Activities at Red Oaks Care Home

Celebrations have been in full swing at Red Oaks as one of its residents reaches her centenary in style. Rene Stokes was joined by staff, relatives, friends and other residents as she received a telegram from the Queen in recognition of her landmark birthday. A champagne reception was held at the home and guests enjoyed a special birthday cake made by one of the home’s chefs Glenda Williams

Rene came to Red Oaks from Bournemouth but prior to that she lived in London and worked as a shop assistant in a dress shop before coming to Red Oaks where she is enjoying a new chapter of her life.

Red Oaks care home, in Henfield was a den of ghoulish activity as the home’s spooky Halloween party got in to full swing. Staff, residents and guests got in to the spirit of things with residents carving pumpkins, and young visitors dressed for the event.

General Manager, Linda Ryan cackled: “Our residents and staff love an opportunity to dress up and what better time of the year to do this than Halloween? We’ve had a whole range of tricks and treats for the people that live here and their guests today and we have all really enjoyed every moment of it!”

Victoria Nemeth, Care Assistant at Red Oaks Nursing Home in Henfield, has been crowned winner of the Dementia Carer award on the South East Great British Care Awards 2019, and has made it through to the national finals.

9th November 2019 saw over 400 of the very best in social care attend a glittering awards ceremony at Hilton Hotel in Brighton for the regional finals of the South East Regional Awards.

The South East Regional Awards are part of the Great British Care Awards, a series of 9 regional awards celebrating excellence across the care sector. The purpose of the awards is to promote best practice within both the home care and care home sectors, and pay tribute to those individuals who have demonstrated outstanding excellence within their field of work.

Victoria Nemeth received The Dementia Carer Award for her hard work and dedication to the people of Red Oaks Nursing Home. When presenting the award, the judges said “Victoria is a devoted Care Assistant staff member who has contributed to the success of the home. She takes a lot of pride in knowing her residents well, and keeping up the staff morale so challenging days feel easier. Well done Victoria Nemeth on this well-deserved award!”

Here at Red Oaks we welcome volunteers in our activities department with open arms. Volunteers can be anyone who has best intentions of improving the daily life of our residents. Volunteers can be family members of residents, community members, clubs, church organizations, or those who simply want to interact with our residents.

We offer a variety of activities here at Red Oaks every day of the week. Some of these include: ice cream socials, outings to restaurants or community events, birthday parties, cook outs, arts and crafts, church services, holiday celebrations, and much more.

We welcome volunteers to visit residents individually or in a group setting here at our facility. We invite you to come be a part of our celebrations, games, and activities. We also encourage you to bring a friend that may also be interested in volunteering. We are thankful for any amount of time given, large or small.

It is important to find ways to help individuals with dementia live a full, enriched life. We all want to stay connected and maintain our relationships with loved ones living with dementia. Here at Red Oaks, we’ve put together some helpful information on how to keep your loved one’s calm, interactive, and engaged through sensory stimulation. 

Sensory stimulation is the activation of one or more of the senses including taste, smell, vision, hearing, and touch. It can range from something as simple as a hand massage with scented lotion or listening to a playlist of favorite music to more complicated activities designed to provide a sensory experience. It can help people with dementia call up positive memories and emotions, and encourage them to communicate and engage with the people around them.

In addition to evoking positive feelings, sensory stimulation can also help people with dementia communicate. By using certain objects, sensory stimulation can help residents who are struggling to communicate and relate to the world around them ask questions, respond to verbal clues, or remain calm in a stressful situation.

Other benefits of sensory stimulation include: improving cognitive symptoms and maintaining daily function; encouraging participation in social groups; opportunity for reflection and trips down memory lane; increased concentration and alertness and easing communication.

More Radio are running a campaign to collect 10,000 tins of food for Sussex food banks and Red Oaks Care Home in Henfield have volunteered to be a collection point for the village. 

Unfortunately more people are having to rely on food banks every day to feed themselves – and their families. According to the Trussell Trust, food bank use in Sussex has increased by 40% over the last 5 years

More Radio are working in conjunction with charities and food banks across the county, including the Trussell Trust, Fare Share, Doms Food Mission, Surviving the Streets, and Empty Plate Café.  

Linda Ryan, General Manager at Red Oaks said "Donations are needed more than ever before so until Sunday 29th September Red Oaks we will be collecting tinned foods and donating them to the More Radio appeal. We are pleased to offer our services to this wonderful cause and support the local community in this campaign. Anyone that would like to donate tins can simply drop them at the Red Oaks reception.