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[post_date] => 2025-06-18 13:22:57
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On Friday, June 20, Valley View Retirement Community will once again shine a light on dementia awareness by hosting The Longest Day from 10 AM to noon—a day dedicated to outshining the darkness of memory loss. Now in its seventh year at Valley View, this beloved event is taking on a fresh, meaningful focus in 2025.
“When we first began hosting The Longest Day, our Memory Lane dementia care neighborhood was just three years old,” shares CEO Nicole Sarver. “This year, as Memory Lane turns 10, we’re celebrating a decade of supporting older adults with memory loss—and helping them discover purpose, joy, and community along the way.”
As part of that commitment, exciting changes are on the horizon. Design and planning is already underway for a brand-new Memory Personal Care neighborhood that will feature 21 studio apartments designed to promote safety, dignity, and independence. In the months ahead, there will be new opportunities to support memory care at Valley View, including contributions toward an outdoor therapeutic garden and thoughtfully designed indoor spaces.
In the spirit of these developments, this year’s Longest Day event will focus less on fundraising and more on fellowship—bringing together residents, families, and team members for an uplifting morning of music, refreshments, and celebration.
“We want to honor how far we’ve come while sharing our vision for what’s next,” Sarver says. “There is so much more to life than a diagnosis—and this day reminds us all of the beauty, strength, and joy within our community.”
We can’t wait to share the next chapter of memory care at Valley View with you. Stay tuned!
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[post_date] => 2025-03-18 15:47:49
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Ready to enjoy worry-free retirement living?
Join us for an Open House at Valley View Retirement Community on Friday, April 11, from 10 AM to 3 PM.
Explore our charming residential cottages and personal care apartments, and see why we’ve been voted Best Nursing Home and Independent Living by Lewistown Sentinel Readers’ Choice for 15 years running!
Discover the comfort, care, and community that make Valley View the top choice for older adults.
Don’t miss out—mark your calendar for April 11, from 10 AM to 3 PM!
Questions? To learn more about residential living in the Village, reach out to Director of Residential Living Amanda Brehman at [email protected] or 717-935-2105 x1300. For information about personal care apartments in the Terrace, contact Senior Director of Resident Services Geli Losch at [email protected] or 717-935-2105 x1850.
[post_title] => Open House on April 11: Discover worry-free retirement living at VVRC
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[post_content] => Residents test a new ‘smart room’ with an interactive controller
As the senior population grows globally, innovators are looking for ways that smart technology can help older adults age in place with independence and choice at their fingertips. Recognizing there will always be a certain percentage of older adults who need nursing and rehabilitative services, Valley View Retirement Community in Belleville, Pennsylvania, took the initiative to research a different approach. Over the course of the last year, the Life Plan Community explored ways to integrate smart technology specifically for residents who required assistance but desired independence and control within its skilled nursing and rehabilitative center, The Haven.
VVRC was intentional in selecting and converting a short-term rehab room into a Smart Room. CEO Nicole Sarver explains, “We were deliberate in selecting this location because someone coming for short-term rehabilitation often has some form of restrictions following a hospitalization. In efforts to support their rest and recovery, we wanted to design a room where a resident would be able to control the lighting, blinds, temperature, and television to match their specific preferences all from their bed or chair.”
She referenced Trends in Healthcare which notes that “access to natural light through windows can improve patient outcomes, reduce anxiety, shorten the length of stay, improve someone’s sleep and lessen reported pain.”
“By giving someone the ability to control these comforts of the room, we believe it will enhance their experience within their restrictions, aid in recovery, and more positively influence their experience when in our care,” she said.
“Our approach was to keep it simple, using senior-friendly intuitive control interfaces displayed on a touch iPad,” VVRC Director of Information Technology Jeff Foflygen said. “It was through collaboration with Delta Electronics (Americas) and the development of their software and devices that our team put this smart technology to the test.”
"If there is something more that we can do for residents, we want to find a way to do it." -- CEO Nicole Sarver
“The Valley View team had a clear vision of what they wanted for their residents to support their rest and recovery,” Senior Business Development Manager at Delta Electronics (Americas) Dan Cremins said. “By leveraging technology typically used in Smart Building applications, we were able to deliver an integrated Smart Room solution that enables users to easily control the room from a simple user interface.”
As residents stay in the Smart Room, VVRC is conducting interviews and reviewing analytics specific to the use of the device. The findings help to inform their efforts and shape how smart technology can enhance service delivery, especially for those within a nursing and rehabilitative setting. A recent resident commented, “I see great value in what Valley View is doing. During my time of rehabilitation, it contributed to a feeling of independence. Although the staff was wonderful and extremely responsive, I appreciated being in control during a time when I needed much support.”
Sarver shares, “Receiving this feedback fuels our commitment to finding ways to enhance our offerings. If there is something more that we can do for residents, we want to find a way to do it.”
[post_title] => Valley View Retirement Community Just Got Smarter
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[post_date] => 2025-02-13 21:26:35
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[post_content] => When people visit Valley View Retirement Community for the first time, many times they talk about the feeling that they get when they walk through the doors. It’s a feeling of belonging, connection, and community, where people feel cared for and seen. For two team members who met on an elevator in the middle of COVID, Valley View became even more than that — it was the place where they met each other and their favorite career. Here’s Nick and Olivia’s story.
Nick Morrison started working at Valley View as a Certified Nurse’s Aide (CNA) in 2017 and says that it’s a job that he loves. “During the eight years that I’ve been at Valley View, I have worked in all of the neighborhoods in the Haven. I like getting to know all of the residents, and I love making them happy. Helping others is my passion.”
In 2019, Olivia Hill joined Valley View as a CNA. Like Nick, she has also served throughout the Haven but primarily serves in Memory Lane. “I picked Valley View because my grandmother worked here for 20 years as a CNA, and she always raved about her coworkers and how Valley View put the residents first.”
When Olivia started out in her job, she had no idea that she would soon be adding another reason why she would like Valley View so much.
“I got into the elevator to go upstairs to Memory Lane, and he was standing in the corner, and he said, ‘Oh, hello,’” she said.
“I remember asking if she was from Amish country,” Nick added, laughing. “And she turned beet red.”
A few months later, Olivia started orienting in Peaceful Avenue (500 Neighborhood) where Nick worked, and they struck up a friendship and exchanged numbers. Soon, they were meeting at Sheetz after work, and then those ‘mini dates’ turned into dates at the Allen Street Grill in State College.
By May 2020, the two were officially dating, a development that delighted the residents they served. “They are very invested in our relationship,” Olivia said, laughing.
Over the past four years, the pair have both worked at Valley View. Many times, their shifts are separate. But their favorite—and residents’ favorite—is when they are working in the same neighborhood together.
“Working with Olivia is fantastic, and the residents absolutely love it when we work together,” Nick said. “Our co-workers call us the Dream Team.”
“Working with Nick is very calming for me. We work well together as a team and I know that when I get to work with him it’s going to be a great night, full of laughter and good times with the residents,” Olivia said. “It’s a great feeling knowing that not only our coworkers, but the residents say things like ‘The Dream Team is with us tonight!’”
During those years, both of them started classes toward becoming a Registered Nurse. Nick has worked PRN at Valley View while taking general education classes at Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) for the past three years, and Olivia worked part-time while taking classes. This August, Olivia will start at the Geisinger School of Nursing, and when she graduates, Nick will finish his degree.
They said that Valley View has been a great place to work as they work toward their degrees.
“I knew that nursing was always the career that I wanted, and I wanted my experience as a nurse to be in a place that has such a good name,” Olivia said. “Valley View has values that I believe in as well, like putting the residents first. Being a Christian-based retirement community was something that drew me to the place, because I knew that the people here would extend those values to everyone.”
She said that the best part of her job is the bond that she makes with residents. “I love each and every one of them like my own family. I love that I get to make them laugh and ask them about their life stories as well. But my favorite part of all is seeing how much of an impact I’ve made on them and their lives at Valley View. Seeing myself through their eyes makes me realize how great I would be as a nurse, and it has solidified even more why I’ve chosen this career path.”
Nick agrees. “I picked Valley View because I heard that it was the best place to work if you wanted to get into nursing. I have always felt accepted here and through hard work I know I can change the lives of my residents in a positive way. Being there for the residents has given me a feeling of worth and belonging. I’ve thrived here and loved every single second of the eight years I’ve spent here.”
This past August, the “Dream Team” got engaged. Olivia happily said yes when Nick popped the question on the train at Del Grosso’s. They are not sure which year they will get married, but they both absolutely know the date. It will be May 25, the day they started officially dating. Residents and team members alike are trying to convince them to get married in Valley View’s chapel. And while they haven’t decided on the location, they both credit their lives together to one thing.
“I'm blessed to have Valley View. I'm grateful that I have gotten to work here and meet Nick and such wonderful people here,” Olivia said.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place,” Nick added. “I love this place. I do.”
[post_title] => Valley View plays matchmaker for two team members
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Open House on April 11: Discover worry-free retirement living at VVRC
March 18, 2025
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Valley View Retirement Community Just Got Smarter
March 10, 2025
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Valley View plays matchmaker for two team members
February 13, 2025
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