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
Milestone Birthday for War Veteran Fred
In July we had the honour of sharing in the celebrations of Fred, one of our residents, 100th birthday. In the lead up to the event, we shared a story on our Facebook page which got a lot of interest from old friends, people from Fred’s’ village and the wider community. We asked, if they had time, to send him a birthday card. Fred was even interviewed prior to celebrating his big day which became national news. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-66359373?fbclid=IwAR2hZrXnMhNjzGsTFVsoRIkiYxVn9K_qGX2jWFhgMzY5R_5EpCy2857wfCY
On the week of his birthday, Fred donned his jacket and hat for a trip to Exmouth. We drove past his old barracks at Lympstone which Fred saluted to, in memory of all of his fallen friends. Once at Exmouth he enjoyed Fish & Chips before a Stuart Lines cruise along the coast and River Exe. He had a great time and at his grand age, showed no signs of slowing down.
On Fred’s Big day, he was joined by his wonderful family for a birthday celebration at Lucerne House. He had lots of cards, from the publicity the Facebook post garnered. He enjoyed a delicious birthday cake, made by our Head of Ide Nursing Community, Ron Jampil and raised a glass for his 100th birthday with family.
A few days later, Fred was supported to return to the village he lived in for over 70 years, Ide, to see friends and continue his birthday celebrations in his local, the Huntsman Inn. It was lovely to reunite with all of his nearest and dearest, some who he had not seen for a long time.
We want to say thank you to everyone who supported the event and to Fred’s family for allowing us to be a part of it.
National Ice Cream Day
Our residents had a fantastic time during a special live virtual event in celebration on National Ice Cream Day.
Wall's team took us on a great journey through history, hearing fascinating details about the brand since its launch in 1922. We learned about major innovations such as the introduction of Mr Whippy, Cornetto, Viennetta and Twister
Our residents were treated to a singalong to Cornetto classic ads, an interactive quiz about fun Wall’s facts and best-of-all, an ice-cream tasting session.
It was a delightful experience for everyone, especially our ice-cream lovers.
Our Lego project for Gents club
Another great achievement for the men at Lucerne House today as we finished the first of our Lego Architecture sets at our Gentleman's club.
It has been quite the task, with lots of tricky pieces, but, with a bit of liquid encouragement and salty snacks to keep us nourished, which is very important at Gentleman's club, we have prevailed and are very pleased with the outcome.
We now look to our next set, the London Skyline which we will begin in a few weeks’ time.
A Cruise down Exmouth
It was anchors away for the residents of Lucerne House in July as they enjoyed a Stuart Line Cruises along the Exmouth Sea Front.
We stopped for a delicious lunch of fish and chips before boarding the boat and taking in all the sights and sounds of the open sea and coast line.
A massive thank you to Cumberland Grange Care Home for the loan of their mini bus and Head of Maintenance, Bob who drove it. With their support we were able to take more residents on the outing and we a so very grateful to you for doing so.
Our residents have had a lovely day out and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We will have more outings in the coming weeks and months for more of our residents to enjoy.
Summer in full swing
With the warmer weather upon us, residents have been enjoying many activities in our garden spaces as summer is in full swing at Lucerne House.
We have been knitting, potting plants, enjoying ice cream and even baking, all while soaking up the sun.
When the sun has been a little too hot, we have been enjoying other events in our communal kitchen’s, lounges and dining spaces.
In June we celebrated the British Nutrition Foundation, Healthy Eating week.
Residents, staff and visitors at Lucerne House, turned their talents, once again, to food preparation, making a fresh salad and a fruit salad, full of healthy ingredients to celebrate healthy eating week.
Following this we had pampering with Kirsty, one of our activities team members, hairdressing with Lorraine in the salon, a spontaneous ice cream sundae trolley which travelled around the whole home and to cap off a wonderful few days, we enjoyed a delicious BBQ at our regular, fortnightly social evening. We even used the salad our residents had made to compliment the burgers and sausages.
Our attentions, looking forward are to our next cultural event, which has been chosen as a Spanish night. We plan to make paella, Spanish omelettes and for dessert, homemade churros. Not only that but we have lots of outings planned, including lunch by the beach, restaurant evening outings, garden centres and more.
Hot weather and lots to look forward to certainly mean that Summer has well and truly arrived at Lucerne House.
Long Service Award
We invite you all to join us on congratulating Jacqueline, Healthcare Assistant, at Lucerne House, on her landmark 25th Year with Barchester.
Jacqueline was presented with chocolates, a special pin badge and a voucher, by Sally Coletti, General Manager, on behalf of Barchester Healthcare to honour her dedication and unwavering commitment to enhancing and supporting the lives of residents, living at Lucerne House
From Sally and all of us at Lucerne House we want to say "Well Done Jacqeline", we are all very proud of you.
