FEBRUARY 2019

In The Spotlight

Blaire House of Tewksbury Assisted Living10B Erlin Terrace, Tewksbury, MA 01876

Tel: 978.851.3121 • Fax: 978.640.8686 • www.elderservices.comDIRECTORY EXTENSIONExecutive Director: Richard Williams 3210Resident Care Director: Louise Loguidice, RN 3611Director of Sales & Marketing: Terri Sullivan 8674Activities Director: Jean Payne 3209Wellness Nurse: Stacy Palm, LPN 8674Administrative Assistant: Tracy Powers 3207Plant Maintenance: Rafael Torres 3203Food Service Director: Otty Ortiz 3202Blaire House of Tewksbury Assisted Living Residence is family owned and operated within an integrated care community, including adult day health, short-stay rehabilitation, 24-hour nursing care services, and senior transportation. As your needs change over time, we can provide the service necessary.

Ora MacinantiOra was born March 11, 1937 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. She is the eldest of eight children. Ora graduated from Burlington High School. Ora was married to Raymond Macinanti for 57 years and they had 5

children: Janis, Leo, Sharyn, Ray Jr., and Lisa. Some of Ora’s favorite pastime activities include gardening, art, drawing, keeping up on the news, and Jeopardy. She is an avid Red Sox fan.Ora worked for over 20 years as a manager at Marshall’s distribution center. She and her family liked to vacation at Cape Cod, Hampton Beach and Laconia, NH. Ora also likes to cruise and has been to the Caribbean and Bermuda.Congratulations to Ora. We at Blaire House wish you continued good health and happiness.

A Message from Louise Loguidice, RN, Resident Care DirectorTIPS TO HELP PREVENT GETTING THE FLUThe single best way to prevent seasonal flu is to get vaccinated each year – it’s not too late. The following tips offer some extra steps you can take to protect yourself and others from flu, and help stop the spread of germs.1. Avoid close contact with people who are sick, and keep your distance from others if you are sick.2. If possible, stay home from work, school, (The Blaire House!), and errands when you are sick.3. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing.4. Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.5. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. Germs are spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs, then touches his or her face.6. Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces, especially when someone is sick. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food.Louise

“One kind word can warm three winter months.” — Proverb

Valentine’s Day, also called Saint

Valentine’s Day, is a holiday (February 14) when lovers express their

affection with greetings and gifts. The holiday has origins in the Roman festival of

Lupercalia, held in mid-February. The festival, which celebrated the coming of spring, included

fertility rites and the pairing off of women with men by lottery. At the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I replaced Lupercalia with St. Valentine’s Day. It came to be celebrated as a day of romance from about the 14th century.

Although there were several Christian martyrs named Valentine, the day may have taken

its name from a priest who was martyred about 270 C.E. by the emperor Claudius

II Gothicus. According to legend, the priest signed a letter “from your

Valentine” to his jailer’s daughter, whom he had befriended and,

by some accounts, healed from blindness. Other

accounts hold that it was St.

Valentine of Terni, a bishop, for

whom the holiday was named, though it is possible the two saints were

actually one person. Another common legend states that St. Valentine defied the emperor’s orders and secretly married couples to spare the husbands from war. It is for this reason that his feast day is associated with love.

Formal messages, or valentines, appeared in the 1500s, and by the late 1700s commercially printed cards were being used. The first commercial valentines in the United States were printed in the mid-1800s. Valentines commonly depict Cupid, the Roman god of love, along with hearts, traditionally the seat of emotion. Because it was thought that the avian mating season begins in mid-February, birds also became a symbol of the day. Traditional gifts include candy and flowers, particularly red roses, a symbol of beauty and love.

Source: The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The origin of