Enhancing the lives of the elderly has become an important mission for me as a nurse and as a human being. A majority of the patients seeking care in this community are elderly. Seeing how their lives are impacted by lack of cognitive/physical stimulation and engagement is saddening. This lack of cognitive stimulation is further exacerbated by health conditions such as dementia. When one cannot express, remember, or fully convey what they are feeling, need, or what makes them happy, then it is important that other people are there for them to have the compassion, insight, and leadership to provide outlets for cognitive and physical stimulation in order to provide a sense of joy and fulfillment.

My STAR competency project has been to transform a drab outside courtyard that was rarely used by the residents of a Memory Care Unit at a local skilled nursing facility into an area full of color, life, and stimulating visual outlets that would be utilized daily whether outside in the courtyard or from the window of the residents' rooms. Daily the residents engage in activities through the coordinated efforts of a dedicated activities director, which often includes, singing, movies, coffee/tea, ice cream, and arts and crafts. The availability of the outside courtyard was always there, but with nothing stimulating to engage the residents in, this space was rarely used. Through the generous efforts, donations, and time of a local contractor, the previously dreary outside space has transformed into a stimulating and engaging oasis that has been incorporated into the daily activities schedule. Allowing the residents to breathe fresh air, feel the sun, hear the birds, see the flowers, see the butterflies, they are feeling stimulated and ultimately making their lives more fulfilled.

This project also showed the facility’s employees that they can be leaders in change as well. Sometimes it takes one person being the example that other people can emulate in order to make long term change possible. The feedback from the employees of the facility has been overwhelmingly positive. The communal area where employees take their breaks to smoke is right outside of the memory care courtyard. It was decorated with all types of plant life and had a feeling of love and protection while the courtyard previously did not. Now I believe through my efforts that the employees will not pay more attention to this previously neglected area realizing how important is for the residents whether there are of sound mind or not.