At Heritage Community of Kalamazoo (HCK), we create and sustain a culture of life enrichment that is the embodiment of our mission to Celebrate Life and Honor the Soul. It is our goal to provide high quality experiences for each resident that are fun, meaningful, varied, and person-centered. As the region's leading provider of the Best Friends™ Approach, we have mastered the art of being together by turning even simple daily interactions into engaging activities.
Our teams of Life Enrichment professionals consider each individual's rich life history, their habits, what they like to do, and what makes them feel meaningfully connected with life, such as:
We embrace a person's life story and what is most valued by him or her such as one-to-one conversations, activities, and programs that reflect the individual's personality, work related past, family history, military service, community involvement, hobbies and interests, travels, faith, political views, spiritual beliefs, etc. Our Life Enrichment program includes activities that may include scrapbooking, small group work, thematic arts, taped recordings, journaling, family gatherings, and much more.
Persons with Dementia and Alzheimer's disease are living in the present moment. Staff members know that thirty seconds can make a big difference in helping a person with significant memory loss feel comforted and supported in relation to others. A great activities program recognizes and captures moments of success through greeting a person in a special way, creating a nostalgic moment, offering words of encouragement, or a hug. We make sure all individuals, despite cognitive challenges, have opportunities to experience meaningful moments throughout their day.
We respect that although not everyone is part of a traditional faith community, we all have a spirit that needs nourishing. From a life enrichment perspective, we offer services, programs, and activities to honor the spirit in a variety of ways. We offer a number of traditional religious services, serving different faith backgrounds and we also welcome the opportunity to find ways to make a connection for persons who may come from unfamiliar faith communities. Whether it is acknowledging a specific religious belief, expressing the spirit through music, or discussing life long values, part of our mission is to find ways to truly "honor the Soul" of each individual in our care and residence.
At HCK wellness is reflected in a variety of ways. Residents may join our regularly scheduled fitness classes, strength training, Tai Chi, drumming, a relaxation hour, massages, laughter, or experience the scents discovered in an aroma therapy session. All of these activities promote wellness. We have trained professionals leading participants in wellness activities. It is not uncommon to find our volunteer "Senior Energizers" doing intentional walking for health benefits with a small group or our certified fitness instructors leading Enhance Fitness. Enhance Fitness is a nationally endorsed, researched based fitness program for all levels of ability.
No matter what age, learning never ends. With one of the greatest generations living among us, we capture opportunities to reminisce, and value continued education. In addition, we all benefit from the special relationships that are established and the learning that happens between generations through inter-generational experiences in elementary schools or interns coming to us from local colleges and universities. Our popular Community Connections Series offers speakers from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Even those who may not be able to retain the material discussed, still enjoy the experience of learning, and being in community with others who have inquisitive minds.
At HCK you do not have to be an artist to create a masterpiece! Just being part of the group and enjoying others artwork can be fun. It could be poetry, old sayings, music therapy, crafts, or simply doing old skills like cutting, painting, or outlining, which offer a sensory or social experience. Not to mention planting and gardening, smelling the flowers, or simply being outdoors with others enjoying our beautiful fountain and landscaping. Often the simplest of activities or techniques produce the most fun and creative results.
Who doesn't have a favorite recipe that brings us to familiar time in the kitchen with family and friends? Does the person have a favorite type of pie? Did the person enjoy baking or does he or she have any special tips on the best way to cook a favorite dish? For many of us, food, and activities surrounding the kitchen has held some of the best memories and family pastimes. Food-related activities are a common experience in our life enrichment programming. Using basic precautions and common sense, residents have even prepared vegetables for dinner or added their opinions, suggestions and talents in making special treats. Food related activities are often used with individuals with dementia to evoke old social graces and opportunities to reminisce.
A fun game or group activity such as cards, trivia, bowling, or honing our skills on the popular Wii home video game are just a few examples of ways that we have fun together. Games and less structured activities to do together are an important way that keep us sharp mentally and increase socialization.
Life Enrichment is not just reserved for daytime hours. Throughout HCK you will find different kinds of programs that accommodate residents' needs in each setting at different times. While one residence is celebrating "April in Paris", a lively large group event, another residence may be starting "Relaxation Hour" before bedtime with quiet music. Another popular program is "Family Night" when relatives and friends are encouraged to participate in a variety of activities or enjoy entertainment along with staff and residents.
We believe in our community and the importance of helping people as much as possible stay connected with their own community, social networks, and things that are important to him or her. Transportation is provided to a variety of Kalamazoo Community Cultural Events, planned group outings for shopping, recreation, and dining. A number of local community groups, organizations, and talented individuals are frequently on the calendar to provide entertainment on campus.
Best Friends™ is based on the groundbreaking research of authors Virginia Bell and David Troxel and is a trademark of Health Professionals Press, Inc.
We continuously strive to place each individual in the center of the care process. Routines, schedules and tasks become secondary to the needs, desires and pace of all residents in our care and residential settings.