The residents of Pinnacle Nursing and Rehabilitation Center became Olympians last week as the facility held their inaugural Summer Olympic Games.
Heart and smiles were on full display as residents joined to competed in the opening and closing ceremonies, and in events like balance beam, javelin, shot put, wheel chair races, and sit-to-stand challenge.
The idea to do the event sprang from the success of their Winter Olympic Games, and several of the residents’ needs, the most obvious being therapeutic. Kerrie Barker, who works in admissions and marketing for Pinnacle explained that the events the residents competed in enhance the therapies they already receive at the facility.
“It’s really having fun doing therapy,” she said, “Hopefully, events like this will encourage the residents will want to do more. They’re already asking, ‘When’s our next one?'”
Barker also shared that she hopes the event will serve to encourage community involvement at the nursing and rehabilitation center. The staff and residents were excited to welcome Price City Mayor Joe Piccolo and his wife to their Opening Ceremonies, and were cheered on, serenaded, and joined in competition by fifth graders from Castle Heights Elementary.
The Summer Olympic events stretched through the week, with opening ceremonies on Monday, events throughout the week, and a barbeque and closing ceremonies on Friday. The residents were awarded medals and were proud to show them off after an eventful week.
The smiles were the reward the staff and volunteers had hoped for. “When we have activities like this, it gets them out of their shell,” Barker related. “The smiles on their faces make a world of difference.”