This week we celebrated National Nursing Home Week with many special events and activities. It all kicked off on Saturday, May 13th, with our 2nd Annual Car & Tractor Show. The weather was nearly as perfect as it gets for Kansas, and we had a lot of beautiful cars show up. Four of those cars were rewarded with really cool custom-made trophies, by our own Bob Loganbill. Using old car parts and his painting skills he made what I think are the best trophies around. We had a great turnout of residents, from all areas of campus, who came to look at the cars. When my dad and I go to car shows it always prompts memories and stories and I hope our car show did the same for our residents. We are planning to keep the car show on the schedule for the second Saturday in May and hope to have it continue to grow.
Monday was an easy day for me to participate in...it was “Dress Like Our CEO Day”. Apparently, my wardrobe is fairly predictable with a good number of plaid shirts. We did have lots of participation, and in my mind, the place had never looked better 😂. We also celebrated with indoor games and calculator cookies. Tuesday was fishing day, and there were many bringing in a catch at our on-campus fish pond. I was concerned with the water level dropping but the fish seemed to be active. We really need some rain (as does everyone) to get the pond back up.
Wednesday was our Hawaiian-themed day, with everyone wearing their tropical shirts and enjoying our Hawaiian Luau spring block party. This is where our employees really shined with their teamwork to make this event happen. It really takes everyone to make these events a success, from setting up, preparing the meal, and seeing that it gets served. I had many residents compliment the food and how much they enjoyed it. Our Dining Services team did a great job! I had an equal number of comments on how well everyone worked together to make sure everyone got their food, dessert, and anything else they needed. It is not easy to relocate almost everyone outside, while still having residents to care for inside, and serve a meal. Our staff made it happen and worked great together to do so.
I think the most exciting day, at least for our staff, was the Pine Village Olympics on Thursday. Six teams took to the Wellness Center parking lot to engage in games of skill, luck, or a little of both. It may just be for bragging rights, but the competitive juices start flowing when the games begin. Again, we were blessed with good weather for the event. Games included the hug-a-balloon race, egg relay, bean bag toss, and hula hoop. Life-size Hungry, Hungry Hippos, where competitors in wheelchairs try to collect balls similar to the old board game, is probably the highlight just for the sheer chaos. In the end, Team Teal, comprised of Caley Chapman, April Moon, Jessica John, Nathan Smith, and Wendy Loehr, was victorious.
We’ll wrap up our weeklong celebration with Hippie Day on Friday, featuring tie-dye activities, and Pajama Day on Saturday. I cannot thank our team enough for all their efforts in making these events come together and making this a special week for Pine Village and all our residents.
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