Seniors receive royal treatment from local residents, employees
Wednesday, April 30, 2014 — Natalie Hamilton
From the Bingo players who keep an eye on residents’ cards to the restaurant servers who deliver a buffet-destined dessert directly to their table, the men and women of Maplewood are pampered “like royalty” by the long-term care home’s surrounding communities.
The hospitality can’t be beat, says Maplewood life enrichment co-ordinator (LEC) Rachel Corkery.
Corkery is expressing her gratitude for the reception residents and staff receive from the small towns nearby the 49-bed long-term care home in Brighton.
Maplewood just finished up its two-week turn with one of the OMNI vans.
“I started thinking about all of the trips and all of the experiences we’ve had with the OMNI van and how well we’re treated…anywhere we go in the local community,” Corkery tells The OMNIway. “I do my best to bring attention to the great community we are part of and myself and the residents always show our appreciation, but sometimes it just needs to go farther than that. It really needs to be said.”
For example, Corkery is giving a big shout-out to the staff at a restaurant in a small community about 15 minutes east of the home.
“At what is now our favorite restaurant, Pizza Hut in Trenton, once again, we received the royal treatment. The staff are so personable and they now recognize us when we pull up,” Corkery says.
“We never feel rushed and it has now become tradition for them to bring us a platter of the cinnamon bun dessert directly to our table. Every time we go, we get treated more and more like royalty.”
It’s not one particular waitress alone, the entire team of servers makes the group feel special, she notes.
Maplewood also enjoyed a warm reception recently from the local Lions Club. Volunteers helped and catered to residents, Corkery says, adding, “when we left at intermission, the Bingo caller made a special announcement thanking us for coming out and inviting us back again.”
Fellow club patrons also kept track of residents’ Bingo cards after they left and requested the phone number of the long-term care home. “Though no one won, we did get a call from someone to let us know so that we weren’t left guessing,” the LEC notes.
“I shouldn’t be surprised when we are treated like this. When I first started at Maplewood, while on an outing to Presqu’ile Provincial Park, we were approached by another park guest and given $20 to be used for a treat for the group we had out.”
Residents took in a recent drive through Presqu’ile to observe how the waterfowl and park survived the winter. A Maplewood volunteer, whose family member previously lived at the home, and her friends chip in to purchase a season’s pass to the park for residents.
Corkery suspects the outings, while enjoyable for residents and staff alike, also help make the home’s fundraising efforts “the huge success they are.” All of the donations to the home and the proceeds from silent auctions support resident outings — a decision made by Maplewood residents’ council – “so that all residents have an opportunity to go out with no extra costs.”
Discover how outings are helping change the community’s perception of long-term care in an upcoming OMNIway story.
If you have feedback on this article or a story idea to share, please e-mail Natalie@axiomnews.ca or call the newsroom at 800-294-0051.