Nineteenth century author Edward Bellamy once said, “If bread is the first necessity of life, recreation is a close second.” His assessment is no less true for our own time. Recreational activities are a vital part of living a full life and that does not change once a person enters long-term care. In fact, recreation takes on even more importance for the overall well-being of residents. Called Recreation Therapy, these activities are more than just a way of having fun. They are part of a process of helping residents with their physical and psychological health.
Florence Nightingale was one of the first advocates for using recreation to help benefit people with health problems. While caring for wounded soldiers during the Crimean War more than 150 years ago, she wrote of the benefits of having patients participate in activities such as caring for pets, needlework and listening to music. At a time when a doctor’s treatment was solely administering drugs or performing surgery, Nightingale advocated for more inclusive treatments, established a recreation room and developed various recreation programs based on patients’ levels of functioning.
At Westside Terrace Healthcare, our residents enjoy a wide range of recreation therapy activities including games, music therapy, food events, outings and visits with young people and pets. Recreational activities are important for residents because they help them to freely express themselves, increase and develop social skills, improve range of motion and prevent isolation. Recreation also has a number of emotional health benefits such as decreased anxiety and depression and increased feelings of self-worth and sense of belonging. For people who have dementia or other cognitive problems, recreation can be especially beneficial. According to one study on recreation therapy done by a Binghamton University professor, “Nursing home residents with cognitive impairments who received recreation therapy programs demonstrated improved behaviors, increased activity and alertness levels, used fewer psychotropic medications, and experienced fewer falls.”
Recreation time is not only beneficial to residents, it’s also a great time to connect with our Westside Terrace Healthcare families. We love it when our residents’ loved ones visit us. Visitors, like loved ones and friends, are welcome to participate in activities as well and can be a great help. They can let us know what kind of activities the resident enjoyed before coming to live here and they can help a resident become more involved.
To learn more about activities and event at Westside Terrace Healthcare, go here.
