Creativity and Connection at Heathfield Court

Discover how our Lifestyle Team has been busy adapting our packed schedule of meaningful activities and events with heartwarming results.

While the past few months have brought unprecedented restrictions for all of us, life at Heathfield Court has by no means slowed down. Our much-loved residents have been as active as ever while we’ve been coming up with creative new home-based activities and alternative ways to stay in touch with loved ones.

We’ve all got involved in embracing new technology in order for our residents to connect with friends and family via virtual meet ups, while in-person visits had temporarily been put on hold. By now, the world has become very familiar with the various apps, from Zoom to Whatsapp, which have allowed multiple family members to dial in and video chat together with our residents.

In fact, we’ve found that friends and relatives have been able to stay in touch more than ever before thanks to this new technology. What a treat it has been to see our residents faces lighting up at the sight of their children and grandchildren from around the country. A truly touching experience.

With the absence of our regular visiting entertainers, we’ve had to create our own amusement at Heathfield Court, and as the weather heated up our residents have loved the introduction of outdoor games, including skittles and magnetic darts which everyone enjoyed. And even with social distancing restrictions in place, we have managed to stage some incredibly special outdoor performances from the stunning violinist, Jessica, and singer Calli, and more recently have introduced our chair-based yoga back to Heathfield Court, albeit in the garden.

We have also been getting as crafty as ever, from making Dream Catchers and hanging bird tables to enjoying some mindful painting. All of which has provided endless creative inspiration and brought everyone together in these challenging times. In fact, it has only helped to grow the community spirit within our home and I’m sure we will be keeping some of our new found entertainment going for months to come.

In addition to this, our Lifestyle team has started producing their very own weekly newsletter Heathfield At Home packed full of information, fun quizzes and puzzles, and resident and team member birthday celebrations. So far everyone is loving it!

And finally, we were all overjoyed when our very own central office sent over treats for our carers and resident to enjoy; one day it was an ice cream van, the next it was a surprise batch of lollipops and snow cones. We were even sent sensory packs of oils and creams designed to trigger beautiful memories. Such simple gestures to let us know we are, as ever, in their hearts and minds – they were greatly appreciated and went down a treat.