The Christmas Contest and More Holiday Joy
The feeling of Person-Centered care lives forever in the heart of the giver as well as the receiver!
An assisted living can provide a great deal of structure to someone’s day. There are activities and meals in which people can participate. However, the value of one on one care, being person-centered is priceless. Below is one such story, with detail from one of our amazing caregivers, who took care of a resident of an assisted living for over 5 years. The depth of activities she could participate in and the involvement she felt far surpassed in joy those that were just “on their own.”
The time for companionship, along with the cares is what Right at Home strives to provide. We strive for a balance of physical, emotional and spiritual support that someone in need of care likely doesn’t get on their own.
This story below is just one example of how our many caregivers get to truly know their clients they care for, and can truly support the emotional side of their health, as well as physical.
Enjoy the following excerpt from our amazing caregiver, Donna:
“Holidays at the assisted living facility where Tommie lived was always celebrated with various activities to join in on. Everything from caroling, sing-alongs, decorating, worship, crafts, and contests. When I learned about a Christmas door decorating contest, I couldn't wait for Tommie to wake up to tell her about it. I was so excited and when I told her about it she smiled big and said, "Well, let's do it!"
After some discussion and sharing ideas on what we could do, we settled on one. I drew a cartoon of Tommie wearing a red Santa hat and red nail polish, red high heel boots holding a Christmas list of what she wants for Christmas. (This played on the fact of how much she loves Seroogy's chocolate, shoes, and having her nails polished and looking pretty.)
I cut the cartoon out of thin Styrofoam at home as I knew it would be messy. I wrote out the list on a long roll of paper, brought it to Tommie's and we both colored everything in. We wrapped several small boxes to represent presents, to add to the door.
Tommie loved it and thought it was a winner and that's all that matters to me!
They didn’t win the contest, but they sure had fun in the process! Her door was creative, like she is, and represented her. She got a big smile every time she saw her door!”
To share another Person-Centered story of Holiday fun:
This client, Tommie loved to bake. She was a fabulous pie maker. She did extremely well until her latter days, with pie making, ... just needed help and assistance to complete her pies. Baking was something she enjoyed, as well as sharing “her goodies,” on top of eating them.
“Another way we celebrated the holidays was by baking and decorating sugar cookies and pecan balls using her recipes, of course. After mixing the dough, rolling, and cutting them out we put them in the oven to bake and wait. Tommie kept asking, "Are they done yet?" The smell filled her apartment and managed to float down the hallway. This created several visitors poking their heads in saying, "Oh it smells so good I can smell it down the hall, are they done!?"
And yes, Tommie did share with staff and neighbors as they came in, sharing the Christmas spirit.”
