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If you’re a long-time reader of my blog, you know how much I enjoy researching and sharing award-winning nursing home programs from around the world. I hope these posts inspire you to start similar programs in your own senior living communities.
You can find all the previous programs I’ve featured under the Best Practices tag on the sidebar. Plus, today I’m sharing four more award-winning programs. As always, I’ll include a link to each organization, so you can contact them directly for more details.
Twiggy
I’ll begin with my favorite program. Avonlea Rest Home won a New Zealand Aged Care Association/EBOS Healthcare Excellence in Care Award in 2022. The award came because of a horse named Twiggy.
Twiggy is an orphaned miniature horse that was rescued by a man who works at Avonlea Rest Home. The horse goes to work with his owner each day and enriches the lives of residents and staff alike. I hope you’ll take the time to learn more about Twiggy in this delightful Good Sorts video.
Cutlery Free Dining
This is one of the most unique programs I came across in my research. Avery Healthcare in the UK became concerned for residents who had difficulty handling cutlery during meals. Common causes included Parkinson’s disease, dementia, stroke, or arthritis.
Besides making residents more dependent on staff during meals, the difficulties with using cutlery stigmatized residents who needed more help or adaptive equipment. They also increased the risk of nutritional deficiencies when residents gave up on eating because of frustration.
In 2022, Avery Care won a prestigious Care Home Award for their Cutlery Free Dining Program. You can check out the basics of the program in this brief YouTube video. Please contact Avery Care directly for all the details.
Intergenerational Program
For the past 10 years, Edelweiss Village Assisted Living in Massachusetts has formed a partnership with The Roxbury Latin School. Students visit monthly and take part in activities such as:
- arts and crafts
- current events discussions
- technology lessons
- woodworking
This partnership led to Edelweiss Village receiving a 2022 Massachusetts Assisted Living Association Excellence Award in 2022.
I know a lot of intergenerational programs around the world had to be put on hold during the worst of the pandemic. Now that COVID is receding, I hope you’ll look for new opportunities for elders and students to reap the many benefits of spending time together.
Restaurant of Mistaken Orders
My final program doesn’t involve an actual nursing home, but I must share it because it’s such a wonderful concept. The Restaurant of Mistaken Orders began as a pop-up restaurant in Tokyo in 2017.
Most of the restaurant’s wait staff are people living with dementia. As a result, chances are relatively good that your food order won’t be correct. But customers take it in stride, have fun, and don’t complain. The restaurant guarantees all meals are delicious, no matter what you receive.
Similar restaurants have popped up in other parts of the world. They help spread awareness about dementia and provide a sense of purpose for the wait staff living with dementia. The concept has won a myriad of awards over the years.
Do you have an award-winning program at your senior living community that I can share with my readers? Please let me know in the comment section!
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