News & Blog

Volunteer Opportunities for Residents Abound

Excerpt by Elsa Collins

As the Master Plan construction and COVID restrictions come to an end, Broadmead’s Health and Wellness programs are planning ways for independent living residents to reconnect with residents who live in the higher level of care neighborhoods: Taylor, Darlington, Douglass, Greenleaf, Hallowell, and Tubman.

Vice President of Health Services Ann Patterson is conducting tours of the new spaces to introduce residents to the physical changes and the levels of care offered in each neighborhood. With the goals of connecting residents to each other, lessening social isolation, and improving well-being for all residents, Spiritual Care and Volunteer Coordinator Joanne Tetrault, along with the Lifestyle Department and the Center for Excellence in Dementia Care, are developing training sessions to help volunteers. This training will help equip independent living residents to visit and engage in activities with their neighbors in the “upstairs” neighborhoods.

The training will include safety tips for wheelchairs and rollators, communication skills for conversing with people who live with memory issues, and acclimation to how and where to engage residents in playing games and cards and reading together. In addition, the training will introduce a simple screen-based resource that includes music, games like Bingo, and other resources for resident activities. As volunteers renew friendships and become comfortable in the new areas, other activities will evolve, reflecting residents’ interests.

Volunteering has a long history at Broadmead. Other volunteer partnerships include visiting therapy dogs, music programs, students from Hereford High School, St. Paul’s School, and Friends School, and clients from the Jewish Community Services Employment Support program.