Holiday events, visitors make Christmas special at senior care centers

    Imperial Manor and Parkview Heights are readying for Christmas with seasonal activities for the residents, or their “family members,” as CEO Lynne West describes them.
    West came to Imperial Manor and Parkview Heights as Chief Executive Officer in September 2021. She had previously been the Regional Director of Clinical Services at the Cappella Living Solutions in Denver, Colorado.
    Imperial Manor is a skilled nursing facility that provides everyone with their own private room with bathroom.  Parkview Heights is an assisted living facility that provides both one and two bedroom apartments. Both facilities provide meals and a 24-hour staff, she said.
    Presently, the two facilities are almost to capacity with 58 living there, West said.
    Besides permanent residents, there are also short-term folks who are there for a time for extra care following surgery, as an example, she said.
    Ellie Upton, the facilities’ Activities Director, has quite a number and variety of activities all year long for the family members, but more for the holidays, West said.
    The staff adopted a Giving Tree with gift tags for the family members. Employees picked names from tags on the Christmas tree and provided gifts for them, she said.  
    “That Giving Tree sold out quickly so we had a second one that the community became involved with,” West said.
    There are some family members who have no one outside the facility who will be visiting them during the holidays, but they will be receiving presents at least, she said.
    An activity at the facilities recently involved baking.         “We were making gingerbread men but in the process some of them fell apart. This was not an entirely ill-fated experience because everyone had a laugh over it,” she said.
    The Imperial Theater has been giving residents exclusive showings of Christmas movies, she said.
    Manor and Parkview Heights have its own movie projector, as well, so “we have the ability to show movies in our facility if the weather outside is bad, or as we had to when there were Covid-19 related restrictions,” she said.
    As of Dec. 1, staff and family members are not required to wear masks. There are presently no restrictions on visitors, she said.  
    “Last year was a difficult time because of the mask wearing requirements and restrictions on visitations.  The social isolation had its emotional costs,” she said.
     “Hopefully, Covid-19 is behind us,” she said.
    Feelings of isolation and loneliness can be relieved in surprising ways, she said.  
    “We have a family member, Jan, who has benefitted greatly from a lifelike stuffed toy dog that appears to breathe as its body expands and contracts,” West said.  
    Wauneta Care and Therapy Center is also a skilled nursing facility in the village of Wauneta.  
    Interim Administrator RaNae Richardson and her staff care for 28 family members, she said.  
    Richardson has been with Wauneta Care as a CNA since 2016, and was promoted to Activities Director last year. In September this year she was offered the Interim Administrator position while she pursues an administrator’s license, she said.
    “Every family member in our facility has someone in their life who visits them,” she said.  
    “The Covid-19 lockdowns last year made things difficult, but hopefully that is behind us,” she said.
    There are two activities persons at WCTC.  
    “We have had a good community turnout with the Giving Tree and the family members are making Christmas-related crafts,” she said.
    Another holiday activity for the WCTC residents are excursions out to see Christmas lights in town.
    High school students from Wauneta-Palisade also came and sang Christmas carols for the residents, adding to the Christmas season, she said.