Activities at Lucerne House Care Home
At Lucerne House our person-centred activity programme has been tailored to suit the residents living in our home. It is constantly developing due to the direct feedback from our residents and enables them to take part in existing hobbies and new tasks that aim to stimulate creativity, intellect, physical ability and improve well being. With music groups, pub outings, cooking, gardening, one to one time, entertainers, quiz's, bingo and more, there is never a shortage of things to do.
We also have external providers who visit the home. We have Rachel Sherring who provides Yoga Sessions, Lorrain Christopher who is available every Wednesday and Thursday for hair appointments in our on site salon, Sharon Rees who visits on a Wednesday to provide massage therapy sessions in the comfort of your chair and regular Church Services which do include a monthly Holy Communion. We are always open to new suggestions, so if you do have any, our activities team will always be happy to listen.
Alex Petersen
I have been at Lucerne House since November 2011. I started in the kitchen before moving to the Activities Team. I have a background in music and theatre and was very happy to be able to share this with residents in the home. After a short while, I was promoted to Head of Activities, and earned my NAPA level 2 qualification in Activity Provision.
In the role of Head of Activities, I am focused on ensuring that residents can continue to enjoy existing hobbies and interests, but also pursue new avenues of stimulation and activity. I am always looking to bring new experiences and means of engagement to the home, be that through massage therapy, yoga, engaging with the local community or many other things. At Lucerne House, our person-centred approach allows us to make every resident feel valued and comfortable enough to express themselves however they see fit.
My goal is to ensure that every person living at Lucerne House feels confident enough to make independent decisions and that each of them have a robust choice of activities and interests to engage with. I am always open to suggestions, so if you do have any, please do not hesitate to let me know.
Read our brochure 'Life-enriching activities' for more information about life in our care homes.
Read our brochure
Activities and Events Partnerships
As part of our bespoke life-enrichment programmes, we host a number of live virtual events in the home on a regular basis through a number of partnerships with places of interest and world class performance companies
Life at Lucerne House Care Home
Virtual Quiz
Lucerne House took part in Barchester's Christmas quiz. The quiz was for the southern region and saw Lucerne competing against 73 other homes virtually over Zoom. We didn't come 1st, but we had a great time and a good laugh, testing our knowledge and having fun.
Milestone Birthday
We celebrated a milestone birthday at Lucerne House this month. Pauline, one of our residents, was joined by her daughter Sue to celebrate turning 100 years young. Pauline received many well wishes and birthday cards including a very special message from Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth!
On the day we watched as Pauline opened her cards and gifts before singing Happy Birthday and sharing a delicious Birthday cake with her, made by our Head Chef. Thank you to Pauline and her daughter for allowing us to share this special moment with them.
Engagement with local school
We would like thank Alphington Primary School for exchanging Christmas decorations with us this year. Our residents and the pupils from Alphington Primary school have done an amazing job, creating decorations that are now on display on the Christmas trees around our home and on the trees at Alphington School. We loved the unique designs the pupils have made and can really see the amount of effort that has gone into each creation. The school have also made a special video of carol singing that all of our residents are really looking forward to viewing. Sally Coletti, General Manager at Lucerne House, along with Alex Petersen, Head of Activities, visited Alphington Primary School and met with Sharon Tarr, Head Teacher, to deliver chocolates for all the children and staff in each class to enjoy on their last day before the Christmas Holidays. We look forward to doing more with the school in the new year and want to wish everyone there a very Merry Christmas!
National Elf Day
We have really enjoyed raising awareness for the Alzheimer’s society this month by joining in with Elf Day. We started the day by watching Elf the movie, it really raised our spirits and taught us the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear. In the afternoon our elves congregated in our grotto for this year's picture before travelling around our home for a mobile elf party. Our elves visited each resident with sweet treats, music, dancing and to pull a cracker.
Christmas cake competition
There has been a lot of buzz around the home this festive season. One of our events involved residents and staff getting together to create our Christmas cake for Barchester's Christmas cake competition. The competition runs each year and has two categories, a chef's entry and a resident’s entry. Darren Knockton, Head Chef at Lucerne House has created a winter wonderland complete with ginger bread houses. Our residents have created a Christmas Dinner Table, with pigs in blankets, carrots, potatoes, sprouts, Christmas pudding and of course the turkey. We have had so much fun making them and hope that this year we will be chosen winners.
Remembrance Day
For many of our residents at Lucerne House, Remembrance Day is a time to reflect on their own memories of times of conflict and battle and how it impacted theirs and their families' lives. At Lucerne we made poppies and bunting to decorate our lounges and then on Remembrance Day we got together to reminisce, sing songs and observe the 2 minutes silence for the fallen. On Remembrance Sunday, some of our residents attended our local remembrance day service.
