Senior Wellness

The Terrace Lake Village Retirement Community
Marshall Manor and “Rehab at the Village”
Meeting Your Needs One Step at a Time

Every journey begins with a single step. Seniors have been given a chance to make every step count on their journey to recovery by trusting their needed therapy services to "Rehab at the Village."  Our skilled Physical, Occupational, and Speech therapists pride themselves in offering only the finest care. Our goal is for each Resident to have a well and active life.  Each individual component of our campus offers its own unique settings and programming to encourage wellness of the entire being.  New and innovative equipment has provided a cost effective, outcomes proven method for getting recovering seniors up and moving again.  Benefits have been astounding with residents literally waiting their turn to get on board!  When you add it all up, the sum equals a greater opportunity for Residents to return to active living as soon as possible following injury, illness and surgery.

A Wellness Program for the Entire Being!
The Physical aspects of wellness are probably the most apparent and best understood.  Research has shown that exercise and physical activity strengthen not only your body but also your mind and soul.  Additionally it increases the flow of oxygen, builds bone density, and promotes a stronger immune system. 

The Social well being of seniors is one of the most misunderstood dimensions of aging.  Imagine the feeling of isolation that results from limited mobility; diminishing sight and/or hearing; and impairments in your balance, gait, strength, and endurance.  All result in one not being able to realistically get up and go. These physical and mental deficits rob seniors of opportunities to socially participate in meaningful activity and interaction with others. 

Simple games being provided for a Resident whose limitations do not interfere with or present a problem while interacting with others becomes a socially welcoming event.  The need for human communication and interaction is vital to wellness.  Preplanned activities and programs are presented daily to enhance our resident’s enjoyment of life.  Volunteers from the greater community are involved in our activities and enhance the experience of every event no matter how big or small.  Just a few examples of the regularly scheduled groups who interact with our residents are: The Red Hat Society, Pet Therapists, B-Team Angels, Classic Kickers, California Raisons, and the Vintage Gospel Singers.  Entertainers such as Fuster Buskins and our very own Marshall Manor Band also do their part to physically and mentally stimulate the residents.  The experience of interacting with others on varying levels while attending these events promotes a healthy environment for social wellbeing.  Whether it’s community wide events such as the annual Marshall Manor Beauty Pageant, Fall Festival, Christmas Party, Mardi Gras Parade, Spring Fling, 4th of July Celebration, or Valentine Party or it’s one-on-one participation in individual rooms with games, reading, music, movies or television, we encourage resident participation and social interaction.

Importance of the Emotional aspect of wellness is undeniable.  The bottom line is that people are happier when they are healthier and staying healthy can be a challenge for seniors.  Depression amongst the aging is common.  Research clearly indicates that depression can diminish with regular physical activity and staying active reduces stress, anxiety, and many related symptoms. 

Many believe one’s Spiritual health is the most important dimension of wellness.  It is the aspect of our being that shapes attitude, values, actions, and beliefs.  Our spiritual condition determines the level of resilience when facing tough times, disappointment, and yes the losses that are often incurred with aging.  It also provides many with coping skills for the present and hope for the future.  The individual spiritual needs of our Residents are met as we provide them a variety of opportunities for worship.  The facility has regularly scheduled groups from churches in the community representing all denominations that hold various types of functions such as singing, birthday parties, Holy Communion and Baptismal services, and other religious privileges or practices. 

We provide spiritual opportunities for those who do not wish to attend a group setting by contacting their priest, parson, pastor or any other spiritual mentor of their choice.  We also pre-plan each resident’s meal to provide food preferences that would be required by their individual religious doctrine.  We honor each Resident’s freedom to express speech in their religious beliefs and preferences.

To address the Intellectual aspect as another important dimension of wellness, we provide activities that facilitate cognitive functions and promote reality and independent thinking.  We aspire to continually understand the importance of keeping our resident’s intellectually stimulated and abreast of current events.  Games like Bingo and its many variations that use letters and numbers, allow the resident to choose their own prizes or even selecting an unknown prize such as a “Pig in a Poke” creates an avenue for the resident to use their intellect to make choices and use their mind.  Sitter Size allows residents to participate and enjoy a program which keeps their mind active while following instructions both visually and orally to perform tasks.  Outing groups such as “The Out to Lunch Bunch” allow our more functional residents the opportunity to visit different restaurants and choose from a menu for themselves.  They can experience the normalcy of social interaction within such a setting and perform their own financial transactions as they leave.  Even a simple trip to the store encourages them to continue the cognitive exercises needed to maintain intellectual wellness while they shop and accomplish the tasks affiliated with this kind of activity.  Interactive video games, like the “Wi”, along with table card and board games are often used to mentally stimulate and fill possible voids the resident might have in their competitive spirit.  We provide residents with newspapers.  This induces discussion and even healthy debate on current local and national events.  Discussions on topics like politics, the weather, “the good old days,” and/or the changes of such, challenges the intellect and enhances their positive environment.  Residents are encouraged to read different types of books, whether privately or in groups.  The discussions that follow create an excellent intellectual experience for all.  Finally, events and group meetings create the opportunity for residents to remember their favorite childhood event or sweetheart.  Allowing them to participate and plan such events has proven fruitful to their intellectual wellness.

The meaning of Vocational wellness changes throughout one’s lifespan.  It can be defined as simply participating in a meaningful and purposeful activity.  Obviously this can be a challenge for aging seniors, yet it is still an important aspect of their overall wellness.  Everyone has a desire and need to be productive and, in some respect, useful to others.  This can be accomplished, for example, through volunteer work or gardening.   Some seniors become the primary caregiver for a sick spouse while others struggle to find meaningful activity.  We help our residents address this dimension of wellness through providing them the opportunity to interact with others in order to relieve psychosocial symptoms and foster community relationships.  Seniors are encouraged to be a self-advocate, as appropriate, and to converse with others.  There is freedom within this environment to accomplish simple tasks such as providing some conversation, fixing a drink, offering prayer, or providing companionship.  This allows them to feel useful and “a part of the whole”.  We identify the strengths and weakness of each resident and use their strengths to overcome problems or concerns they might possibly perceive.  Through this process, opportunities are created which teach our residents how to handle conflict and stress.  As a result, non-adaptive or nonproductive behaviors that hinder appropriate interactions with others are discouraged and the opportunity for reoccurrences is further limited.  We emphasize the importance of taking one step at a time by our focus on obtaining a small success to reach long-term goals. Positive reinforcement and praise are used to increase confidence and decrease negativism among residents.  Part of the vocational wellness treatment plan for our residents is the Quality of Life goal.  The resident forms this goal; then the therapy and nursing staff address its objectives, establish measurable goals, and finally create an increase in autonomy for positive success.  

In summary, Marshall Manor believes in and focuses on living to the fullest at every stage of life.  Our effective and skilled staff has developed wellness programs to meet the various types of needs represented among our Residents.  We understand they each possess their own unique challenges, varying levels of independence, and functional abilities.   Cutting edge and state-of-the-art equipment being used at Marshall Manor’s “Rehab at the Village” is certainly a step in the right direction of seeing this commitment through.  Still, our ultimate goal is to RUN with new programs and equipment – all of which will enhance the Physical, Social, Emotional, Spiritual, Intellectual and Vocational Wellness of the seniors we serve each day, one step at a time.