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If you’re planning to drop by to visit one of Misericordia Health Centre’s interim or long-term care residents, you might want to call ahead. Chances are the person could be busy taking part in one of the Life Enrichment programs funded through the generosity of Misericordia’s donors.

They might be tending the flowers or vegetables they’ve planted as part of horticultural therapy, posing for an artist drawing their portrait or decorating cupcakes.

“The whole point is to enrich their lives, but also engage them in the different recreational activities,” says Ellen Locke, the centre’s manager of recreational services.

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, here are a few of the programs we are able to offer our residents:

Enriching lives through art
Officially it’s time together to do art, but one Life Enrichment program is more “a women’s social group.” That’s how Locke likes to describe the visits an artist makes twice a month to female residents who all live on one interim-care floor. They crochet, knit, draw or paint together, sometimes getting inspiration from props such as china tea cups with flower patterns or sprigs of real lilacs.

“There’s a lot of social engagement and emotional engagement. You see a lot of smiling,” Locke says.

“The importance of doing it is being in the moment. Some of the ladies have dementia; it’s so wonderful to see them living in the moment, enjoying themselves, telling stories of when they were young, telling stories about gardening.”

Summer musician delights
There’s a lot of toe tapping going on at Misericordia during the summer months. George Bajer-Koulack, a music major at the University of Manitoba, visits 30 hours each week, playing his guitar and singing with residents at barbecues or on the centre’s Great-West Life Rooftop Garden and Solarium.

There are also smaller gatherings and one-on-one time, which one resident took to another level when she collaborated with the student to write a song.

“Music brings people happiness,” Locke says. “Anybody at any cognitive level, any physical level, they can enjoy music so it’s fantastic.”

Opera hits the right note

When opera singers visit Misericordia, one long-term care resident takes a front-row seat. The opera buff soaks up the performances, but also challenges the singers with requests to sing some of her favourite songs.

“They love her,” Locke says of the Manitoba Underground Opera Company members, all of whom are University of Manitoba music students.

The Opera Company performs monthly, alternating between long-term care residents of Misericordia Place and interim-care residents at the health centre.

“What I love best about having the opera is it’s high-calibre, mature entertainment,” Locke says.

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