At The Regency Assisted Living in Long Island, we are always trying to keep things new and exciting! We are very fortunate to have a talented and dedicated Recreation Department, headed by Director Erica Ferrara, who makes this their top priority. According to the National Council on Aging, “older adults who participate in senior activity programs can learn to manage and delay the onset of chronic disease and experience measurable improvements in their physical, social, spiritual, emotional and mental well-being”. Social and recreational activity helps to prolong and improve quality of life and aids in reducing depression, relieving stress and improving self-esteem. We take our recreation schedule very seriously here at The Regency Assisted Living.
Beginning in April, Art Therapist, Alice Barletta will be coming every Thursday to facilitate “Expressions 4 Art”. Alice is an experienced Art and Dance Movement Therapist. Throughout her Art Therapy career she has developed a vast repertoire of dynamic therapeutic directives that promote reminiscence, exploration of feelings, creative freedom, social awareness and environmental awareness. Art Therapy has proven to be especially beneficial to those who possess cognitive and/or physical limitations. We are looking forward to seeing what Alice has in store for us!
Now that spring is here, residents will start visiting the HorseAbility Therapeutic Riding Program again at SUNY Old Westbury. The Regency began participating in this program last summer and it was an instant hit with residents. They are really looking forward to starting up again. The benefits of Equine Therapy are well documented. There is often a unique bond that is formed with the horse that helps improve the well-being of participants who possess all different types of disabilities.
A new Book Club has also recently been formed. The members, all avid readers, are really enjoying it. They meet once a month in the private dining room and discuss their book over a lavish Chinese lunch. Last month they read, March by Geraldine Brooks. March retells Louisa May Alcott’s novel Little Women from the point of view of Alcott’s protagonists’ absent father, March. Brooks has inserted the novel into the classic tale, revealing the events surrounding March’s absence during the American Civil War in 1862. The novel won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Regency resident, Barbara Beers, especially loved March. She remarked, “I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was so well written and March is such an interesting character, an abolitionist and vegetarian. He was truly a man ahead of his time”. The new book they are currently reading is the New York Times bestseller, The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman. This is London Attorney Stedman’s debut novel. It is set on an island off the coast of Western Australia, the book tells the story of a World War I veteran and his wife, a childless couple with a loving marriage but no child to share the remote outpost that they call home. This couple - with a single breathtaking decision - sets into motion an unimaginable course of events. It is being described as haunting and harrowing, irresistible and seductive. It is sure to be another winner.
Our residents are having fun, exercising their brains and are obviously being kept very busy here at The Regency Assisted Living in Glen Cove! Can’t wait to see what other great new activities will be added to the schedule in the coming months by our remarkable Recreation Team. It is sure to be a great summer!