Nursing home residents enjoy various year-round activities

Orono Nursing Home Tab

A man or woman moving into a nursing home starts a new life in different surroundings, often not far from family and friends, yet no longer in contact with familiar pastimes and activities.

But the interest in hobbies, birthdays, anniversaries, and other landmarks in a person’s life remains. For a new resident in a nursing home, retaining that interest adds purpose to life and eases the transition from one lifestyle to another.

At the Orono Nursing Home, residents participate in many programs aimed at retaining that special interest in holidays, birthdays, and other important occasions. Roberta Violette, the activities director, oversees these programs, which include:

Individual birthday parties for residents, along with a mention in the monthly “Resident Family Newsletter”;

A picnic on Father’s Day; (the picnic held Saturday, June 16, 1990, drew than 50 people to celebrate with their relatives who lived in the nursing home.

Visits from Orono schoolchildren;

Adopt-A-Grandparent program;

An annual recognition tea for nursing home volunteers;

A special celebration on the Fourth of July, when residents enjoy salmon steak, potatoes, fresh garden peas, and strawberry shortcake and participate in different outdoor games and activities;

Beano every Wednesday and Saturday at 2 p.m.;

A “Coffee Talk” every Tuesday at 10 a.m., with participants enjoying snacks prepared by residents the previous day;

Weekly religious services, including Catholic Mass every Friday and Protestant services every Sunday;

A prayer group that meets at 10:30 a.m. each Tuesday;

An annual Christmas party that sees the entire nursing home festooned with holiday decorations;

A special celebration on Mother’s Day;

Different movies shown several times monthly;

An exercise program called “Tip Top Shape”;

An active Resident Council that meets monthly;

A rosary group that meets each Monday at 10:30 a.m.;

Access to books (especially large print books) supplied by the Orono Public Library;

Bowling and Circle K meetings held every Monday;

Different activities organized daily by trained staff members;

A group called the “Cookettes” that meets with the resident cook each Monday at 1:30 p.m.;

Bulletin boards placed throughout the nursing home serve as focal points for news clips, information, and photographs.