PICNIC/BBQ IN THE PARK—GOOD SAMARITAN HOME OF QUINCY

In our journey to culture change, we all seek to be responsive to resident requests and a desire to offer opportunities that are the same as the ones they had before moving to our home.

A Picnic/BBQ in the park is a familiar outing for Quincy residents, with our numerous parks and shelter houses.

When planning a picnic for residents, we discussed how it would be “more convenient” and “easier” to maybe just cook the food outside our building and bring it inside to serve to the residents. Or we could take it a step further, and set up some tables in our yard for those who wanted to eat outdoors. That would be “like” a picnic. But our Program Team decided that a genuine cookout, picnic IN the park was what our residents had requested, and we would do it!

Cottagers and kitchen staff helped prepare food to go with the BBQ chicken. Each Neighborhood prepared a dish to take, also. The dishes prepared included Deviled Eggs, Potato Salad, Fruit Salad, and Brownies. The Maintenance Department moved our BBQ grill to the park. Employees from all departments helped gather and transport the residents to the park, and assist residents who needed help at the park. We took all of our buses and vans and made more than one trip per van. Administrative Staff volunteered to “man the grill.”

The BBQ chicken was pronounced “finger-lickin good.” The table was groaning with all the different dishes that were prepared for the pot luck. Blenders, Choppers, and adaptive utensils were taken along so everyone could enjoy the picnic. Some residents asked to return to the Home soon after lunch, but many stayed and enjoyed the wonderful weather and just visited at the park. One resident enjoyed a cigar under a tree. We stayed as long as they wished, and ran the buses and vans back to the Home as needed.

This event was worth all the extra planning and effort, and residents talked about the great time they had for months afterwards.