By Danielle Woodruffe
As International Women’s Day approaches on March 8th, we caught up with three amazing women living at Parker who, in the year 2020, are proud to say they have lived a century.
Parker at Stonegate resident Olive Brannen turned 100 on September 8th. When asked how she feels being 100 in 2020, Olive replies: “Fantastic. I had a very good life – a very, very good life.”
That life includes different careers as a telephone operator at the NJ Rail Telephone Company and a Jury Commissioner in Middlesex County, raising two children and enjoying a very good retirement.
“She became even more active after retiring to the Jersey Shore at 65,” remarks Olive’s daughter Anne.
“She was always doing something – staying active and traveling.”
She’s still active at 100.
“There are many things I can do that some people my age can’t do,” says Olive. “I’m just sitting back and enjoying ‘old age’.”
No doubt much has changed over the span of her lifetime and some things have not. After a recent visit to the Department of Motor Vehicles waiting for a new I.D., Olive jokes, “in this day and age, with this technology, the wait at the DMV hasn’t changed.”
Much has changed for Stonegate resident, Edna Barndt. She remembers when her family first installed a landline in her childhood home. Being raised on a farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, she even remembers a time when she didn’t have electricity.
“I didn’t think I’d ever get this old,” says Edna.
Her son Richard credits his mom’s long life to keeping busy.
“She was always doing something with her hands all her life. When I think about that, my parents had their day jobs and their night jobs. They were always busy,“ adds Richard.
Adaline (Ada) Bloom lives at Parker at River Road. Like Olive and Edna, she feels blessed to be 100 in 2020.
“I’m the only survivor among my siblings and I think the reason why is because I never smoked. If I smoked, I figured I’d never be able to pay for college. So I chose college.”
The decision led her to a successful career in library science, working for companies such as Time Life, different newsrooms and government departments.
“I’ve had a good life. I worked very hard. I’m lucky. I had a lot of illnesses in my younger years, but I always had the best medical care and I came through everything.”
Ada’s survival skills also helped her to adapt to life after financial loss when the Great Depression hit her family. When asked, so what can you predict for the next 100 years?
“I don’t know. I never thought about it,” laughs Ada. “I just take one day at a time.”
Like Edna and Olive, Ada credits keeping busy as her key to a long and successful life. The fact that they all happen to be 100 in 2020…that, they’re more modest about.
“It’s just another year,” says Olive. “I’m still here. Well taken care of. I don’t wish for anything, I have it all.”
Parker wishes these remarkable women a Happy International Women’s Day!
By Fern Marder
At Parker, we believe in celebrating successes and honoring achievements. Last month, we celebrated the fifth anniversary or a ground-breaking achievement that has begun to change society’s view of long-term nursing care — the construction and implementation of the “small home” model that we established at Parker at Monroe.
Five years ago, we opened the doors of Parker at Monroe, which was designed using the “small home” model, where 16 residents with similar needs live in each small home. It did not take us long to learn that if a resident begins to become withdrawn and reluctant to socialize with others, it was most likely a symptom that he may now longer be at the same level of cognition with other residents in the small home. But, when we move this elder to a small home for those living with mid- to later stage dementia, he feels more comfortable, begins socializing again and participates in group activities. It takes a close-knit group of employees to manage the processes and services of each small home, and we are proud that our staff worked so hard to embrace our vision of the small home model and implement it.
At the fifth anniversary celebration for the leaders and staff of Parker at Monroe, Roberto Muñiz, President and CEO, described this accomplishment: “From the start, we were transformational by designing this unique small home model of care. It is the opposite of traditional institutional long-term care practices and focuses more on person-directed living. We were transformational in how we envisioned the responsibilities of our care partners and in how the set-up of this home would look, with each small home having its own unique atmosphere. Yet, all the ideas were not successful until they were adopted and implemented by you – the team that made everything we had planned for years a reality.”
Beth Sparling, COO, added: “At your amazing holiday party, I had the opportunity to speak with many of your families and elders. A common theme that I heard was why they decided to move to Parker at Monroe. They say (it was) because of the relationships you have fostered with the elders, with each other, and their families. That’s a calling! That’s something that you accepted when you came to this field and why you have stayed here at Monroe. So, on behalf of Parker and the Board of Trustees, we thank you for accepting that calling and for continuing to remain committed in the future.”