Cedarfield Cases of Love Suitcase Drive

How many pieces of luggage do YOU have in your garage or attic? Is there a Barbie or Spiderman backpack hidden in a closet, long forgotten by your child, never to be used again? How can these items be put to good use once more?

It's called Cases of Love. Through the month of November, residents and staff worked together to collect over 130 gently-used suitcases, duffle bags, carry-on bags and backpacks for donation to various local shelters, foster care agencies and Virginia United Methodist Family Services. Just imagine someone with no home, moving from shelter to shelter with only a plastic trash bag to carry their clothes and most prized possessions. This collection drive provided a great opportunity to put these suitcases and bags "back in service."

Additionally, Cedarfield collected and donated more than 100 reusable grocery and tote bags to a local food pantry to use in carrying items home.

Giving Back to the Community

Driven 2 Destiny Outreach Center is a non-profit providing outreach and resources to people and families experiencing temporary set-backs due to unemployment, illness or other life-changing events. The center provides vocational training, parenting classes and more. They also offer Christmas Camps that give children a safe place to spend the day when school is closed for holiday break. 

The center requested art supply donations for the children to use during their Christmas Camps. Cedarfield’s Volunteer Coordinator, Trish, worked with the Art Director, Brenda, to collect any unneeded art supplies from the community. They put together two medium sized boxes of various items to donate. Trish also gathered over 20 jackets from the Cedarchest, Cedarfield’s secondhand shop, to donate to Driven 2 Destiny’s Winter Coat Giveaway on December 21.

For more information on Cedarfield’s community involvement, click here.

Congratulations Cedarfield Team - Walk to End Alzheimer's 2015

It was a rainy November day for the Walk to End Alzheimer's this year, but Cedarfield residents, staff, family members and volunteers showed up strong to represent the community. The Cedarfield Team came in 2nd place for fundraising, topping off at $15,000. This total includes all resident contributions, staff fundraising, yard sale proceeds, purple sneaker sales and the Small Steps event held in October. A special thanks to Ashley Bentley, Team Captain, and her committee for a job well done in organizing the fundraising events.

Cedarfield Veterans Honored

Over 85 of Cedarfield's resident veterans were honored during the Veteran's Day Celebration on November 11, 2015. The Henrico High School ROTC presented the colors before Cedarfield welcomed Capt. John F. Meier, first commanding officer of the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), as the guest speaker. The USS Gerald R. Ford is the Navy's newest class of nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, scheduled to join the U.S. Navy fleet in 2016.

Capt. John F. Meier discussed the Navy's newly scheduled fleet, the technology involved and the future of the United States military, as well as personal stories. The speech concluded with Capt. Meier pinning the veterans an act gratitude for their service, sponsored by Intrepid Hospice.

To conclude the celebration, Capt. Meier invited the oldest and youngest veteran in the room to join together in the ritual cake cutting. Together, these veterans used the ceremonial sword to cut the patriotically colored dessert.

Active Aging Week

Cedarfield residents recently celebrated “Active Aging Week,” by participating in new and creative forms of exercise. Zumba, line dance and a special belly dance class were all big hits!

Wellness and Leisure hosted a friendly competition during the week to encourage the community to engage in different classes and activities.

Second Childhood

Cedarfield's very own resident, Martha Newell, is living her second childhood at 93 years old. With the help of her American Girl Doll, Samantha, she has created over 150 outfits for her great-granddaughters' dolls. Read her extraordinary story from the Richmond Times Dispatch here.

Person-Centered Care: Exactly What is It?

A lot of talk is going around these days about person-centered care. Its not a new concept, but one that has been slow to take off, especially in nursing homes.


Person-centered care focuses on the individual needs and desires of each resident, rather than institutional processes designed after hospital models, with strict schedules and no choices. However, with person-centered care, a resident chooses when he wants to get up in the morning, rather than being told when to rise. A resident has his morning cup of coffee, maybe while reading his newspaper in the privacy of his room, enjoying the quiet - just like he did at home.


Cedarfield has begun to move away from the traditional institutional method of care and is implementing the person-centered care philosophy in the health care center. Staff from all departments are currently training, by attending classes and in-service programs, to learn this new concept and how to provide individual resident-driven care. It's an exciting time for everyone! Watch out for more news to come.

Blood Drive Success!

Cedarfield hosted its third annual blood drive this past week, in collaboration with Virginia Blood Services. Over 15 residents and employees participated in the drive. Thanks to our participants, Cedarfield was able to donate enough blood to save up to 45 people within the Richmond community.

From Cedarfield's Dietician...

As the temperatures rise, so does your body's need for water! To keep it functioning normally and to prevent dehydration, you body needs an ongoing water supply throughout the day - especially in extreme temperatures like we have experienced lately.

-Drink up. If you're thirsty, your body has already started to become dehydrated. Drink water throughout the day - never let your mouth become dry.

-Hungry? Drink a glass of water. The mind often confuses thirst for hunger.

-Keep the eight glasses a day in mind. Eight glasses is not the exact amount everyone needs, but a good estimate.

-And while nothing beats a tall glass of water to quench your thirst, certain foods can help supply    some of your daily water needs. Some fruits and vegetables with the highest percentage of water are lettuce, watermelon, cucumbers, grapefruits, carrots and apples.

Pathways to Wellness

How would you describe “wellness?” A healthy lifestyle, good nutrition, daily exercise and adequate sleep are foundations for continued good health. Managing stress, keeping your mind active, tapping into your creative side – these components also define wellness.

Cedarfield introduced a new initiative in November titled Pathways to Wellness which includes nine components: strength and endurance, creative expression, intellectual growth, spirituality, emotional balance, community outreach, dining/diet and nutrition, social connections, and brain fitness. The Pathways to Wellness program allows the Cedarfield staff to plan activities, classes, trips and entertainment to meet each of these components – creating an all-encompassing wellness and activities program.

Cedarfield showcased Pathways to Wellness to residents and staff yesterday, as well as unveiled the program’s new logo. The staff consultants and resident advisors for each of the nine components presented a booth with past activities and future plans related to their element of Pathways to Wellness. 

Happy Memorial Day!

A BEAUTIFUL SPRING DAY AT CEDARFIELD!

Alzheimer’s Association Reasons to Hope Breakfast - an Awe-inspiring Experience

I had the opportunity to get out of bed very early on a dark, rainy March morning to spend one hour of my day as a table host at the annual Reasons to Hope Breakfast, a fundraising event of the Greater Richmond Chapter Alzheimer’s Association. Each year I attend this event coming away affected in some way; however, this year was more emotionally charged and inspirational than ever before. 

One of the guest speakers had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's (affecting people younger than 65). The majority of the people in the room that early morning (about 300) were baby boomers. And as she carefully told her story, no one fidgeted, peaked at their phones or looked at their watches; her story affirmed that Alzheimer’s is no longer a disease of old age.       
At the present time, Alzheimer's is the only disease among the top 10 causes of death in America that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed.

-Marti Miller
 Cedarfield's Director of Marketing

Little Penguin Jumpers

The Cedarfield Knitter Group is currently participating in Nature Abounds™ Knitters for Nature’s Critters™ program, by knitting jumpers for Little Penguins (also known as Little Blue or Blue Penguins). The Little Penguins are the first animal recipient through this program, in which the goals are:

·       To help the Little Blue Penguins themselves in their time of need and support those that help the penguins.

·       To raise awareness of oil spills which happen all over the world regularly.

·       To raise awareness of how wildlife species and their eco-systems are affected by oil spills.

Little Penguins are the smallest of their species and often die of oil exposure, or hypothermia before making it to shore after a spill. The Little Penguin jumpers are used to keep them warm until they are strong enough to be cleaned. They also prevent them from ingesting oil as the try to preen their feathers in their oil-soaked state. Cedarfield knitters have completed 10 Little Penguin jumpers and continue to knit more.

For more information on Nature Abounds™ or how you can volunteer, please click here to visit their website. 

Pathways to Wellness

What is “wellness?” A healthy lifestyle leaves a person fit, energetic and at reduced risk for disease. Good nutrition, daily exercise and adequate sleep are essentials for good health. Managing stress in positive ways, keeping your mind active – these components define wellness, but there are more!

Cedarfield residents have been working with staff, offering suggestions and ideas to develop the existing wellness program. While effective, everyone agreed it was time to expand it. The Pathways to Wellness initiative was introduced, which now includes nine components – Strength and Endurance, Creative Expression, Intellectual Growth, Spirituality, Emotional Balance, Community Outreach, Dining/Diet and Nutrition, Social Connections and Brain Fitness. Staff plan programming to be equally balanced, supporting all components for a healthy lifestyle!