52 Weeks of Giving - Set Up and Decorate a Nursing Home Room - Week 40

During the 40th week of the 52 Weeks of Giving program that Sophia and Olivia are doing this year, they helped decorate their grandfather's new room at the nursing home.

My dad (their grandfather) is in the very late stages of Alzheimer's Disease. His care now has exceeded what my mother, PCAs, and home health care aides can provide at home.

Because of the progression of the disease, we chose a nursing home (which apparently is now called a care center - I'm not sure when the terminology changed) that will meet his needs - physical, emotional, and spiritual.

The information about the care center said that it "...is a recognized leader in this compassionate and specialized method of care for the chronically and terminally ill. Similar to hospice, palliative care is provided to improve the quality of life at a time when the resident’s disease is not responsive to curative treatment. The difference is, hospice is available during the last few months of life and palliative care can begin anytime after diagnosis.

"The focus of Palliative Care is to control the pain and symptoms of a disease while meeting each resident’s physical, emotional, spiritual, social and cultural needs. Caregivers are certified practitioners of palliative care and work as a team to provide for residents and their families. Even the environment — colors, sounds and smells — are designed to gently soothe and comfort."

This seemed like a good fit with what we would want for my dad/the girls' grandfather. Fortunately, a private room in the palliative care unit became available during the last week in September.

So, Sophia, Olivia, my mom/the girls' grandmother, and I went to see the room and get it set up for my dad/their grandfather's arrival on Monday (October 3rd).

Sophia hung a black-capped chickadee figure

from the light near her grandfather's bed.

The girls helped fold clothes and put them in drawers; put clothes on hangers and hang them up in the closet; decorate the walls and bulletin board; open packages of items (e.g., kleenex) and place them around the room; and put books and knick knacks on the bookshelf and by the window.

Olivia placing a box of Kleenex by the sink.

From the first look at the room with only a nightstand and bed (with only a blanket and sheet) to a room that reflected their grandfather's interests and had reminders of his home and what he did during his life, Sophia and Olivia created a more welcoming and comforting room to help him with this major transition in his life.

The room after the girls decorated it

for their grandfather.