Life Care centers celebrate Valentine’s Day 2022
Life Care facilities around the country celebrated Valentine’s Day this year with parties, music, food and lots of fun! Here are a few unique ways our residents and associates marked the Day of Love.
Life Care Center of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, involved the residents in decorating for Valentine’s Day leading up to the holiday. They did a lot of Valentine’s-inspired crafts and had a valentine card swap. On Feb. 14, residents and associates were encouraged to wear red or pink, and the Valentine’s Day party was a lot of fun for everyone! Associates led the residents in games and served refreshments, while live music played. The annual Valentine’s Day king and queen were also crowned.
For the past 12 years, Life Care Center of Morristown, Tennessee, has kicked off the residents’ favorite time of year with a Valentine’s Day party. This year, the activities department decorated the dining room with 100 balloons for all the residents to take back to their rooms after the party. A table was set up with a crown and tiara and a dozen roses and chocolate, and residents admired these goodies while entering. Residents enjoyed punch and cupcakes, but everyone was most excited to see who the staff and residents had voted for as the king and queen. Emily Raulston was chosen as queen. “She was in shock and started to cry a bit and thanked everyone who had voted for her,” shared Stacie Stein, activity director. “Then it was time to tell Emily who her king was, and it turned out to be her husband, Jack Raulston. They were both crowned, and they both smiled with such delight. We enjoyed the afternoon with music and dancing, and everyone congratulated our king and queen.”
Life Care Center of Seneca, Kansas, celebrated Valentine's Day by inviting the residents’ spouses in to have a meal with them. The facility also crowned the king and queen at noon: Bob Smith and Jane Werner.
Will Bear Ham the Life Care Bear made his triumphant return to the halls of Life Care Center of Wilbraham, Massachusetts! After nearly two years of hibernation, he was eager to pass out some Valentine’s Day gifts to associates and residents alike.
Life Care Center of Westminster, Colorado, had its annual resident king and queen crowning. Activities put out heart-shaped voting boxes two weeks beforehand, and associates and residents were able to vote. On Valentine's Day, the votes were counted, and the executive director crowned the king and queen. Residents also enjoyed live music.
Life Care Center of the South Hill in Puyallup, Washington, set up a “Make Your Valentine a Treat” table with cookies that associates and residents could decorate with edible paints, markers, frosting and sprinkles, as well as gift boxes to take the treats to-go. it was a big hit!
At The Gardens Court in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, activities staff decorated the entire building with Valentine’s decorations and balloons. They also put up a voting box a week before Valentine’s Day and had associates vote for the Valentine’s king and queen. The winners were announced at the party and were given a crown, a heart-shaped box of chocolates and a wooden sign with their royal title. The residents enjoyed music, cake and finger foods during the party. Activities staff passed out Valentine’s gift boxes.
At Life Care Center of Hilton Head, South Carolina, the activities team decorated a Valentine’s Day cart and rolled it around to each resident’s room several times throughout the day. In the morning, residents enjoyed a hot chocolate bar with love songs playing from the cart. After lunch, residents talked about love while using heart- and lip-shaped cookie cutters as stamps to make pictures. The afternoon ended with another round from the cart with different chocolate snacks and Valentine’s Day trivia.
Life Care Center of Sierra Vista, Arizona, asked residents for their advice about love. Residents also enjoyed a cart with coffee and cupcakes, as well as Valentine’s Day goodie bags.
Residents at Life Care Center of Medina, Ohio, made and decorated hundreds of pieces of chocolate candy for the staff. Associates, on their end, passed out valentines, chocolates and Cupid arrow pencils. A local church group donated blankets for the residents, and FedEx in Medina picked the facility for its Valentine’s project, presenting the residents with 100 gift bags full of goodies!
At Cañon Lodge Care Center in Cañon City, Colorado, electing a king and queen has been a long-standing tradition. Visitors, associates and residents turned in their ballots for their choices, and the lucky winners turned out to be a couple, Bob and Ruth Peffer, who had just celebrated their 73rd anniversary! The king was awarded a cape and crown, and the queen was lovely in her cape and tiara during the party. All residents received a valentine balloon, and some played Valentine’s tic-tac-toe. Everyone enjoyed cookies, brownies and ice cream floats. After the party, residents chose their favorite colors of muted clay and cut out hearts, then added different types of texture. The hearts baked in the oven to make lovely clay heart decorations, which were then strung and hung above the nursing station to show love and appreciation for the daily care the associates provide. Residents received their own heart to hang in their room or gift to someone special after the display was taken down.
And at Life Care Center of Westlake, Ohio, the Valentine’s Day celebration started on Feb. 10 with heart-pumping exercise, followed by a word challenge and making valentines cards. Feb. 11 started off with cardio drumming and Valentine’s Day word mining. Residents finished out the day with “Name that Heart Tune.” On Feb. 14, the disinfected valentines were exchanged. The memory care dining room was decked out with red and white tablecloths, centerpieces made by the residents and glittering hearts. A violinist shared beautiful music, and the day ended with sweet strawberry milkshakes!
