Everyone looks forward to Tuesday morning when our four-legged friends stop by for a visit. Residents benefit from the unconditional love and comfort they bring, and the visitors thrive on the attention, petting and hugs they receive. We all agree that our pet therapy mornings are the best medicine and these visitors are always welcome!

Two area sisters are on a special, faith-based, personal mission to spread love and inspiration to Liberty residents. But they insist that the joy they receive back from their audience can't be described. Patti and Cindy have been dropping by to see us every Thursday morning for the past 15 years, and their visits are nothing short of electric! Pulling from familiar gospel and pop rock CDs, they invite residents to not only choose the songs, but sing along and beef up the percussion with tambourines, bells and drumsticks. It's always a well-attended, toe-tapping morning that gets the blood pumping and everyone looks forward to. Thanks for all the love you bring ladies!

The 2017 Walk to End Alzheimer’s was held at the Ohio Health and Fitness Center this year and the weather couldn’t have cooperated better. Team Liberty’s youngest member, Quinn Sciaretta, had the honor of carrying a white flower for the Promise Garden. Debbie’s Footsteps raffled off a beautiful hand-made quilt by Jennifer Shackelford Perdue,

One of the highlights of Liberty Nursing Center of Mansfield is our unique and compassionate staff. Our Director of Nursing, Joe Bruey, is a perfect example. His consistent upbeat and cheerful demeanor made summer nursing rounds a real pleasure for everyone. This is a man who puts his whole heart into his work, and frequently surprised staff, residents and family members with delicious cold treats during rounds. In fact, on the 4th of July he even dressed for the occasion! We always appreciate Joe's contributions because they boost morale and encourage teamwork. We can't wait to see what he has in store for the upcoming months and are looking forward to it!

We're pleased to announce that our local public library regularly comes to our community the third Friday of every month. These visits are a treasured highlight for our residents because the library provides so much entertainment for us. Residents love visiting with the library team to discuss books, authors, movies and music. We really appreciate their generosity... providing anything we ask for. In fact, they even loan us a Kindle on a monthly basis!

For individuals battling Alzheimer's, every day is the longest day. So each year on the summer solstice, the world goes purple as the Alzheimer's Association hosts "The Longest Day" to raise funds and awareness for the fight against this disease. Here at Liberty, we honored the strength, love and endurance of these individuals along with their special caregivers by coming together to inspire hope for a future without Alzheimer's. We celebrated on June 21st with a wonderful ice cream social and music provided by the Ohio Community Band. Cindy Jakubick, Development and Communications Coordinator for the Northwest Ohio Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, even stopped by to thank everyone for attending and emphasize why this event is so important.

We look forward to celebrating monthly birthdays with ice cream, cake and lots of laughter, but this month we observed a very significant birthday. The excitement centered around our dear John Hadamuscin who celebrated his 100th birthday with us. To make the event even more special, State Representative Mark Romanchuk stopped by to present Mr. Hadamuscin with a special achievement award! As Mr. Hadamuscin took us on a trip down memory lane, we learned that this lifelong resident of Crestline, Ohio has had a very satisfying yet challenging life.

This month, skilled nursing care centers around the country celebrated National Nursing Home Week (May 14th - 20th). Our Mansfield community was no exception and embraced the event wholeheartedly. The event provides an opportunity for residents and their families, along with staff, volunteers and surrounding communities to recognize the important role nursing care centers play in caring for our nation's seniors and individuals with disabilities. The 2017 theme was "The Spirit of America" and everyone that visited our community was treated to a fantastic community cookout complete with fair fries, funnel cake and ice cream!

We recently reached out to State Representative Mark Romanchuk who was appointed in January to serve as chair of the House Finance Health and Human Subcommittee as well as the Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee. As a result of that invitation, he graciously joined our community for a lively and informative visit on April 18th. Our owner, Linda Black Kurek, and Cathy Weaver Rox, our administrator, were very proud to host his tour and introduce him to everyone. Our community was buzzing with excitement as residents, family members as well as staff were anxious for the opportunity to talk with him.

Socializing is an important element to healthy aging, and our community prides itself on providing plenty of opportunities for residents, staff and families to enjoy one another's company. Everyone looks forward to enjoying snacks and live entertainment at our monthly socials.