Care Home Residents Surprise The Keyworkers With A Party To Say Thank You.
Care Home Manager Maxine Bain already knew what a kind hearted and dedicated team she had at Orchard House Care Home, but her team have been nothing short of Care Home Heroes since the start of the global pandemic, constantly going above and beyond for not just the residents in their care, but for the families of those residents too. Whether it’s helping residents Skype their family in Australia or coming up with increasingly creative ways of keeping residents entertained, they have left no stone unturned in their efforts to support residents and loved ones alike.
Coordinating with residents and a few select members of her team, Maxine arranged for a surprise party to be thrown in mid-June for her RCH Rock Stars as a way to thank and show appreciation for everyone who works in the Residential Dementia and Nursing care home. Throughout the week leading up to the party, a series of events were held within the home in Wisbech to celebrate not just the amazing individuals working there, but to also showcase what a vital and rewarding job working in social care can be – often forgotten in favour of frontline healthcare workers, social care workers play just as important a role in supporting the vulnerable amongst us and their efforts are equally deserving of recognition.
The residents were eager to also show their appreciation and wrote their own special messages for staff: “They are always very cheerful in the morning. They bring me lovely cooked breakfasts. The word carer doesn’t come in to it, they are my family!” wrote Heather, and Tony was keen that the carers were rewarded, “The carers are brilliant; nothing is too much trouble.”
It was wonderful for staff to see the impact their dedication and kindness have on residents and Deputy Manager Sarah commented, “I love working at Orchard House because we have some amazing staff that are caring and passionate about the residents. The residents are well looked after, happy and smiley. There is great teamwork and bonds between staff and residents, and I couldn’t be prouder of them!”
Maxine explained the idea came about because “Throughout the pandemic, everyone has gone above and beyond to ensure the residents at Orchard remained safe, and we wanted to celebrate the wonderful achievements of the team. Both our residents and staff thoroughly enjoyed every moment, and it was an absolute delight and privilege to be part of such a wonderful event”.
The week of celebrations culminated in a garden party (with appropriate social distancing of course), garden games including a surprise raffle, music and an opportunity to throw a custard pie or wet sponge – definitely the most popular event
As a final thank you, everyone was gifted a personalised wooden heart keyring saying ‘Thank you for being a keyworker during Covid-19 2020’.
