It is vitally important to engage the residents in our facility in as much activity as possible.  We do our best to keep them involved in trivia games and history quizzes that keep their minds focused on remembering, as well as, learning new things.

Our Activities Director stays busy arranging activities and events for our residents.  The residents love exercise, games and cooking.  They enjoy reading, watching movies and making crafts.  Chatting in the shade of the front patio or the big trees is a favorite pasttime.

We want our residents to venture out of their rooms and spend time together, enjoying the company of others.  However, if a resident prefers to stay in their room, we take the activities to them!  Engaging our residents is just another way we provide Care You Can Trust!

Visit at mealtime and help deliver your loved one’s meal tray to their table. Your company will probably make them eat more.

Visit at the time of activities and encourage your family member’s participation.

Take a favorite book along on your visit and read to your family member.

Write letters or note cards for your loved one. Help them stay in contact with their friends and family. Carry in letters or cards written to them, too.  Help them read those! 

If you take videos of children’s sports activities or school performances, take your computer or iPad on your visit and share that video!

Take along a favorite board game and play with your loved one.                                                                                                                                 

Take a puzzle that you can complete in the length of your visit.

Music is stimulating, so take your iPod or a CD player and play some favorite songs.

If you have a child to take along, take craft projects that all of you can do. Painting sun catchers or stringing bead necklaces would be appropriate.

Use technology to connect with family members.  Take your laptop and Skype so your loved one can have a real time conversation with another family member!

Paint fingernails, brush hair or give hand massages to men and women.

Take your family member on a walk through the facility or outside, and talk about the things you see. Take time to visit the flower beds, bird cage or other focal points.

Food is more than sustenance for our bodies.  We grew up expecting cookies for an after school snack.  We enjoyed an ice cream cone during a Sunday afternoon drive with our family.  Birthday cakes were a really big deal and Grandma’s cooking was a treat.  We raised our children this way.

As we reached adulthood, we realized that meals were social events. We sat around the table with our friends and family and enjoyed the conversation that went along with the meal.  We shared memories of meals past, of aromas and flavors.

By the time seniors reach the time of living in a skilled nursing facility, it is likely that they have lost the joy of eating.  It is possible that they have lost their sense of smell or that their eyesight has diminished.  They may no longer even taste their food and it becomes all too easy for them to eat alone in their room or at a table in the corner of the dining room.

Not at Integrity Healthcare of Anna!  We work diligently to have all our residents eating in the dining room for regular meals and for special occasions.  Our meals are well planned and meet the dietary requirements of each of our residents.  We make sure our hot foods are hot and our cold foods are cold.  That matters.  We use plenty of herbs and spices to make sure our food is flavorful.  We let our residents choose their favorite meals and on a monthly basis we meet their request!  We treat them to special things that might never be on our menus but are always sure to delight our big family.

On this day, we celebrated banana splits, and everybody had a special afternoon treat.  Don’t these look delicious?