All-Inclusive Care - CenterLight

What is Therapeutic Recreation?

When sickness hits, it may become difficult for an older adult to have the energy, focus, or even the ability to go back to the things they once loved to do. That is where Therapeutic Recreation Specialists (TRS) come in—they design activities with our participants’ needs in mind. Therapeutic Recreation and socialization can lead to emotional, cognitive, and physical benefits. At CenterLight Healthcare PACE, our TRS assess participants’ leisure interests—what they’ve always liked to do, what they like to do now—and develop programs, activities, and events that can help them discover hidden talents, reconnect with hobbies and passions, learn new things, and share new experiences with their fellow participants.

CenterLight Healthcare PACE Therapeutic Recreation Specialists work with other members of the Interdisciplinary Team (IDT) to bring together different perspectives that ultimately allow us to provide holistic and complete care* to each of our participants.

Having a care team working together to help our participants remain living independently in their own homes helps us prevent any condition from worsening and provide high quality care in all aspects of their life. Let’s say a social worker brings up that a participant is particularly lonely. Therapeutic recreation can reach out and engage that participant and encourage them to come to the center, introduce them to peers that they have similar interests with, and engage them in activities that they would enjoy and can have an impact on their emotional health.

In terms of medical conditions, a Therapeutic Recreation Specialist may collaborate with the nurse as well as physical and occupational therapists by encouraging participants to engage daily in physical activities such as fun group exercise programs to get their weight down, or to increase their ability to work on their own.

What services does the therapeutic recreation department provide to participants?

At CenterLight Healthcare PACE Centers, the Therapeutic Recreation Department offers the following services to our participants, among others:

Art Therapy
Music Therapy
Dance & Movement Therapy
Pet Therapy
Games & Cognitive Challenges
Trips
Cultural Events and Celebrations

Our TRS love planning fun activities for participants to enjoy. For example, participants are encouraged to showcase their creative sides by letting out their inner artists in our fun and interactive art programs.

Art has several benefits for older adults, including positive effects on mental health, reduced stress, increased memory skills, enhanced self-esteem, better cognitive memory, and more.

Additionally, art is a great way for our participants to express themselves and connect with others. At times, participants may even discover a talent they didn’t know they have!

Some participants also enjoy playing music and joining in choral groups that entertain their peers. They perform at special events in their respective centers and enjoy the benefits of music in older adults.

Games and sports such as table tennis, floor hockey, and others bring out our participants’ competitive sides, help with their physical wellbeing, and enhance their camaraderie with their friends at our PACE Center. Just recently, our participants joined in the spirit of the Olympics with their own tournament, complete with opening and closing ceremonies.

How does Therapeutic Recreation benefit our participants?

Through Therapeutic Recreation, a participant’s overall health and mental health is improved. Just like medicine or medical treatment that they may receive from the doctors and nurses, engaging in things that we like to do and interacting with other people makes us happy, keeps our brain sharp, lowers our blood pressure, and contributes to overall mental and physical health. Participants engaging in activities benefit from the following:

Cognitive Benefits

Creative pursuits, like painting, strategic thinking, like playing cards or board games, can provide stimulation that can help improve memory, as well as cognitive and reasoning skills.

Emotional Benefits

Via stress relief, improved self-confidence and socialization.

Physical Benefits

Depending on the activity, participants may increase endurance and energy levels, range of motion of joints, eye-hand coordination, fine and gross motor skills, flexibility and strength.

Visit our Life at CenterLight page for recent happenings at our PACE Centers. You may also visit our Facebook page to view more pictures from our Therapeutic Recreation events and activities.

*Necessity of services is determined by the IDT based on participants’ unique needs.

This blog post is written by Kathleen Keegan, Director of Therapeutic Recreation Services at CenterLight Healthcare PACE.

H3329 TR_Blog_2024 Approved MMDDYYYY
Pending CMS and DOH Approval
Updated 09052024

Keeping Up with the PACE of Aging

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At CenterLight PACE, we understand that growing older may present health challenges, and that the pace of aging can get overwhelming.

More and more, there’s a growing need for services for individuals who are aging and/or may have a form of disability. Let’s look at the numbers: Currently, New York State has more than 4.3 million older adults, ranking 4th in the nation in the number of individuals age 60 and over.* The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University previously projected that the number of older adult households in the United States in which at least one person has a disability will be at an estimated 12 million by 2035—with many of them requiring assistance with activities of daily living to be able to stay in their homes.**

It’s not easy for anyone to deal with healthcare concerns—it can be expensive, stressful, and may get confusing. For older adults, it can be especially tough, not just for them but also for their caregivers. As we age, our health issues may start to multiply, and managing multiple conditions, along with other aspects of life, can feel too much to handle even with support from family and friends.

Depending on need, there are programs that can help. I have devoted my career to the health and well-being of older adults, managing nursing homes, managed long term care, and other community-based programs. Based on my experience, I can confidently say that PACE is a great option for those who need complete care but want to remain in their homes and communities.

PACE stands for Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly. This Medicare and Medicaid program for adults 55+ provides all the services our participants need to help them stay well and living independently in their own homes. CenterLight PACE is the largest non-profit and one of the oldest such programs in the nation. Our services include, but are not limited to, medical and home care, dental, vision, hearing, rehabilitation services, access to open gym, therapeutic recreation services, prescription drugs, Over the Counter (OTC) items, transportation, and more.*** We manage and coordinate our participants’ care, so that they don’t have to.

We understand that in addition to their health, older adults also face other issues brought not only by aging but the ever-changing and fast-paced environment we live in as well. The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, for example, brought with it social and economic hardships that many are still recovering from. CenterLight recognizes this, and to help with basic needs such as food and toiletries, our PACE participants get a My Needs Card with $170 a month**** to spend on eligible items.

There are aspects of aging that do not necessarily come to mind when planning for the future, or when thinking of solutions as health issues arise. Living well as one ages does not mean only worrying about health, but also keeping true to who the person is—their own unique histories and cultural traditions—so we work to ensure that care is individualized according to each of our participants’ needs and preferences. The goal is to help them make the most of each day whether doing activities they love, or even discovering new passions and making new friends at our PACE centers.

The CenterLight PACE Interdisciplinary Team (IDT)--which includes, but is not limited to, doctors, nurses, rehab therapists, social workers, dietitians, and therapeutic recreation specialists--provides care and support that can help navigate the challenges faced by older adults and their loved ones. We believe in a holistic approach: caring for the person as a team and making sure their needs are met medically and have positive effects on their social, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Together with our growing network of providers, our participants, and their caregivers, we can keep up with the pace of agingr to provide high quality care to those we serve.

This blog post is written by Tara Buonocore-Rut, President and Chief Executive Officer at CenterLight Healthcare PACE.

H3329_2022Blog_PACEofAging Approved 10122022
Last updated October 3, 2022

*From the New York State Department for the Aging
**Data from Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, 2017 Study
***Medical necessity is determined by the IDT.
****No rollover. The My Needs Card does not substitute for required or already provided Medicaid and/or Medicare covered services under the PACE standard benefit package.

Category: All-Inclusive Care