Minister for Trade, Business & Employment, EU Digital Single Market & Data Protection Pat Breen officially opened the newly remodelled state of the art Activity Room at the award winning Carrigoran House, Newmarket on Fergus.
The nursing home received €25,000 from the National Lottery Funds towards the refurbishment and renovation of the Activity Room, which now incorporates a fully operational kitchen, home cinema, Skype facilities, reading nook and art workshop.
Congratulating the management, staff, volunteers and residents of Carrigoran House on the enhanced facility and their recent national awards, Minister Breen said the new space was more than just another room but described it as a place where the residents of Carriggoran gathered as a community.
“I am delighted to see such an array of facilities in this newly renovated activity room, from a home cinema and IT facilities to a kitchen. There is so much scope for intergenerational learning in this new space as residents share their recipes and cooking techniques with the dedicated staff while learning new IT skills in return,” the Clare Minister of State told residents and staff at a special celebration marking the success of the new room.
“It is also a place where people can come together to make crafts, create art, play some bingo, enjoy quizzes and even have more that a few impromptu sing songs. The new recreational room has been cleverly designed to meet the requirements of the residents, but it is worth noting that its true value comes from what the residents bring to it every day – their willingness to share their knowledge and talents with the next generation, their appetite to learn new skills and their over ridding sense of community involvement and fun.”
“It is not surprising to learn therefore that Carrigoran House currently holds the national Day Care Centre of the Year title and was just very recently awarded the national Social and Recreational Programme for Residents by Nursing Homes Ireland. Last year Carrigoran House was named National Nursing Home of the Year, and the awards keep coming.”
CEO of Carrigoran House Valerie Vaughan said, “We are truly grateful to have received this funding which enabled us to offer to our residents this wonderful communal space in which they can enjoy quality time with their peers. It is designed with flexibility in mind so that a diverse array of activities can be offered at the same time to our residents. Our programme changes according to their preferences, which is in keeping with how a person centred service needs to be delivered.
“Being open to and actively seeking feedback as to what level of engagement and type of activity our residents find meaningful and then delivering that service to them is paramount to us. We achieved the national award for our social and recreational programme this year before this room was enhanced.
This is testament to the dedication of our staff and volunteers but it is just the icing on the cake to have this wonderful environment now in which to display their award, enjoy many days of cooking and creating, singing, playing music and engaging in life long learning. Our home cinema is timely with Nursing Homes Ireland Week commencing today and the release of IFI movies for the enjoyment of residents in nursing homes,” she added.