The nicest thing about elderly homes, also known as skilled nursing facilities or assisted living facilities, is that they provide elders with structured activities designed to enhance strength and memory. Not only are loved ones encouraged to walk daily, but shopping expeditions are often scheduled monthly, along with a vast array of fun activities led by trained staff.

Senior retirement communities may offer day programs: breakfast and lunch are served, old movies are watched and enjoyed, and board games are played. Many nursing homes or elderly homes have historians come to day programs and spend time with each resident, ultimately making a book of memories to be shared with and treasured by younger generations.

Music also plays a key role in many elders’ recovery and care: day programs have dance parties and also engage in seated exercise routines that are tailored to each resident’s functional abilities. Most residents of elder care homes are in their 70s and 80s and love to hear music from their childhood.

Along with scheduled outings to shopping centers and cultural activities, many retirement homes or elderly homes incorporate spiritual programming on a weekly basis for those residents who choose to participate.

Arts and crafts that are prominently displayed make staff and residents smile, and residents are encouraged to develop friendships and to interact with each other at meals and during the day. Finding the proper facility for a loved one can be a process, but once the right one is found, residents are free to relax and have fun.

Structured activities can improve residents’ moods; nostalgic activities designed to help with memory recollection are also considered very healthy. Overall, activities are designed to help with physical and mental well-being and are implemented by trained nurses who are specifically trained in caring for older loved ones.