Concordia Blog

One of the best ways to brighten someone’s day is with a smile. And that’s certainly true, because we’ve seen so many smiles over the past few weeks thanks to the videos, photos, letters and messages of encouragement from our community members and friends. If you would like to send uplifting materials to our residents (this can be photos, videos, letters, e-card, etc.) email us at: sendasmile@concordialm.org.

Despite recent challenges brought by COVID-19 during the past several weeks, we’re incredibly blessed to have an amazing group of dedicated team members who have been working diligently to find new ways to serve our residents and their families each day. And while some of the day-to-day activities might look a bit different, what hasn’t changed is our commitment to ensuring our residents are connected to their friends and loved ones.

In honor of National Nutrition Month, we spoke with Concordia Visiting Nurses’ Registered Dietitian Helenkay Smith, MS, RDN, LDN about how she helps her home health patients manage their nutritional needs while they are being treated for a variety of medical conditions. In her role at Concordia, Helenkay provides thorough and explanatory advice for those navigating chronic and short-term diagnoses.

In the wake of the COVID-19, it is more critical than ever to maintain good nutrition and adequate hydration. Helenkay speaks about diets for those diagnosed with diabetes and congestive heart failure, two conditions that could potentially put a patient at risk for complications from viral infections. Her adapted meal plans for individuals with these diagnoses are timely as they are designed to boost one’s immunity – one of our greatest defenses against COVID-19.

The Concordia Team is comprised of many talented and compassionate employees who have graciously served our mission in a variety of ways – and we are excited for you to meet these fantastic individuals. Let us introduce you to Beth Schultz!

From the Concordia family: Happy St. Patrick’s Day! For many of us this year, the holiday might not come with the celebrations we’re used to. Practicing social distancing means forgoing the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade and group activities. And for seniors in a nursing home or personal care/assisted living facility with a temporary visitation restriction, spending the holiday with a loved one in person might not be an option.

The Concordia Team is comprised of many talented and compassionate employees who have graciously served our mission in a variety of ways – and we are excited for you to meet these fantastic individuals. Let us introduce you to Patricia Thomas!

Today’s post was written by Deaconess Intern Sara Scungio. Concordia’s Chaplaincy Department actively contributes to our resident’s well being, especially during the Lenten season. Enjoy!

The Concordia Team is comprised of many talented and compassionate employees who have graciously served our mission in a variety of ways – and we are excited for you to meet these fantastic individuals. Let us introduce you to Hailey Bigley!

In 2019, Concordia’s calendar featured amazing resident artists – some who studied art in college and made a career out of it, some who won awards for their paintings and even those who always enjoyed art but didn’t truly get to paint until coming to Concordia. The good news is that the first group only scratched the surface of the talent found at Concordia. For 2020, our calendar features gorgeous paintings from 11 new artists.

Titled “Brush Strokes 2,” the calendar features a different painting each month by a resident who lives at one of our locations. And each month, we’ll introduce you to the artist, here. March and June’s resident artist is Margaret Zabor of Concordia Village of Tampa.

For many people, February is known as the month of love and fittingly also happens to be American Heart Health Month. While the month marks a time to show our love to the important people in our lives, it’s also a time to make sure we show some love to ourselves, by making lifestyle changes to keep our heart strong and healthy. Heart health for seniors is particularly important because our heart undergoes many changes as we age.