week to discuss what they are reading. Arthur Ginsburg takes book discussions in another direction with a monthly book discussion with large-print books provided by Multnomah County Library. Annette Gerard helms the Stop ’n Shop so residents have a place to purchase small sundries. Geneticist Marie Godfrey has initiated a series of presentations about genetics research. A number of residents have begun movement classes. Beverly Nighorn, who tap-danced in the movies as a child, created a seated tap-dancing class, and Jeanine Semon shared yoga every Sunday. Sophia Rose and Spiritual Life Director Cathy Zheutlin co-lead a music and movement class. Pete Brown realized sing-alongs were popular amongst his peers and began sharing his love of music and facility for singing and guitar playing with residents weekly, which was particularly helpful during the pandemic. “We also have a weekly game night that was initiated by a resident, and we’ve had residents offer to take care of the vegetables and herbs in the raised beds,” said Fabiana. “No matter what their interests, we always encourage residents to share their talents with us. It is often our residents’ asking questions that lead us to ideas we’ve never tried, and fun new outings, as well as novel ways of connecting.” To share an idea, please contact Fabiana (4041) or Adam (4055) in Life Enrichment.

One aspect of creating a home life for Cedar Sinai Park residents is respecting their apartments and suites when cleaning and organizing and providing care. Ways to tackle these tasks respectfully with residents’ preferences in mind was the focus of the organization’s Dignity Committee these past weeks. “We all need reminders to respect people’s personal spaces when we are in them and to ask first if it’s okay to move items,” said committee chair and Director of Community Life Jennifer Felberg. “The simple act of asking makes people feel respected and more open to giving permission, and instills trust. “For example, our committee discussed whether residents want their personal products out in the open or put away,” said Felberg. “There is a careful balance between what we think is dignity for the residents and what they feel is dignity. So, we determined that many of our elders like their items to always be in the same spot, while others have no preference, so the bottom line is that it’s important to ask or, when in doubt, just leave the items where they were originally.” Felberg re-instituted the Dignity Committee at Cedar Sinai Park several months ago to reinforce person- centered care (care the resident wants, not what people think the resident wants). The group meets monthly to discuss ways to promote dignity on campus. “The focus on respect in resident apartments was our topic for April,” said Felberg. “A group from our committee is now developing a flier for sharing with all staff on the topic.” To kick off the May exercise Felberg re-created how a resident with vision/hearing loss and limited mobility might feel when presented with a meal (see photo with human resources coordinator Cara Balske (left) and Felberg). “It’s good to put yourself in the shoes of someone else to see what they are dealing with on a daily basis,” said Felberg. “I think this is an important exercise to share with others in service so they understand that the people for which they are caring can’t always see or hear or move well, and that the care provided needs to be adjusted accordingly.” The committee has also worked on ideas to ensure people’s names are known and used, and for May, will explore ways to let everyone know they make a difference in our community. Said Felberg: “It’s important that we all take care of one another, and that’s what the Dignity Committee is here for, to enhance a culture where we are all a family.”   ###

Staff who have a question about caring for residents with dementia need to look no further than Heather Hess. The Interim Sinai In-Home Care Director is the only Positive Approach to Care (PAC) Certified Independent Trainers in the Portland-area, having recently completed the intensive certification process. “The certification courses were really kind of awesome because I got a true understanding of the brain and why dementia is happening,” said Hess, 44, who joined Cedar Sinai Park nearly eight years ago as a caregiver in the Harold Schnitzer Center for Living. “You have pre-coursework before the certification classes, and then the coursework, and then lots of hands-on afterwards to put on a workshop for others about what you’ve learned. And I was working full-time on top of those responsibilities. “To gain certification, I ended up training all of our caregivers for In-Home Care, so now all of our staff has advanced training in dementia care and they understand the expectations,” added Hess. “Our caregivers now have a level of education in dementia care that sets us apart from everyone else in the local senior living industry. “The knowledge and skills our staff have are challenging to learn, but they said they now feel like they have a toolbox to work from and can handle clients with Alzheimer’s and behavioral issues much better. They get so excited and proud of themselves when the techniques they’ve learned work.” PAC is an organization founded by nationally-recognized dementia expert Teepa Snow, who has developed a widely-respected person-centered and engagement-driven philosophy designed to support those living with brain change in a more positive and respectful way. An estimated 6.2 million Americans age 65 and older were living with Alzheimer’s dementia in 2021 and that number was projected to rise to almost 13 million by 2050. One in three seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or another dementia—more than breast and prostate cancer combined. “Learning how the brain works and advancing your knowledge as the disease advances is so critical,” says Hess. “There is so much we still don’t know. There are more than 250 types of dementia! We need to be prepared and ready to handle the influx of people who will need care. “I’m so excited that we now have a consistent tool for us to use.” Hess wanted to be a caregiver from a young age. “I was in and out of foster care as a kid so I did not have a stable family. Family and taking care of people was the only way I could connect and give back for a loss that I was feeling growing up.” She started out at age 15 as a hospital candy striper in Ukiah, California, through an ROTC program, changing bed pans and re-positioning catheters among other patient duties. “Those positions don’t even exist anymore,” said Hess, with a laugh. “It was a very emotional job and it really impacted me at 15. I learned that what we do from when people get sick to when they die is what matters in life.” Hess earned a bachelor of arts in early childhood development while pregnant with her first child, who is high-functioning autistic, desiring extra skills to help her daughter. “And then my husband and I moved to Oregon to take care of my elderly in-laws, so caregiving professionally was already kind of naturally lining up with what I was doing at home. “I did my homework and Cedar Sinai Park was the only place I could find where I knew I could grow in my career. Also, Cedar Sinai Park had a reputation for having long-term employees, which is really what you’re looking for in a company. When a place has a lot of long-term employees, that says something solid about the company, and that’s what led to my decision to start here.” Hess was client caregiver for Sinai In-Home Care for several years, training all the new hires. Even as Interim Director of Sinai In-Home Care, she is out in the field conducting client intakes, and develops and updates care plans, troubleshoots, and has quarterly client monitoring visits. She also attends job fairs, handles paperwork, coordinates staff in-services, and sits on several Cedar Sinai committees. Some of her clients are residents at Rose Schnitzer Manor where she is remembered as the “Flower Lady” for the various colorful flowers stuck in her up-do. “I think we have a higher level of respect here than you get in any other outside senior agency,” said Hess. “It’s easy to talk to anybody here. If you have an issue, it’s dealt with; you’re not stuck waiting for a solution because of the comfortability level amongst staff and supervisors. “Our residents and clients are truly are so important to me because they are an extension of our loved ones,” said Hess. “We might not be blood-related, but they live here long enough that they are family, and I love them like family. I really do.” ###      

When the Newmark Dining Room is busy, there’s nothing like having extra hands! To the amusement of Rose Schnitzer Manor residents and the gratitude of servers, two new robots in the dining room—dubbed Lucy and Ethel—are now carting food to tables, leaving servers to manage other essentials. “They are very helpful, especially during breakfast and dinner when it’s busier,” said server Adam. One shift, Adam said, the team was down a team member, but with the addition of the robots, two servers were able to successfully help everyone. Finding staff to fill server positions was difficult before the pandemic and Covid has made the labor shortage even more challenging, said Cedar Sinai Park Chief Executive Officer Kimberly Fuson. “The idea of using robots as extra hands originated from team members in Life Enrichment and Culinary Services. Then, with support from Rose Schnitzer Manor Administrator Vivian Villegas, the team made it happen,” said Fuson. “We are actively seeking creative ways to face the challenges of Covid.” Villegas agrees. “Lucy and Ethel have improved morale during a time when our staff was stretched thin. It is important for our staff to know we are willing to try anything to support them!” Each robot has three tiers that can hold up to six plates, said Executive Chef/Director of Culinary Services Andy Staggs. Lucy and Ethel can also potentially be used for bussing tables. “We are an early adopter of the robot technology in the senior living industry,” said Staggs. “I can only think of one other senior living facility in Oregon that uses them.” Lucy and Ethel have their own name badges on the front and photos on the back to tell the robots apart. The photos depict television actresses Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance in uniform at a chocolate factory where they went to work, one of “I Love Lucy’s” funniest episodes. Lucy and Ethel were named by an anonymous resident during a contest at Rose Schnitzer. “I love it when they get to the doorway of the kitchen and then it looks like they might hit the door, and then they just barely miss,” said resident Gloria. “I enjoy watching them.”

May 1, 2020

Watch our CEO, Kimberly Fuson, in a Fox 12 Oregon special feature showcasing the amazing generosity of Sew to Save Oregon! They donated nearly 1,000 hand-made cloth masks to our Cedar Sinai Park residents and caregivers! We feel so blessed by our wonderful community. Thank you Sew to Save Oregon for helping to keep our residents and staff safe!

To learn more about Sew to Save, visit www.sewtosave.org. Our appreciation goes out to Fox 12 Oregon for creating and sharing this wonderful video!