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1st Annual Donor Dinner Celebrates Our Supporters

Earlier this month, Virginia Lutheran Homes held our 1st Annual Donor Dinner, themed “A Night in Tuscany,” held in our picturesque Courtyard. The event celebrated the generosity of our supporters-residents, staff, board members, community members, and local businesses-who play a vital role in advancing our mission at Virginia Lutheran Homes.

The fall weather provided a stunning backdrop as guests enjoyed a delightful array of Tuscan-themed dishes. The ambiance was elevated by captivating performances by Opera Roanoke, making the night not only a feast for the palate but also for the soul.

Ben Burks, Executive Director & COO, highlighted the importance of community support. He encouraged guests to stroll around Impact Circle, where they could view photos showcasing the various programs and services their donations help fund. “Seniors desire a life with good health, dignity, economic independence, and peaceful golden years,” Ben remarked. “With your support, we make a difference in their lives and their families’ lives.”

Charles Downs Jr., our President and CEO, reflected on the rich history of Virginia Lutheran Homes. Over 50 years ago, a vision emerged among local Lutheran congregations and the Virginia Synod to create a facility dedicated to senior care. This vision has blossomed into what we are today-a community that embodies compassion and generosity. “The VLH story embodies the power that comes from the confluence of vision and generosity,” Charles said. “Whatever our future holds, we will remain steadfast in cultivating caring communities that advance housing, health, and opportunity for all.”

Julee Goodman, our Director of Development, shared poignant stories that exemplify the profound impact of our donors’ generosity. She recounted the experience of a long-term resident and D-Day survivor who faced financial challenges in his later years. Thanks to the support from our Resident Endowment donors, he received the charitable assistance needed to spend his final years in comfort and care within our community. “We walk side by side with our residents from age 62 to 104 or more,” Julee stated. “We are privileged to be witnesses to their lives, offering friendship and support through each season.”

The success of this event reaffirms our commitment to serving those who need it most. We look forward to continuing our mission with you by our side.

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New Mural provides Meditation, Contemplation and Reflection

The courtyard space near the main lobby now features a striking new mural on its brick wall. Pastors Williams and Olivier have established a “Meditation Space” designed to encourage contemplation and reflection. This space aims to be inclusive for everyone at Brandon Oaks, including residents, staff, visitors, and family members. It is part of the Brandon Oaks Chaplains’ Initiative, “God’s Work…Our Hands.”

The mural, titled “Through the Seasons,” beautifully integrates the texture of the brick wall with a painted tree representing the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. The branches of the tree feature inspirational quotes suitable for each season, alongside personal contemplative thoughts.

The mural was created by Sydney Smith, known as Syd the Muralist, from Madison, Wisconsin. Her grandfather is a resident at Brandon Oaks. Syd says, “Painting in my hometown, with a family connection to the community, made it even more special.” The project was envisioned by Chaplains Williams and Olivier and facilitated by Carter Hanna, Director of Sales & Marketing. The funding for Syd’s artwork came from the Brandon Oaks Chaplains Fund, which supports special projects focused on the spirituality of residents through our dedicated chaplains.

Syd arrived in Roanoke in late July and dedicated several days and evenings to bringing her vision to life. While here, she also painted a mural in her Grandfather’s apartment. Syd adds, “I truly enjoyed interacting with the residents throughout the project, they were so welcoming and supportive which made the experience even more meaningful for me.”

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Virginia Synod and Brandon Oaks Partner for a Day of Service

We were honored to have members of the Virginia Synod’s Office of the Bishop visit Brandon Oaks, a community that is part of Virginia Lutheran Homes, for their day of service earlier this month. Their service initiative, “God’s work. Our hands.”, provides opportunities to celebrate members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America by acts of service to serve and love their neighbors.

The project involved a team effort of Synod staff and Brandon Oaks staff creating an outdoor prayer and meditation space for the residents of Brandon Oaks. The Virginia Synod’s new Bishop, The Rev. Dr. Phyllis Blair Milton said of the project, “It was an incredible experience working together to do something to help the residents share their joys and concerns in an atmosphere of peace and serenity”. Virginia Lutheran Homes President and CEO, Charles Downs, Jr., Esq., echoed Bishop Milton’s sentiments, adding, “This was a wonderful opportunity to showcase the strong connection between the Virginia Synod and Virginia Lutheran Homes”.

Synod office staff rolled up their sleeves and took part in tasks such as painting benches, planting flowers and painting prayer stones. One of Virginia Lutheran Homes’ Chaplains, Pastor Meredith Williams, said of the project, “We are grateful for the hands and hearts from the Virginia Synod who came out to help build a meditation and prayer space for the residents of Brandon Oaks”.

In the time since the meditation and prayer space has been completed, residents have already been using it for quiet reflection and prayer requests. Thank you to the Virginia Synod Office staff!

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Brandon Oaks Celebrates the Opening of One-of-a-Kind Sensory Garden

Brandon Oaks Nursing and Rehabilitation Center is celebrated the opening of its one-of-a-kind sensory garden, adjacent to their dedicated memory support unit, on Wednesday, September 6.

While most memory support centers have secure green outdoor space for residents, Brandon Oaks took it a step further and created a sensory garden with programmatic activities for those with memory impairments. The garden provides experiences for all five senses – taste, smell, sight, touch and sound – to stimulate the mind, body and spirit.

A sensory-specific curriculum was developed based on all the elements featured in the garden.  The targeted activities are designed for each sensory area with engaging hands-on activities that can be done with staff members or visiting friends and family.

Natalie Wynegar, Brandon Oaks Nursing and Rehab Administrator, stated, “Our memory support unit prides itself on providing the highest quality of care and facilities, and the addition of the sensory garden makes Brandon Oaks one of the most innovative and unique memory centers in the region”. Brandon Oaks’ sensory garden is the only one of its kind in the Roanoke Valley.

Julee Goodman, Brandon Oaks Director of Development, spearheaded fundraising for this unique project. Goodman said, “Specialized programming spaces like the sensory garden are truly a gift to the community.  The sensory garden was funded mostly by an individual donor whose passion is to enhance the quality of life for those living with dementia.”

Brandon Oaks worked with all local vendors to create this incredible space. Local landscape designers, Melissa Hodgkinson of Fiddlehead Landscape & Garden, and Tim Boitnott of Creative Nursey & Landscapes, Inc. helped make this dream a reality for Brandon Oaks residents. Hodgkinson stated, “Designing this garden gave me great joy knowing that it would have such a positive impact on the memory care residents. I put a lot of thought into creating spaces that would give multi-level sensory experiences that can grow and change seasonally and annually.”

Additionally, Brandon Oaks utilized community volunteers to add special touches to the sensory garden. This includes: a painted rock garden that features rocks painted by local students, Brandon Oaks staff and residents; a colorful mural wall painted by Patrick Henry High School student, Abby Cronise; and whimsically designed totem poles that were hand-crafted and painted by Brandon Oaks residents.

 

 

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Numerous Brandon Oaks Service Lines Recognized by Readers of The Roanoker

Brandon Oaks Life Plan Community, Brandon Oaks at Home and Brandon Oaks Nursing and Rehab Center have all been recognized as one of the best in the Roanoke Valley for 2023!

Readers of The Roanoker magazine voted and selected Brandon Oaks as award winning in the following categories for 2023:

 

 

 

 

 

Platinum, Best Home Health Care

 

 

 

 

 

Gold, Best Retirement Community

Gold, Best Rehab/Post-Op Facility

 

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Brandon Oaks and British Swim School of Roanoke Valley Introduce New Partnership

Brandon Oaks Life Plan Community, Roanoke’s premier retirement community, and British Swim School of the Roanoke Valley, the area’s newest survival and stroke development swim program, have partnered to bring a new and unique experience to local families.

In December 2022, Brandon Oaks and British Swim School introduced a new collaboration that includes Brandon Oaks serving a home pool site for British Swim School and their swim lessons for infants to adults. Brandon Oaks’ warm salt water pool provides the ideal environment for lessons and intergenerational interaction between students and residents.

British Swim School was recently brought to the area by Roanoke resident, Alice Ann Clark. Clark said, “We are thrilled with the initial reception and support we’ve received so far. Bringing British Swim School to the Roanoke Valley has been a joy and I’m very eager to see it grow. Brandon Oaks has been a crucial piece to our success and we’re glad to have it as our premier pool. Now with two locations and more to come, we are able to accommodate lessons and needs for ages 3 months through adults on five days a week. We continue to welcome more and more students every day! Come join us at the pool to see for yourself”.

Brandon Oaks utilizes the warm salt water pool for aquatic therapy, recreation and water-based wellness classes. British Swim School provides swim lessons for those age 3 months and older including water survival for infants and kids to stroke development for those of all ages.

Of the partnership, Heather Pruitt, Director of Life Enrichment at Brandon Oaks, stated, “Our residents love seeing others from the community around Brandon Oaks. Also, they are excited to see our pool utilized to teach children and adults alike learning water safety and survival skills. Many of them have either taken advantage of an adult class or enrolled their grandchildren who live locally.”

Brandon Oaks and British Swim School of the Roanoke Valley look forward to growing their partnership to include more classes in the near future.

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New York Times Best Selling Author, Beth Macy Visits Brandon Oaks.

New York Times best-selling author and former Roanoke Times writer, Beth Macy, visited Brandon Oaks Life Plan Community on Friday, December 9 for a Q&A session with residents. Many residents have been long-time readers of her columns during her days with The Roanoke Times.

She entertained residents with an hour-long question and answer session covering topics such as the start of her writing journey and experiences while her book, Dopesick, was made into an award-winning Hulu mini-series. It was bonus visit for her because one of her family members is a current resident of Brandon Oaks.

On her visit, Macy said, “it is a real treat coming here, a great time to see my aunt. There are so many readers of The Roanoke Times and my books and they know the stories I wrote. There’s nothing like coming home.”

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Brandon Oaks Nursing and Rehab Center Named One of the Best Nursing Centers in America by US News and World Report.

Brandon Oaks Nursing and Rehabilitation Center has been honored by US News and World Report with two national distinctions: Best Nursing Center for Long-Term Care and Best Nursing Center for Short-Term Rehabilitation. These designations are made by intense review of a facility’s quality measures, staffing ratios and more.

“We have received the short-term designation previously, but to be named one of the nation’s best nursing centers for both long- and short-term care is a true testament to our staff and their dedication to our residents,” stated Natalie Wynegar, Administrator of Brandon Oaks Nursing and Rehab Center. She added, “Working in a nursing center setting over the past few years has been very difficult, but this shows how our staff have taken that challenge head on and made Brandon Oaks an even better place to receive care”.

Of the 15,000+ nursing centers that US News and World Report reviews across the nation, only 16% of those hold a distinction of Best Nursing Center for both long- and short-term care. Charles Downs, President and CEO of Virginia Lutheran Homes, parent company of Brandon Oaks, said, “It is refreshing to be able to share this great news with the community, and our employees, to show that what they are doing is working, it is making an impact so great that others are noticing.”

Brandon Oaks Nursing and Rehab is the only facility in Roanoke to receive these two honors. Ben Burks, COO of Virginia Lutheran Homes and Executive Director of Brandon Oaks added, “After a few years of upgrades and construction, incorporating new features to our nursing and rehab center, we can now add these awards to show how incredible our care is inside the building, too”.

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Jennifer Hicklin named as Virginia Lutheran Homes and Brandon Oaks CFO

We are excited to announce the promotion of Jennifer Hicklin to Chief Financial Officer for VLH and Brandon Oaks, effective August 21, 2022. Jennifer currently serves as our Controller and has been a member of the VLH team since December 2014. However, she had previously served VLH as a member of our auditing team at Foti, Flynn, Lowen & Co. Jennifer is a graduate of Bridgewater College where she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Accounting. In her spare time, she enjoys running, being active and spending time with her husband, Darrell, and children, Ty and Skylar. You can also find her throughout the year at multiple sporting events in Salem cheering on her children.

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Virginia Lutheran Homes & Brandon Oaks names new President & CEO

It is with great pleasure that the Board of Trustees for Virginia Lutheran Homes names Charles Downs, Jr., Esq. as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective Monday, August 8, 2022. Downs currently serves as VLH’s Executive Vice President.

Charles began his service with VLH and Brandon Oaks in the mid-1980’s by volunteering with Christ Lutheran Church’s youth group at the Virginia Synod Lutheran Homes (what is now the NRC).

After attending Virginia Military Institute, followed by Pennsylvania State University for law school, Charles returned to the Roanoke area and joined VLH’s Board of Trustees in 2013. In 2015, Charles was appointed as Chair of the Board of Trustees until joining the VLH staff in February 2020 as Corporate Counsel. As his role within the organization grew, he was named Executive Vice President in February 2021.