The Life Enrichment Team

at Sprenger Health Care Port Royal

story by KAREN SNYDER           staff photos by CHARLOTTE BERKELEY

Now more than ever,” says Sprenger Health Care’s Life Enrichment Director Brittany Newell, “it’s important to keep our seniors well and happy. And that’s the goal we work toward each and every day.”

With approximately 70 residents at Sprenger Health Care Port Royal in its skilled nursing, assisted living, or newly opened memory care unit, ensuring that residents remain encouraged, engaged, and participatory in their daily health and wellness is critical. Now facing the added challenges brought on by a worldwide pandemic, the Life Enrichment Department’s four-member staff continues to work tirelessly to maintain the emotional, social, physical, and cognitive well-being of the residents whom they call “family.”

“We’ve had to get creative,” admits Newell, referring to the daily task of providing intellectual and social opportunities in which residents participate. Due to COVID-19 restrictions that limit outside visitors to the facility and social interaction among residents, Newell says that she and her team have pivoted from the typical group activity model to visiting residents on a one-to-one basis.

“We used to plan more group activities, such as bingo and outings, where we visited the kazoo factory or historic parts of town, went out to eat, or fed the birds at The Sands. But now, we visit with our residents in their rooms and bring the activities to them,” she explains.

And the day is undoubtedly a busy one! As early as 9 a.m., the Life Enrichment team begins making rounds on an hourly basis. “We’ve tried to make it fun for the residents by decorating our activity carts in different themes. One week it may be a luau theme, a Disney theme, or the Star Wars theme we did for May 4th. The residents enjoy seeing what we come up with and vote for their favorites,” says Newell, adding that planning activities that “mentally” engage residents are of special importance right now.

“Like anyone, our residents sometimes feel down or in a slump — especially given our current circumstances. It’s important that we keep them happy by encouraging them to participate in what we have to offer.”

Activities run the gamut from word games or card games for intellectual stimulation to physical activities, such as morning exercises. Newell, a Battery Creek High School graduate and a licensed CNA (certified nursing assistant), has worked with seniors in several capacities since 2014, including as an activity assistant, med tech, resident assistant, transporter, and scheduler, among other roles.

“When the Life Enrichment Director position became available, I knew that it was something I wanted to do,” says Newell, who has worked at the facility since 2018.

“We try to listen to what our residents are interested in. Everyone has a different personality. So, whether they choose to participate in what we’ve planned takes a bit of trial and error,” says the Beaufort native.

Newell readily admits that planning a wide variety of activities requires dedication, and finding the right resources often can be time-consuming. “In this job, you wear many hats and quickly become a ‘jack-of-all-trades’! But I find my job very rewarding. God put me in a position to help others, and I’m very blessed.”

Sarah Kahn, RN, who joined the Life Enrichment team in 2019, agrees with Newell calling her work “my passion.” Kahn, a graduate of Vanderbilt University, says she stepped away from nursing for a time while raising her three daughters but rejoined the workforce working nights at Beaufort Memorial. When the opportunity to work as an Activities Assistant at Sprenger Health Care presented itself, Kahn pursued it.

“I love what I do! Sometimes in nursing your job becomes more about rushing around, giving meds, and documenting. For me, the focus of nursing should be on humanity. I love the human interaction with the residents. They are like family to me,” she adds.

“The staff and residents at Sprenger bring me such joy,” says Kahn, explaining that working there also has helped her to better understand the challenges her own mother faces as a dementia patient in another facility. “My skills as a nurse have really transferred nicely to what I’m doing now. I truly learn just as much from the residents as they learn from me.”

Whether it’s doing arts and crafts or setting up virtual “field trips” to the U.S. National Park System, Kahn says it’s important to discover what interests the residents have and learn more about their personal lives. “We try hard to find out what makes each resident tick and incorporate that into their daily lives here at Sprenger.

“One resident used to be involved in helping our community’s homeless, but right now, she is unable to do that. So, I asked her to help me put together some ‘Blessing Bags’ that I’m completing for a church project,” explains Kahn. The bags are provided to law enforcement who distribute them to those in need.

“The wellness of the residents,” says Kahn, “is about them knowing their lives have purpose and meaning.” “One resident loves to make jewelry, so we make sure she has the supplies she needs. She creates jewelry and gives it to other residents.”

Another resident was a former newspaper writer and editor. “We now have her involved with writing stories about Sprenger residents for our Daily Chronicle. By writing the stories, it helps residents recall memories about their lives and to learn more about each other — especially during this time when we can’t socialize as much,” she says.

“Enrichment is vitally important to the elderly population,” asserts Kahn. “They still want to and can do things. They have such caring hearts!”

Like Newell, Kahn says the Life Enrichment team, includes Kimberly Malloy and Alicia Brown, works well together. “We all understand it’s about helping our residents keep their dignity in their elder years.”

According to Newell, the team has put together an impressive calendar of activities and events given the restraints the pandemic has placed upon them. From puppy parades around the building to holiday parades, such as Memorial Day or the Fourth of July, the staff works diligently to let residents know that the “outside world” has not forgotten them. In fact, adds Newell, the residents’ own families have helped to plan activities and participated in them, too.

“We’ve had the Beaufort Car Club and Bikes Against Bullies drive by, and the residents really enjoyed it,” recalls Newell. But some of the most touching times, she says, is when family members visit at the windows while residents share “white board messages” back and forth with loved ones. “We’ve also had our therapy dogs visit at the windows and hope to have them in-person again soon.”

Some other popular activities include the Walking Club, where residents receive prizes for reaching their personal goals, and the “water gun” painting party. Newell explains, “We placed a large canvas outside on our patio, and residents got to ‘paint’ the canvas using a water gun. The smiles on their faces were priceless!”

Kahn recalls another touching moment when she watched a volunteer musician play outside each and every resident’s window. “He would play songs for them. I happened to be in one resident’s room when he arrived outside her window. The music made her so happy that she got up and danced!”

Both Newell and Kahn agree that, in addition to “Milkshake Mondays,” perhaps one of the most favorite times of day for their residents is Happy Hour at 3:00 p.m. when they gather at the facility’s fully stocked bar. “Before COVID, we would have musicians entertain residents three days a week. They really enjoyed the time together to catch up and socialize. Just last month, we were able to begin these visitations again.”

Newell admits that her work sometimes can take an emotional toll on the staff, too. “At the end of the day, we clock out and get to go home to our families, but we know we are like family to our residents. So, it’s sometimes hard to separate the two. We have to leave them at the end of the day, but our minds are never really turned off. We’re always thinking about ways to improve our residents’ lives. They are like family to us!”

Newell says that Sprenger Health Care Port Royal works hard to support, uplift, and encourage their staff with awards, like “Employee of the Month;” monthly employee appreciation luncheons; or fun special events, like Halloween costume contests or the upcoming November chili cook-off.

Looking ahead, Newell says her goals for the residents and her team are simple: “We just want to be back up and fully open again — doing what we always used to do — including having visitors and organizing fun group activities,” she admits.

“We know that many of our residents haven’t seen or visited with their families in a very long time — since early March, in fact. That’s been difficult.”

“The Life Enrichment team strategy,” says Newell, “continues to be to take things one day or one month at a time. Our goal is simple: to keep everyone well and happy!”