Katrina’s Korner

Seems like we just celebrated Christmas and now Easter is less than three weeks away.  Easter candy fills the shelves at the local grocery store and frilly dresses stand at attention on the racks at Wal-Mart.  I hear Judy Garland and Fred Astaire singing “Easter bonnet” in my head.           

Many caregivers working in a nursing home may struggle with fresh ideas that are adult like. It is easy to rely on the old stand-by like the Easter Bunny and Easter egg hunts to celebrate the holiday.  Those activities are great, but Easter may have different meanings to different people, and the trick is to engage as many residents as possible.  For many it is a special Christian holiday that marks the most important aspect of their faith. Others just see it as a child’s day to eat lots of candy.  So how does a program director design a great season of celebration meeting everyone’s needs with fresh ideas that are adult focused?    Here are a few ideas that were always a huge success for me as a program director.    Good Friday Feet Washing and Communion:  We had a group of residents who were used to celebrating Good Friday with a foot washing service.  Many laypeople in churches will often volunteer to come in and wash feet and follow up with Communion. Feet washing is not a deep cleansing but it is actually an anointing of water.  There are free sites available on the internet that will tell you which Scripture to follow during both services.  Many times churches will provide communion bread and wine if you give them enough time to prepare. 

Easter egg hunt:  It’s always a fun occasion to have small children around the residents.  They enjoy helping the youngsters find the eggs and have refreshments after.  Remember that the nursing home is a home for the residents and they should be a part of this event.  Getting children and residents together will always lift the spirits of the residents as well as the care givers. Decorating eggs: Caregivers can help the residents color the eggs.  The caregivers can then ask the residents what they did with the eggs after they were colored.  We always decorated the eggs and took pictures and gave prizes to residents for different categories of decorating.  The residents then could decide what they wanted to make with the eggs.  Did they want egg salad or deviled eggs?  Then they would make a tasty treat for lunch or supper.   

My favorite Easter activity:  The Passion Play.  Visitors were always amazed that 17 residents living on an Alzheimer’s Center could perform a play.   The play was often something very simple, such as a nativity followed by people talking about the Passion of the Christ.  Each character would recite a verse from the Bible that went along with the action that was being represented.  Many times we had residents who couldn’t memorize the line, but could read it off of a piece of paper.  The amazing part was that many could recall the lines better than anyone would’ve imagined.  Eleanor’s line was always, “Rejoice for I bring you good tidings of great joy.”  She couldn’t remember five minutes after something happened, but she always remembered that line. All of our “players” took great pride at being able to perform for the crowd and families beamed with joy at watching their loved ones create something so special. Happy Easter everyone!