Southfield

Dessert Party welcomes visitors to St. Anne’s Mead

By Jennie Miller
C & G Staff Writer

SOUTHFIELD — Mouth-watering merriment is expected to take place at St. Anne’s Mead Senior Care Community 6-7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 2.

Mini éclairs, cream puffs, chocolate-covered strawberries. Mini cheesecakes, seasonal petit fours, white chocolate mousse cups. Eggnog, peppermint hot chocolate.

Need we say more?

The Dessert Party on tap for next Thursday is designed to accomplish a number of tasks. It serves as an open house for the community — for individuals and families to tour the facility, meet the staff, interact with residents and learn about the care provided. It also serves as a social function for the residents themselves — the chance to invite as many friends and family as they’d like to enjoy a visit together.

Guests will enjoy a strolling feast of finger food delights in various rooms within the facility, and enjoy the musical entertainment provided by a violinist, a harpist and a pianist.

“It’s a winter wonderland — we’re going to decorate our lounges with different themes, and each will have different desserts and music,” said Robin Harris, community relations coordinator for St. Anne’s Mead. “This is an opportunity for us to show who we are and what we do.”

For families interested in learning about the facility on behalf of a loved one, tours will be available.

“We’ll find out the needs of that particular loved one, and we’ll determine if they’re appropriate for the assisted living or nursing care,” Harris said. “It’s a big decision, and it’s not something you want to fly by and make. It’s a process. I’ll invite them to come back with that loved one for lunch. You want to give them the (chance) to still have some kind of control, and that depends on their level of dementia or Alzheimer’s.”

St. Anne’s Mead currently has 27 residents in its nursing unit, with a capacity for 29, and 45 residents in its assisted living unit, with room for 77.

“It’s really a beautiful evening,” said Hallie Guzal, life enrichment coordinator for St. Anne’s Mead, of the event that was once held a few years ago. “It was very well received.”

Another purpose of the Dessert Party is to welcome members of the community to check out the facility if they’re interested in volunteer opportunities.

“We’re open to a variety of volunteer capabilities,” Guzal said, adding that individuals of all ages regularly offer their time to St. Anne’s Mead. “I have some students that come as young as 14, and then I have those that have been the children of residents who have stayed on to volunteer. The things they do, we try to tap into their talents, so if they have musical talents, if they have conversational talents, we’ll pair them up with a resident to make a special bond so that on a regular basis they’ll go and visit those individuals. Then I have a couple current volunteers that help transport those to the dining room, back and forth from activities, a liaison with the activities department. It’s very broad, but I kind of like to know what are their talents and gifts and interests and availability. I try to keep it as free as possible. The (residents) benefit from having more one-on-one interaction, from the inter-generational aspect of it from the younger people that come in.”

Guzal said there’s a group of moms who have a play date with their children at the facility once a month. The children and residents sing songs, make a craft and enjoy a treat together. She also has a number of pet therapy volunteers who come in with their well-behaved dogs to visit the residents. Cats are also welcome.

“There’s no real set box that (a volunteer) has to fit into, it’s just a willing spirit,” she said.

St. Anne’s Mead is located at 16106 W. 12 Mile Road in Southfield. For more information, call (248) 557-1221 or visit www.st annesmead.org.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Jennie Miller at jmiller@candgnews.com or at (586)279-1108.