Long-term care residents and staff in Eston were certainly in high spirits June 15-19.
Jennifer Pittman, recreation coordinator at the Eston Health Centre, organized a Spirit Week to bring a few days of joy to those in the facility.
“As anyone who works in long-term care knows, the last few months have been really hard, not only on the residents, but on the staff as well,” she said. “I felt like we needed something fun to do.”
Each day of the week had a theme: Bright Colour Day, Pajama Day, Hat Day, Crazy Hair Day and Crazy Shirt Day. Residents and staff were invited to take part. Continuing care assistants helped residents with their accoutrement, which ranged from funny hair clips to temporary hair paint.
The highlight for residents, according to Pittman, was an egg race on Pajama Day. “Their balance was a lot better than I anticipated, and I finally had to give them forks to balance the eggs so they would start dropping and breaking,” she said. Other notable events included a Jenga competition and an ice cream social.
With such good reception, plans are underway for the next Spirit Week this fall.
Eston Health Centre staff celebrate Pajama Day as part of Spirit Week.