National Picnic Month & New Physiotherapy Partnership
July was National Picnic Month, and with some careful planning and weather-watching from our team of Activity Coordinators, we were able to take small groups of residents out for picnic lunches.
We were welcomed by Didcot Town Council and Civic Hall when we made use of a picnic bench in their garden. We sat down and our residents enjoyed crisps, cakes, and other lovely picnic treats. The flower beds were beautiful and held some great words of wisdom which made our residents smile.
Another outing saw us at a local playpark where we made use of their Ability Swing which brought out many smiles and had an 82 years old resident feeling like her 10-year-old self again.
Our residents love getting outdoors and we listen to their needs and wishes. The residents are constantly planning and discussing their next outdoor adventure and we do all we can to ensure that we can facilitate these trips when the weather allows.
We wanted to involve our “Mindee” visitors in National Picnic Month too and we thought that there would be no better way than holding a Teddy Bears Picnic here at our care home in Didcot. We arranged lots of play food and tea sets which the children then “served” to our residents, and in return, residents gave the children bear cakes that they had decorated the day before.
The children arrived wearing bear ears and enjoyed showing us their bears, as well as a doll and a Luigi! Intergenerational projects are a big part of our homes holistic therapies, and we love regularly welcoming mums, dads and guardians, and their children into our home for socialising.
This month, we are pleased to have started a new working partnership with Heritage Physiotherapy & Co. Nikki joined us in our home for our first workshop and shared with us a wealth of knowledge which we are looking forward to learning more about.
Nikki spoke to us about Osteoarthritis, joint pain, and the benefits of exercise, which we are implementing more of in our activities programme. As well as educating us on physiotherapy, Nikki has also already met with a number of our residents and has started working with them to support their physical health.
Both the staff and residents here are looking forward to Nikki's next workshop, and we are delighted that Nikki will become a very familiar face here at Valerian Court and one that will helo us to promote safe and strong health for our elderly residents.
At Valerian Court Care Home, we care for our resident's whole being and place great emphasis on supporting residents not only with their physical needs, but their mental and emotional needs too.
Whether it is incorporating exercise into our activity programmes, taking residents out into the local community, or welcoming members of the community to our home, we provide residents with lots of opportunities to continue their hobbies, pursue new interests and socialise with others.
