Juniper Village at Brookline

On Monday, December 3rd, Penn State's student chapter of ACHCA welcomed Ms. Anne Campbell and Ms. Liz Plozner-Chalfa from Juniper Village at Brookline in State College.

Ms. Campbell was a social work major in college and has been the Executive Director at Juniper for 14 years. Juniper has roughly 250 residents and 250 employees. She says that one of the best parts of her job is that every day is different, which keeps it interesting.

Ms. Plozner-Chalfa is the Executive Director of their memory care building. She is a Penn State HDFS graduate with an HPA minor. She started out as an Activities Director and is now the Executive Director of Juniper's Wellspring, their memory care division. She is always learning new things both from residents and staff members.

Ms. Campbell emphasized the ability for new grads to quickly climb the ladder in senior living. Juniper has an innovative program called its "Executive Apprenticeship", which is a one year rotational full-time paid position where individuals will spend time in all of Juniper's departments and finally be placed in a leadership role within the company. Participants will spend time at several Juniper communities throughout the country and at all levels of care. They also have an unpaid internship program, which several HPA students have completed. Their internships have been with the Executive Director, activities, memory care, or working on specific projects. Juniper also has an Administrator in Training (AIT) program.

Ms. Campbell's best day was when Juniper residents put on a musical theater production in the dining room. Performers ranged from 83 to 97 in Guys and Dolls. That project allowed residents to learn something new and go outside of their comfort zone. While it's not all fun and games, Ms. Campbell acknowledged common senior living challenges such as staffing issues and how we can begin to overcome them. Both guests emphasized how the CEO of Juniper allows for flexibility in implementing creative, out-of-the-box ideas, which has allowed the company to excel as a leader in senior living.

Thank you to both of our guests for your enthusiasm and support!