Page 10 - Healthcare News Nov/Dec 2021

SENIOR LIVING CONT’D
“Because people live here, we’re in essence an apartment building,” Jones said. “And in some ways, we’re like a cruise ship, because residents have all their meals and activities here, too.”
Even with nearly a dozen scheduled activities available each day, some residents might want to take part in something that’s not on the calendar.
“The activities our residents take part
in are all geared to keeping these skills a part of their everyday life. When they begin to struggle with a skill, we step in and help them find a different way to succeed.”
That’s OK with Cheryl Moran, executive director at the Atrium at Cardinal Drive in Agawam, who noted that this is their home and the staff are visitors in the home.
“One woman likes to spend her time doing cross-
word puzzles, and another just likes to paint because it makes her feel like an artist,” Moran said.
Heidi Cornwell, director of Mar- keting & Sales for Kimball Farms Life Care in Lenox, said most facilities make sure they cover five key areas when planning an activities calendar: gross motor skills, socialization, self- care, sensory, and memory. Specific activities are usually modified to fit
a particular setting to help everyone keep moving and engaging as part of their daily routine.
“The activities our residents take
part in are all geared to keeping these
skills a part of their everyday life,”
Cornwell said. “When they begin
to struggle with a skill, we step in
and help them find a different way
to succeed. We work very hard to be a failure-free environment.”
According to Lori Todd, executive director for Loomis Lakeside at Reeds Landing in Springfield, when a person needs medical attention in a skilled- nursing setting, activities remain an essential factor in the patient’s recovery.
“Activities definitely help patients by encouraging the kind of wellness behaviors that contribute to the healing process,” she said.
Meanwhile, in settings such as assisted living, the
Residents at the Arbors in Chicopee participate in an out- door drumming circle.
level of functioning varies from person to person. Moran said she likes to have everyone together be- cause it creates a dynamic in which people of differ- ent levels of function help each other with activities or just daily life.
“Our high-functioning residents enjoy helping
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