View Sample Therapeutic Recreation Calendar Safe Harbor Program A key element of the Harbor House Recreation Program is the provision of a varied schedule of leisure time programming for residents, specially tailored for optimal enjoyment and maximum therapeutic benefit. A Personal Touch The Therapeutic Recreation Department welcomes feedback and suggestions regarding our program. Copies of our monthly Therapeutic Recreation Calendar are available at our Reception Desk, and a large-print calendar with special daily cues is posted on each floor for the residents. Our director of Therapeutic Recreation is always open and accessible to families and welcomes input regarding the interests of your loved one. Please feel free to contact her at any time. For Dignity… The Therapeutic Recreation program recognizes that, although the progression of Alzheimer's and dementia have limited the cognitive and physical abilities of some of its participants, dignity and a sense of self-worth are still integral in maintaining the personhood of each resident. Age appropriate activities, adapted to each stage of the disease process, are offered in small, low-stimuli group settings to maintain a sense of social involvement, improve functional abilities and provide achievable tasks that help build self-esteem and a renewed interest in life. Interactive Motivation… With approximately 57% of Harbor House's square footage devoted to common areas, the goal of the Therapeutic Recreation team is to promote time spent in communal settings amongst friends and family. Recognizing that the effects of Alzheimer's and dementia often manifest themselves in the forms of self-isolation and social withdrawal, Harbor House's team of experienced Therapeutic Recreation professionals will offer residents an appropriate amount of interactive motivation to join group activities and spend time in our many open, airy common areas. Carefully balancing a resident's right to autonomy with gentle, consistent encouragement from staff, the Therapeutic Recreation Program at Harbor House ultimately seeks to promote an active lifestyle for each of its residents. Something for Everyone… Upon admission to Harbor House, each family member will have the opportunity to complete an extensive family questionnaire, a Leisure Time Interests form and discuss their loved one's leisure time preferences with our director of Therapeutic Recreation. From that information a well-planned schedule of structured group programs is then fashioned based on the collective interests of our residents. Group activities are offered at Harbor House seven days a week, 365 days a year and are usually scheduled between 9:30 a.m. and early evening. Types of programming regularly on our schedule include: cooking, gardening, arts & crafts, reminiscence therapy, adapted bingo, word games, adaptive sports (including bowling, shuffleboard, golf and volleyball), movement/exercise groups, sing-a-longs, Activities of Daily Living (ADL) activities (including table setting, laundry folding and adapted sewing), trivia groups, "mock-tail" socials, gender identification groups, oral reading and poetry workshops, current events, special theme and holiday events, summer barbecues, animal-assisted therapy, religious services of all denominations and intergenerational activities coordinated with local school districts. In addition, our 24-foot wheelchair-accessible bus enables those residents who are able to participate in structured day trips to local points of interest, with staff supervision to ensure each resident's safety. Keeping It "Sense"–ible… For residents in the later stages of Alzheimer's, our comprehensive sensory stimulation program promotes comfort, stimulation and increased environmental awareness. Through a series of carefully executed sensory "experiences" utilizing tactile, auditory, visual, olfactory and gustatory tools in the late stages of the disease process is provided with added stimulation that will counterbalance the effects of sensory deprivation that often accompany severe memory loss and regression. By keeping the senses of touch, hearing, sight, smell and taste stimulated and active, a resident's sense of awareness of the environment around him/her is maintained and, at times, heightened. Other benefits of sensory stimulation may include an increased appetite, increased communication and temporary improvement in cognition. 150 South Street |
