Therapeutic Recreation
Recreation, Spiritual, and Volunteer Services Department provide therapeutic recreation activities and programs which stimulate the mind, body, and spirit. Therapeutic Recreation staff provide meaningful and therapeutic group programs and encourage family participation in all programming. Please see the Monthly Calendar on the home page of the RK MacDonald Nursing Home website.
Much of the Therapeutic Recreation programming is based on the principles of Montessori Methods (https://dementiability.com/who-we-are/) which are intended to facilitate opportunities for residents to engage in meaningful, purposeful, familiar activities.
Neighbourhood Time programming includes a wide variety of programs such as tea & talk, nature based activities, baking, you tube video parties, mini-bingo, and more. These programs are specific and individual to care areas and are structured around the natural rhythm of the resident’s day. And, many of these programs change with the seasons.
Community Connection
Maintaining a connection to the Antigonish Community is important. Therefore, the Recreation Department coordinates with various artists, musicians, and other community members and groups to provide a wide variety of opportunities for the residents to maintain this connection. The Antigonish C.A.R.E Van and the Antigonish Transit are available for maintaining accessibility.
Therapeutic Horticulture Program
Recreation staff provide therapeutic recreation activities and programs designed to stimulate the mind, body, and spirit and have embraced the incorporation of nature-based activities into regular programming. Therapeutic Horticulture uses plants and the natural world to improve the social, physical and emotional well-being of individuals who participate in it.
These nature-based sessions can bring and help maintain that connection to nature to populations that are sometimes more removed from the natural world, than they have ever been. There is a growing body of research to support the use of nature-based programs in long term care.
The Therapeutic Horticulture program at the RK happens year-round with activities such as: growing flowers, herbs and vegetables in raised beds; cultivation of indoor plants; flower arranging; plant centred crafts; cooking/baking using produce grown on-site; sales of plant based products. All these are opportunities to engage the senses; touch, smell, taste, sight and hearing and encourage reminiscence.
Music Is My Heart
Last year, the RK Songwriters’ Circle (led by Laura Teasdale) met weekly for three months. Each week, the group of residents would choose a theme that was on their minds, then together they would craft a song and choose the chords. Local musicians volunteered their time and Bryan Murphy recorded the album. Music Is My Heart is the joyful result of all their work. Cover painting of the album is by Wanda Grace, one of the songwriters.
On July 30th, 2025, an album launch and concert was hosted in the RK MacDonald Nursing Home’s Dining Room. During this event held to celebrate everyone’s hard work, the senior songwriters were busy signing copies of their album. The following guest musicians also showed up in attendance to show their support: Mike Arless, Barbara MacLean, Mike Melchin, Bryan Murphy, and Justin Gregg.
Thank you to the RK MacDonald Nursing Home Foundation, who made this project possible through their generous funding. And, thank you to everyone who showed up for the launch of Music Is My Heart.
To listen to or download the album, please visit here.