New Staff Members Come Aboard in Preparation for Move to
New Facility

Within the next few weeks our new facility will be completed and we will undergo state licensing inspections prior to moving. In anticipation of our move and our ability to double our services to the Houston community several new staff members have joined our team.

Lucy, Kathleen and Jessica

Linda, Betty and Carol

Johanna, Carol and Susan

Susan Giles joined us in November, 2009, as our Community Liaison, reaching out to the community to share the good news about our expanded programs and services and our ability to serve many more families. Susan's background and experience, serving for many years at The Methodist Hospital as the System Protocol Director and Patient Liaison in Guest Relations, as well as being one of the caregivers for several members of her family, prepared her perfectly for this role. She also served as Director of New Member and Women's Ministries at First Presbyterian Church and spent two years in Malawi, Africa as a missionary for The Rafiki Foundation.

In late January Carol Cooper joined Amazing Place as Participant and Family Coordinator, working closely with Faith Brock, LCSW, CCM, our Director of Participant and Family Programs and Education. Carol is scheduling family tours and helping families prepare for enrollment in the center. She will also work with Faith on family programming in our new facility. Carol has a strong background in administrative work, as well as serving as a Lay Chaplain at St. Luke's Hospital for several years.

Betty Paredes will be taking over the role of Administrative Assistant as Delle Nagle transitions to our Receptionist's role. Betty has a strong background in healthcare and geriatrics and brings many years of experience as a caregiver for older adults. She holds a Masters in Allied Health and has unique experience that will help her in this role supporting the Executive Director, Development Director and handling many of the administrative tasks for the board and organization.

Linda St. Hill, Dietary Manager, can't wait to get started in our beautiful new kitchen, preparing a healthy, delicious lunch each day for our participants, as well as muffins each morning and special cookies in the afternoon. Linda brings an extensive background in culinary services and has opened two new assisted living facilities in Houston. Linda loves to cook but also feels that presentation and that special touch are important when serving meals. She looks forward to incorporating fresh herbs from our garden and hopes to encourage cooking classes for participants.

As our newest Activity Assistant, Lucy Gonzales, enjoys creating interesting and engaging cognitive activities for our participants, as well as leading them in bridge, exercise, and creative arts. Lucy has been involved in activities for adults with dementia for several years and she has a deep appreciation and respect for those we serve.

Hoping to return to graduate school next fall, Kathleen Hinton, has joined us as a Substitute Activity Assistant, helping out while a member of our team is out on vacation, or working with us during our move and periods of growth over the summer. Kathleen is energetic and very talented, having served as Development Coordinator for Bo's Place and Marketing Coordinator for the Houston Aeros. She enjoys working with small groups of our participants, getting to know them while encouraging them in a fun and stimulating activity.

This spring we have been blessed to have Jessica Trevino as our Intern from University of Alabama. Jessica will graduate with honors on May 8, 2010 with a degree in Healthcare Administration. Jessica will be starting graduate school next fall, working towards a joint Masters in Healthcare Administration and MBA. Jessica will be joining our staff officially on May 24, 2010 as an Activity Assistant, while attending graduate school classes in the evenings.

Amazing Place's
Participants celebrate rodeo week

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is a big part of what makes life in Houston so special. Here on Joanel we had all of the fun with none of the traffic. It was a wonderful week of festivities that couldn’t have happened without the tremendous support from staff, volunteers, entertainers and the wonderful attitudes of all associated with Amazing Place.

Amazing Place Fall Educational Forum and Luncheon

Amazing Place is excited to announce the date for our Annual Fall Educational Forum and Luncheon. This year’s event will be held on Wednesday, October 20th at The River Oaks Country Club. We are so grateful for this year’s chairs: Nancy Craig and Janet Lionberger.

New Facility Will Be Opening Soon!

Building Dedication to be held on May 6th

Construction is nearing completion on our new facility at 3735 Drexel , between Richmond and the Southwest Freeway. As a state licensed facility we must undergo two inspections by the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services before we can fully occupy the building.

"Give Me One
Dozen Roses"

Teena Reese, devoted daughter and primary caregiver to Amazing Place participant, Johnnie Knight, lights up when she shares the story of her mother’s musical talent on the piano. Johnnie’s story is also laced with a deep love of family, square dancing, camping, playing bridge, numerous civic activities, the Tanglewood Garden Club, and shopping trips with her grandchildren...the music of her soul.

Amazing Place Staff Completes Avila Institute of Gerontology Dementia Care Training Program

On March 22 and 23rd, the Amazing Place closed so that its staff could complete a comprehensive, 12- hour, training course which covered the basics of caring for adults with memory impairments.