Activities Full Steam Ahead at Sedgebrook Senior Living
He had a very good year. Although this has rarely been the case for anyone over the past year, such as been the experience of Joliet resident Jason Heidel.
As many flinched and faltered, for Jason, it was full steam ahead. The Resident Engagement Manager at Sedgebrook senior living community in Lincolnshire came on board last year to the community in which residents had been accustomed to being active and engaged through in-person entertainment, fitness, continuing education, committees, clubs, and more. Because of COVID-19, many retirement communities initially struggled as residents remained within their apartments in the interest of safety. Jason's expertise and vision helped to quickly provide activities and programming for the residents.
Jason had been working in senior living for ten years, starting as an entertainer. "I was with a group of theater people performing for seniors living communities," he said. Jason recalled that many in his audiences revealed that they didn't want to be performed at; they'd rather be part of the show. "So I came up with more interactive ideas for them," he said, adding that he was happy to be "that outside of the box guy, encouraging older adults to age in a sincere, fun, and hopeful way. There wasn't much of that at the time in the industry."
Jason and his team at Sedgebrook are adept at creating, collecting, and curating content. When Jason started working at Sedgebrook a year ago, the community had already adopted Touchtown, a senior living communications tool. It had only been utilized minimally. Now under Jason's operation, Sedgebrook is considered a #1 user of Touchtown, sharing musical performances, themed events, movies, meditation, worship, games, and more directly to the residents' apartments. During the pandemic, Jason and his team have compiled more than 30 weekly programs, including fitness, lifelong learning, news, and more. While much of the content is curated from YouTube and other sources, Jason's team has also built their own studio to create their own content. "We've built a weekly television guide with activities, classes, lectures, concerts, etc. We're running programming consistently from 8:00 in the morning till 10 at night," he said.
Jason said, in fact, that he'd already been working in virtual programming before the pandemic hit has been very beneficial to Sedgebrook. "This was programming that I'd already been building for years, with a way to get it out to people. I used Touchtown, Zoom, and everything else I'd found available to provide content to meeting multiple people wherever they are."
Jason's team also offered in-person programming during COVID-19, strictly observing safety protocols while allowing residents to see their friends and neighbors. Highlights have included a week-long Halloween Fest with apple dipping, haunted movies, a paintball zombie hunt, and a spooky science class, followed by a six-week winter cruise program. Sedgebrook's cooking class, Meats vs. Beets, promoted a battle between omnivore and plant-based diets competing for flavor and health benefits. Live interviews over the past months featured zookeeper Jungle Jordan and Italian singer Alberto Dante. The community also held regularly scheduled live musical performances and more.
As Sedgebrook residents and staff have all had the opportunity to be fully vaccinated, the senior living community is cautiously expanding the reopening of its group activities.
For example, in honor of Oscars month in April, Sedgebrook will host its live 007: Casino Royale Night with tables and dealers, slot machines, a prize exchange, food, specialty cocktails, and live musical entertainment.
Jason is excited to have the chance to explore more of his interactive and engaging programming in-person with the residents while continuing to provide online options.
"What the residents want and deserve is a home with a real live cruise director at their beck and call. I will keep trying new things that no other community is doing," Jason said.
SEDGEBROOK
Sedgebrook is a Life Plan Community offering a diverse lifestyle, maintenance-free living, and outstanding amenities. Five-star rated Radford Green Health Care, and Rehabilitation is located on the 72-acre Sedgebrook campus in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Sedgebrook is a Senior Care Development, LLC affiliated community and managed by Life Care Services LLC®. For additional information, visit www.WelcomeToSedgebrook.com or call 847-901-3319.