Involving all disciplines in recreation brightens the day for residents
Kinesiologists, PCAs and RPNs join in recreation to build meaningful relationships with residents
Wednesday January 25, 2012 -- Ryan Rogers
Not long ago, Taunton Mills assistant general manager of long-term care Emily Vasey stepped out of an elevator to the Dunlop Unit when she came face to face with an elated crowd of belly dancers.

Staff members, family members and residents of the Whitby home were dancing, tapping their toes and clapping their hands to the music.

What made it most entertaining was the eclectic combination of kinesiologists and personal-care aides (PCAs) along with the recreational staff members who were building meaningful relationships with residents in the 120-bed home.

“There is no better story to demonstrate our shared and meaningful activities than when we have all disciplines involved in brightening the days of our residents and improving their quality of life,” says Vasey.

Vasey says it’s not just the recreation team that can offer opportunities to share in meaningful activities with residents. Managers and front-line staff can all lend their different skills and strengths to recreational programming at the long-term care home.

Having nurses, front-line staff and managers participate in recreational programming is helping them build relationships with residents on a more meaningful level, thanks to the program, which is being expanded to the rest of the units.

Vasey says resident are “starting to see the nursing staff as more than just a nurse, and they’re able to bond with them and build those relationships even better.”

While different staff members are contributing in recreational activities with residents, the recreation staff members fill in at the dining and laundry rooms, allowing PCAs or registered practical nurses (RPNs) to run a program.

It’s an aim at Schlegel Villages to allow staff members to break out of prescribed roles and fill responsibilities as a team.

“Going outside of the box and trialing new things and being leaders in the senior care sector, that’s just something as an organization that’s engrained in us,” says Vasey. “That’s what we want to try and achieve.”

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