The Brighter Side

Chicken coop brings clucks and chuckles to Louisiana nursing home

What do you call four chickens sharing a home? Simple: Bobbie, Bailey, Nugget and Roxanne — if you’re at Alpine Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation in Ruston, LA. Rather than an overpriced studio apartment, they reside in a new chicken coop clad in Kentucky Fried Chicken colors. “[Last year] we had our maintenance man build our…
They get the point: Smile Squad crosses hallways to bring cheer to skilled nursing patients

At The Buckingham, a senior living community in Houston, 20 independent living residents are wearing smiles (and red aprons!) to help their skilled nursing neighbors. In the fall of 2018, resident Emily Ryan was recovering from a hip injury at The Buckingham. She noticed that many of her fellow residents lacked visitors and appeared isolated…
Skilled nursing residents put on dancing shoes for (another) senior prom

It turns out high school seniors are not the only ones who get to go to prom. That’s the case at least if you are a “life” senior and a resident of one of The Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing facilities across New York state. Each of its communities recently put on a nostalgia-tinged bash for…
Teenage genie: Ruby Chitsey makes nursing residents’ dreams come true by granting their wishes – more than 40,000, in fact

Most 15-year-olds spend their free time playing video games or watching television. For Ruby Chitsey, however, it’s an age when time is of the essence and she chooses to spend hers at a local nursing home. Chitsey is the CEO and founder of Three Wishes for Ruby’s Residents, an Arkansas-based nonprofit dedicated to granting small…
Nursing home residents recreate ‘Roaring Twenties’ picnic at historic mansion

The Kennedy Mansion in Canton, SD, sticks out from all the other residences in town. Built in 1917, it has been a fixture in the community ever since. Many of the residents at Good Samaritan Society-Canton grew up admiring it. Thanks to the generosity of current owner Kris Wathier, they were able to enjoy a…
Python Ron charms snakes — and residents — at grateful nursssssing home

Coming face to face with an 18-foot-long python may seem daunting to some, but to the residents of Woodland (CA) Skilled Nursing, it’s just another Monday. Residents recently put on their sunscreen and brave faces to venture outside their home and enjoy Python Ron’s Exotic Reptile and Animal Show. Ron McGee, lovingly dubbed Python Ron,…
Memory care residents wipe out nursing home’s ‘mole’ problem

“Whack-a-Mole” is a popular game seen at arcades and fairs across the nation. But what if it was … human-size?
NY nursing home residents pay homage to Taylor Swift

Estimated to generate $4.6 billion for local economies nationwide, it’s no secret that the hottest tickets of the summer are for Taylor Swift’s The Eras tour. Residents of The Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing at Rome may have been disappointed when they didn’t score tickets when her tour stopped in the New York City area at…
Skilled nursing community celebrates National Skilled Nursing Care Week in style

While some long-term care providers may have dabbled with a key event here or there, leaders at Alden Estates of Shorewood, IL, made sure no part of their National Skilled Nursing Care Week schedule was unfilled. Over the course of the week, the community held a variety of activities, ranging from the opening “Harry Potter…
Long-term care facility goes wild for petting zoo

Goats, donkeys, rabbits, miniature horses, sheep and a llama. That’s not a checklist for Noah’s Ark but rather the guests that visited Good Samaritan Society in Austin, MN, during National Skilled Nursing Care Week. “The event was amazing, we love to celebrate our residents and staff!” said GSS Austin administrator Clara Stitt. “Most of our…