It’s not every day that long-term care residents get treated to front row seats for a hockey game. That changed during a warm, sunny day in mid-October after a Massachusetts nursing home worker had the bright idea to bring the game to them.
The idea stemmed from Katie Perkins who serves as the activity director for Alliance Healthcare in Braintree, an 101-bed skilled nursing and recalibration facility Braintree, MA. Perkins, who’s the parent of a Pembroke Youth Hockey team player, thought it would be a good opportunity for the team to put on an outdoor scrimmage for residents.
But after COVID-19 restrictions halted the plan, she passed the idea over to Irene Dossantos, the life enrichment director for Bridges by Epoch, a nearby memory care and assisted living facility in Pembroke, MA.
Dossantos jumped on the opportunity and the event for residents was held on Oct. 18 in the facility’s parking lot. Residents watched the players go back and forth on their makeshift rink for several periods.
“They’re all focused in,” Dossantos said of residents who watched from the sidelines.
Residents thanked the “talented” team and said it was “really thoughtful for [them] to spend the afternoon with us.”
“It was so great to see all of the action happening in front of us,” several residents told organizers.
Maybe the weather will hold up long enough for them to catch another game real soon.
