Streamway Villa resident Cora Freeman folds towels at the Cobourg long-term care home.
‘I like to help’
Residents take up housekeeping tasks at OMNI homes
Friday January 25, 2008 -- Natalie Miller
Cora Freeman and Doug Watts chat as they fold a thick pile of white towels and facecloths in the lounge at a Cobourg long-term care home.

The residents fold meticulously and create a neat stack of laundered items.

“I like to help,” says Freeman.

She says Watts assists Streamway Villa's environmental services staff faithfully. This particular morning, she decided to join him. Freeman says it helps out staff and it’s a job that needs to be completed and she doesn’t mind assisting. “It takes quite awhile,” she notes. “We have so many.”

Watts says in addition to assisting with the laundry he likes to tend to the outdoor bird feeders at Streamway Villa. He enjoys birds and delights in seeing the visiting cardinals, sparrows, blue jays and nuthatches.

Involving residents in housekeeping-type tasks is something that gives residents purpose and makes them feel they’re contributing to the home where they live, employees say. Light tasks have been proven to serve also as a supportive measure to help occupy residents who have cognitive impairment.

Karen Coulter, life enrichment co-ordinator at Village Green in Selby, says a household task has proven to be a successful supportive measure for one resident at the long-term care home. Coulter says staff members explored several ways to support a resident who wandered the home as a result of cognitive impairment.

“It took us a couple of tries,” says Coulter.

What wound up being successful was offering the resident a clean rag to wipe down tables in the home’s activity room. “She loves to do that,” says Coulter, noting it keeps the resident active.

Coulter says both residents with and without cognitive impairment enjoy assisting staff, noting others get involved by handing out aprons during mealtimes.