Local facilities celebrate National Nursing Home Week

Beverly Harvey
Staff Writer
Published: May 12, 2008

BELOW: Residents Wendell McClendon, leads Julie Moody and Dennis Pace during the electric wheelchair race at Care Center of Opelika Monday. The wheelchair races and parade held earlier kicked off National Nursing Home Week. Photo by Vasha Hunt.

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Wendell McLendon is a cautious man, who is known for taking his time when he tools around the hallways at the Care Center of Opelika in his electric wheelchair.

But on Monday afternoon, McLendon threw caution to wind when he competed in the electronic wheelchair race held at the Care Center — winning the contest handily against two other contenders.
“I opened it up like I was supposed to — as fast as this wheelchair will go,” McLendon said of his victory strategy. “I had it all the way to the top.”

The wheelchair race was one of the Care Center’s opening-day activities to celebrate National Nursing Home Week, May 11 through May 17, which was established by the American Health Care Association.

National Nursing Home Week is a time to “celebrate nursing facility life,” to reach out to someone at a nursing home and to “honor employees — people who give themselves — day in, day out — to the residents,” Oak Park Nursing Home manager Trent Jackson said.

At least two area nursing homes — Care Center of Opelika and Oak Park Nursing Home in Auburn — are hosting a variety of activities this week to entertain residents and to say “thank you” to their employees.

Oak Park will focus on a different area of the nursing home and a different theme each day throughout the week.

For example, Wednesday will be “Tacky Day” at Oak Park, with employees and residents dressing in their tackiest clothes, and housekeeping workers and certified nurses’ assistants will be recognized at the nursing home, Oak Park manager Trent Jackson said.

During the week, Oak Park employees will also wear their pajamas to work, dress up as pirates and wear western outfits. Residents will get the chance to enjoy an ice cream social, outdoor cookout and carnival day with the staff.

Wheelchair races will also be held at Oak Park — one for residents and one for employees — on Thursday, Jackson said.

Care Center of Opelika resident Brenda Hunt won the second manual wheelchair race on Monday afternoon. She was all smiles as she relished in her victory.

“It feels good. It feels real marvelous,” Hunt said basking in the spring sunlight. “I definitely wanted to win.”

Hunt said she also enjoyed being outside with the staff and the other residents.

This week, Care Center of Opelika residents will also take part in a watermelon eating contest, Wii video games, chili cookoff judging and a tailgate party.

Employees will enter a pie-eating contest today. Later in the week, they’ll be able to play beach volleyball, enter hula hoop and limbo contests, and engage in water balloon fights.

All of the activities are geared toward boosting employees’ morales and having fun with the residents, Care Center of Opelika Director of Marketing Morgan Brown said.

Approximately 60 percent of Care Center’s residents turned out Monday for the opening-day festivities, Brown said.

“We had a pretty good turnout of patients,” Brown said. “I noticed a lot of excitement and positive statements from both staff and the residents. They’re looking forward to the rest of the week.”

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ABOVE: Resident Brenda Hunt wins the second wheelchair race at Care Center of Opelika Monday. The wheelchair races and parade held earlier kicked off National Nursing Home Week. Photo by Vasha Hunt.