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December saw a flurry of construction activity at ACC Maple Tree Village. Framing for Memory Care Center and the second floor of Assisted Living were completed and now their roofs will go on. Phase 2, the middle section of the 102-unit complex, will have its concrete slab poured by the end of the month.

“We’re putting a lot of building on this land,” said Mark Williams, ACC’s Director of Plant Operations. Local residents who never noticed the empty parcel of land where I-5 meets Pocket Road, can’t miss the remarkable structure that is rising out of the ground. It’s visible from the freeway. “When the people move in, it’s going to feel like home,” said Mark.

ACC Maple Tree Village was conceived ten years ago, but due to the recession, the project was put on hold. It serves a long-standing need in the South Sacramento community to add more capacity for assisted living and memory care. It fulfills ACC’s mission to provide a continuum of care to older adults.

Get more information on ACC Maple Tree Village

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Early childhood

Mas Hatano was born in Sacramento in 1928 and grew up near Isleton, CA, to parents who immigrated from Japan. In 1942, his family was uprooted from their home, school, and livelihood and incarcerated at Tule Lake concentration camp. “We stayed at Tule for about three years and were released around June, 1945, when I was 17,” he remembers. “I recall my older sister came home from school at camp and told me she was taking a typing class. She showed me a piece of paper with the keyboard drawn on it and told me she was supposed to practice typing on it.”

As Mas recalls the various chapters of his life, he’s grateful for family, his career, his volunteer opportunities and his health. He actively recruits ACC Greenhaven Terrace residents to participate in the Wednesday morning walking club. “It’s just a short walk, but I enjoy the camaraderie and conversations,” he commented.

Active at ACC and elsewhere

Recently Mas joined ACC’s Legacy Corps and participated in training to become a Friendly Visitor to provide companionship to other elders while giving their caregivers a respite. His impact on people of all ages reaches far and wide in Sacramento. He has volunteered for 26 years at the California State Railroad Museum, and 18 years with the California Museum. Mas has also been a docent at the State Capitol and taught the safe driving course to seniors for AARP. During the school year, he teaches children about his experiences at Tule Lake. He has developed a PowerPoint presentation that he shares with Sacramento State and local college students throughout the year.

Accomplished athlete

When Mas retired from his job as a civil engineer with the State of California, he pursued biking and travel. “In my 70s, I biked over 7,000 miles a year for a number of years and I’ve biked in France, Japan, South Korea and even Mongolia. Mongolia was not very interesting, it was like biking in Nevada,” he reflected.

ACC Volunteer Coordinator Kim Fujiwara shared said, “Mas is a phenomenal human being. He represents kindness, wisdom, curiosity and forgiveness. He challenges others to keep moving towards their dreams.”

Encouraging others

Mas is among the many older adults that have benefited from the healthy activities at ACC Senior Services. He regularly encourages others to take up walking, and other fitness classes, and to volunteer in the Legacy Corps program.

Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving. More than $300,000,000 is raised annually across 150 countries. This year, Giving Tuesday is on November 27, 2018. Go to accsv.org/donate to donate to ACC Senior Services. Your donation will be used to fund three very specific needs:

1. ACC Rides. A $10 contribution will pay for a whole week of rides for one senior traveling to a Meals on Wheels meal site. A $50 contribution will pay for the transportation of five seniors for a whole week. ACC Rides provides more than 4,000 rides a month across 10 zip codes in Sacramento and Elk Grove to hot lunches, doctors appointments and to meet many other seniors’ needs.

2. ACC classes. A $150 donation will fund the operating expenses of an ACC class for older adults in our community. We’ve touched thousands of lives through our Lifelong Learning and Wellness Program. Our popular classes include yoga, line dancing, tai chi, computers,  estate planning and Medicare workshops, utilities assistance and other Lifelong Learning and Wellness classes.

3. ACC received over $6,000 in donations to buy AEDs (portable defibrillators) and to train staff at all our facilities. This fund was started by an ACC donor whose life was saved by an AED after he went into cardiac arrest. A gift of any amount will help meet the additional $3,000 to reach the total cost of the AED equipment and training investments in the protection of all residents, guests, staff and volunteers at ACC Senior Services.

Go to accsv.org/donate and donate today.

Tie dye was popular in the hippie culture of the 1960s, but did you know that the Chinese and Japanese were tie dying fabrics in the 7th and 8th Centuries?

Following this tradition, we gave residents at ACC Greenhaven Terrace a chance to make their own tie dye shirts. They twisted, tied, and compressed white T shirts and then sprinkled dyes on them like they were adding flavors to a snow cone.

This activity was part of Assisted Living week at ACC that also included hula lessons, ukulele and signing, a decorative wood project, resident portraits, a summer fiesta lunch, and an ice cream social.

ACC Resident Care Manager Allison Rogers and Activities Coordinator Brittany Yamada organized the week’s activities.

Says Allison, “It was hard to get anyone to admit they participated in the hippie movement, but from the looks of it, we could tell many of them had done tie dye before.” Others were completely surprised by the design they made as shown in the video footage.

“All the shirt designs came out beautiful and amazing,” said Brittany.

Mr. Lam Luc, a resident at ACC Care Center, turned 100 last month! Fellow residents and staff celebrated with cake, balloons, a giant birthday card, and sparkling cider. With a big smile on his face, Mr. Luc joined the chorus singing happy birthday.

Councilmember Rick Jennings visited ACC Care Center and presented Mr. Luc with a key to the city. “This key will open any door to the city!” Mr. Jennings proclaimed. Mr. Luc asked through his translator, “Really? How is that possible?” The room filled with laughter.

Born in Vietnam, Mr. Luc grew up on a family farm with six brothers and two sisters. The work was long and difficult, preventing Mr. Luc from getting a proper education.

As a young adult, Mr. Luc had to take on many jobs just to feed his family. They escaped from Vietnam to Southern China and then moved to a refugee camp in Hong Kong. From there, he immigrated to the U.S. He and his wife have lived in Sacramento for the past 40 years.

The rest of Mr. Luc’s family is large and spread out. He has 25 grandchildren. Seven of them live in China, 12 live in Vietnam, and six live in the U.S. But wait, there’s more. Mr. Luc has 12 great grandchildren. Six live in Vietnam and six live in the U.S.

At ACC Care Center, his favorite hobbies are mahjong and balloon volleyball.

Mr. Luc is hardly alone at his age. Today, there are more than 72,000 Americans aged 100 years and older. With the aging of baby boomers and advancements in senior care, that number will continue to grow. By 2050, men’s life expectancy will increase from 80 years to 83 to 86. Women’s life expectancy will increase from 84 years to 89 to 94 years.

When asked what is his secret to a long life, Mr. Luc answered, “Work hard, be honest, and do your best.”

Reeve-Knight Project Engineer Kody Scoble takes us on a construction tour of ACC Maple Tree Village in Sacramento. Workers from different trades are laying the plumbing, building forms for the foundation, pouring concrete, and assembling prefabricated walls. The worksite is loud and bustling with activity, but there is a prevailing sense of calm and certainly as workers do what they do best.

The first wall of the North Section went up on October 24. A crew of 15 workers will complete the framing of the ground floor by the end of November. Kody says their goal is to complete enough of the structure in December, so they can work indoors during the rainy season.

Building ACC Maple Tree Village requires the precise coordination of materials and manpower. Right now there is only one entrance to the site, which makes the movement of heavy equipment in and out a challenge. But Kody and his team make it look like a well-choreographed ballet.

For more information, visit ACC Maple Tree Village. To get on our prospective applicant list, visit http://tinyurl.com/MTV-List1.

In this video, Darrick Lam talks about the new movie about Glen Campbell’s battle with Alzheimer’s, the ACC’s Caregiver Appreciation Luncheon, and the latest developments at ACC Maple Tree Village Assisted Living and Memory Care Facility.

In the U.S., there are 5.7 million people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Every 65 seconds, someone develops the disease. There 16.1 million unpaid caregivers providing care to them and to people with other dementias. They are mostly family members who find themselves overextended in these new duties. ACC has long provided support and resources for these caregivers.

Alzheimer’s is a National Priority

The cost of treatment and loss of economic opportunity by those affected make Alzheimer’s the most expensive public health crisis in the U.S. The good news is that in August 2018, the U.S. Senate approved a $425 million increase to the National Institutes of Health’s budget for Alzheimer’s and dementia research. This follows a strong upward trend in the past four years for new Federal spending in this area.

ACC Senior Services serves thousands of people a year across all our programs for older adults. We are constant in our effort to education them about Alzheimer’s and other dementias and what can be done to treat these diseases.