One of the biggest challenges to face while working in senior retirement communities is ensuring that the majority of all social, spiritual, physical, and emotional needs of each individual resident is being met. The daunting task of meeting all these needs is considered even more complicated when taking into consideration the multiple diverse factors of each individual, such as cognitive function, age, physical ability, gender, ethnicity, cultural background etc. With diversity varying from one resident to another across each campus the Activity programs being offered in a retirement community should bid close to the same amount of variety.

Following these 5 tips could help enhance your Activity Calendar and assist in offering a wider range of programs while touching main focus points in resident diversity. Keep in mind that suggestions may vary from one community to another, based on residents and their needs.

1. Plan age sensitive programs: Focus some programs on younger generation residents and touch on activities that would affect milestones in their history. Hold a 55 and under program weekly and ask their input for activities through a scheduled meeting. Doing so will offer them a sense of ownership and cater to a sense of self-esteem.
2. Plan gender appropriate programs: Without limiting the gender attendance to your programs, try to host a weekly or bi-weekly program that would focus on interests that would involve more men. Try planning a fishing trip, a social around a sporting event, or even story telling of the most memorable hunting trips of their lives.
3. Offer Spiritually Diverse Programs: Conduct a survey on Spiritual preferences within your community. Call local churches, synagogues, temples, etc. within your surrounding community and suggest community service programs to be hosted at your campus and encourage your residents’ attendance.
4. Schedule programs for the cognitively impaired: If your community has residents with cognitive impairments try offering sensory programs to assist them in grasping a hold of memories through scent, audio, visual, or physical touch stimulation.
5. Touch base on all levels of physical functions: When hosting a physical program, such as exercise or games, be sure that you offer ways to modify them to reach the physical abilities of all attending residents. Ask a physical therapist for modification suggestions if one is available