From the desk of
Birds of a Feather
•
•
New Faces
Behind
the
Scenes
Meadowlark
Birds of a Feather
The
April 2015
It’s safe to say spring has sprung at Melrose! The trees are budding with new leaves, happy
green shoots are emerging from the ground, and birds of all kinds have returned to our
neck of the woods. Those with bird feeders often have a front-row seat, but you can spot
our winged friends out of nearly any window. Brush up on those birdwatching skills and
see if you can spot these typical feathered frequenters of our community:
Sparrow
Robin
Barn Swallow
Mourning Dove
Hummingbird
Cardinal
Small-sized bird that
can be easily identified
by its smoothly rounded
head. Favors countryside and woodland
habitats.
Darts gracefully over
fields and open water in search of flying
insects. Builds its cupshaped mud nest on
human-made structures.
Brilliant, tiny, precisionflyer that zips from
flower to flower in
search of nectar. Hummingbird feeders are
great attractants too!
Migratory songbird of
the thrush family.
Common across the
continent in gardens,
parks, yards, golf
courses, fields, and
forests.
Perches on telephone
wires and forages for
seeds on the ground.
Soft, drawn-out calls
sound like laments.
Large, long-tailed
songbird with brilliant
red coloring. Sits low
in shrubs and trees, or
forages on or near the
ground, often in pairs.
Page 2
From the Desk
of Jody Thomas, RN
Melrose Meadows Executive Director
We survived winter and welcome spring with
open arms! Actually this winter wasn’t really that
bad compared to the East Coast and the northern states so we really are fortunate. The spring
Gala was a great success and I want to thank our
residents for all the wonderful comments you gave us on the dinner and
the entertainment. If you
get a chance, you can view
our Melrose Meadows
Facebook page and see
some of the wonderful
pictures taken from the
Gala. The Melrose staff
does a tremendous job of planning, organizing and
making sure all the little details come together for a
very delightful evening for our residents.
Along with the new flowers popping up all over our
campus, you will see a new structure being built on the northeast corner of our building. This will
be a small maintenance garage for our Maintenance department to store all the outside lawn equipment including the mower, gas and snow-removal equipment. As our building grows we are very limited on space, so this new garage will be a welcome addition for Mike Thomas and his department.
On May 6th we will celebrate National Nurse’s Day and honor our 2 nurses in our Personal Care department. Lynn Odegard, our Nurse Manager, has been managing our Assisted Living staff for over
4 years now, and Theresa Childs, our LPN, works closely with Lynn to ensure all the cares provided
to our residents are within the rules and regulations set by the Department of Inspections & Appeals,
which governs Assisted Living programs for quality care and service. Melrose Meadows continues to
have one of the best Certified Assisted Living programs in the Johnson County area and we are very
proud of the staff within our program! Please take a moment to thank Lynn and Theresa the next
time you see them.
Soon our trees will be in full bloom and smelling wonderful! Take a walk around the building on a
warm sunny day and enjoy the plants that are coming to life; it’s a beautiful time of the year!
Happy Spring!
3
April 2015
New Faces
Howdy, neighbor! When you see a new face, be sure to offer a warm
welcome, a seat at your table, or a spot next to you at bridge club!
Jean Quesnel
Apt. 112
Jean moved into her Assisted Living
apartment in early April. Originally from
Canada, Jean is the third of nine children
and a former beautician. She loves to swim
and listen to music! Stop by and say hi to
this sweetheart!
Behind
Anne Stramel
Assistant Manager
the
Scenes
You know Anne. She’s actually not behind the scenes very
often - she’s usually front and center, greeting residents and
visitors alike from her captain’s chair at the front desk. Chances
are, she’s the one who answers your phone call, schedules
your ride in the Melrose van, helps you make copies, puts a
stamp on your outgoing mail when you’ve run out. She creates
your weekly newsletters, daily menus and directs the FedEx
guy to your door so you don’t have to come to the front desk.
She makes sure your monthly rent gets to the right place. She
takes care of new-employee screenings, paperwork and orientations, orders supplies to keep the business office going,
and handles vendors for everything from dry cleaning to event
rental companies. She’s one of many Melrose staff members
who works hard to keep everything running smoothly in our
community. The next time you see her smiling face, consider
taking a second to thank her for all she does every single day!
350 Dublin Drive, Iowa City
319/341-7893
October
Memorie
s
Gala Memories
Left Top: Residents
show their appreciation for the big-band
entertainment.
Left Bottom: POP!
Residents enjoyed
champagne and sparkling grape juice with
their beef tenderloin
and lobster tail. Now
that’s what we call a
party!
Above: Residents Bud & Stella Wiederholt
steal the show as they cut a rug on the
dance floor.
Return Service Requested
350 Dublin Drive
Iowa City, IA 52246
PRSRT. STD.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Iowa City, IA
Permit #001