From the 24th to the 30th June, the Excelcare Family joined in with celebrations for Care Home Open Week!

Care Home Open Week is an annual national event that encourages care homes to open their doors to members of the community, families, friends, and people seeking care, so they can experience what life is like inside a care home.

Care Home Open Week is also a valuable opportunity for care homes to increase the engagement between themselves and members of the local community. The people who live in care homes love to find out what’s happening in the local community and have an active involvement in it, so when local individuals and groups visit, it’s always appreciated. Community involvement from local hobby groups or businesses can enrich a person’s life and boost their wellbeing through engagement in shared hobbies and conversations about topics that align with their passions.

Care Home Open Week is an opportunity for people who are currently looking into care options for their themselves, or a loved one, to see innovative care practices in action and really experience how a person’s unique needs are met and their quality of life is preserved. This can be incredibly beneficial for people who have never experienced life inside a care home before.

Across the Excelcare Family, we also decided to theme our Care Home Open Week celebrations to make them unique and enjoyable for the whole family. Chief Operating Officer, Sam Manning, chose the umbrella theme of musical theatre, and asked the Regional Operations Director in each of our four regions to choose a film or production for their region. After some debate, London and Milton Keynes chose ‘Mamma Mia’, Essex chose popular musical, ‘Grease’, and Cambridge chose ‘Viva Las Vegas’.

The teams working in each of our care homes then got to work decorating their home and theming it with memorable items and colour schemes from their chosen productions. Team members also looked into activities they could host inside the home to engage visitors in the theme.

The care homes in Essex decided to host their own Rock and Roll themed diners where guests could dine with their loved ones and be served by team members dressed up in themed outfits from the film. Abbot Care Home in Harlow transformed a communal area into a high school prom party complete with lights, decorations and costumes from the film. People enjoyed singing along to popular songs from the past and pulling out their best dance moves from the 70s.

Milton Keynes’ Mamma Mia theme was embraced at Dovecote Manor Care Home as they transformed their home with Grecian-inspired decorations and served traditional foods. People enjoyed singing and dancing along to popular songs from the film and dressing up in the accessories provided!

In keeping with the Viva Las Vegas theme in Cambridge, St George’s Court Care Home fulfilled their ‘Viva Las Vegas’ theme by inviting Elvis to come and perform. The King of Rock and Roll returned for one day to perform his top hits and got the whole room moving along to his rock and roll classics.

Care Home Open Week was successful across the group and well enjoyed amongst the people who live, work and visited our care homes. We hope the friendships formed and relationships developed during this week continue to thrive.