It is 2 o’clock in the afternoon and I am sitting in a room that is very familiar to me. It has six wooden tables that are dusted once a week, one glass window that reaches up to the wood paneled ceiling, and 35 chairs that seem to have barely moved in 4 years.  Every day during social hour I sit in this room at the exact same time and watch the same people perform their various routine activities which consist of playing solitaire, doing the local newspaper’s daily crossword puzzle, or reading a paperback novel all while periodically dozing off. Other people though are gleaming with cheerfulness as they anxiously wait to find out which family member has come to visit them today. For me, I have not had a visitor of my own in about 3 years.  Gradually, the amount of time between each person who comes to visit lengthens until eventually nobody comes anymore. I have seen this happen repeatedly during my time here.  And for the past four years, I have sat in the same spot every day while thinking “there must be a way to liven homes like this one up.”

This is what it is like to live in an inattentive hospice care center. But through fun activities, the loneliness and abandonment that many residents in hospice care can diminish. These exercises can serve as a way for patients to interact with each other; hopefully enabling them to feel more comfortable around each other. By bonding and forming friendships, patients will most likely feel less forgotten because of an increased sense of support.

Additionally, the activities have the capability to make a patient’s day by giving them something to look forward to but also giving them a chance to make new memories. On top of emotional benefits, these exercises can bring about physical and mental advantages to as well. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians almost all older people can benefit from additional physical activity . These activities can be designed to strengthen both mental and physical abilities and skills that may have deteriorated over the years. Mind and brain games can help reduce stress and retrieve lost memories . These games not only can be fun, but can also be purposeful. 

So what are these so called activities?  Examples include playing games like Jeopardy, Pictionary, Charades or the app, “Heads up”. Take charades for instance, patients can be divided into teams and can play against each other. They can enjoy themselves while simultaneously increasing stimulation, mental quickness, and social skills. One half of people entering nursing homes will remain there for the balance of their lives , so why not take one step further to offer more valuable activities? Some may say that nursing homes would have to spend a large amount of money in order to make this a reality; however, many of these games can be made just from printer paper. These games are easy to make and can be reused, making this a very realistic solution that brings about multiple benefits.

Some nursing homes have already implemented this idea of raising the standard for nursing homes. A chain of nursing homes named Brookdale, offers a wide range of services to the elderly, has adopted this ideology and has supplemented the conventional activities with new ones. Among them include, oil painting, music classes, poker and quilting . As a result, there is something for everyone to do no matter how limited the patient is. By offering activities that are more involved than the typical activities like reading, doing puzzles, and watching television, the nursing homes can improve their quality of life by promoting a healthy, engaging, and positive atmosphere for their patients.

Providing new activities that increase stimulation have the capability to make a tremendous difference in assistance homes. Stronger muscles can help patients in almost all aspects of their lives. Not only can they gain physically, they can gain emotionally and mentally too. This solution to help residents living in nursing homes is very feasible as it does not demand a high budget, just some fresh ideas. The elderly definitely deserve to be treated with the best care possible that will allow for the experience maximum happiness while living in assisted living.