Staff and residents at a Suffolk care home welcomed visitors for a summer garden party as part of a nationwide initiative designed to build community relationships.
Mills Meadow in Framlingham opened for Care Home Open Day when it offered guests a barbecue, homemade lemonade and entertainment from country musician Paul Fosker.
Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP Dan Poulter also called in ahead of the celebrations for afternoon tea.
Home manager Marie Reeve said: “We had a wonderful afternoon celebrating Care Home Open Day with the local community. The event was a brilliant opportunity to break down preconceptions about care home life and showcase the warm and welcoming care environment here at Mills Meadow.
“We were delighted that Dr Poulter could join us for afternoon tea and everyone commented how much they enjoyed the day’s events. We look forward to welcoming the people of Framlingham to join us again very soon.”
Dr Poulter said “As a regular visitor to Mills Meadow in Framlingham, I was delighted to visit today to celebrate Care Home Open Day 2017. “I very much enjoyed meeting and talking to so many residents and listening to how much they enjoy the fantastic range of opportunities and events that the team at Mills Meadow regularly put on.”
“It is important to develop and maintain strong links between care homes and the local community, and here in Suffolk we are very lucky to have such a strong and thriving sense of community spirit. Initiatives such as Care Home Open Day help to develop friendship networks and close ties with the local community and sustaining a sense of belonging in the community has been shown to be beneficial to a person’s overall health and wellbeing.”
Visitors to the Care Home Open Day event at Mills Meadow were also able to pick up a copy of A Helping Hand, which can also be downloaded here .
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