ABOVE: Husband and Wife Chuck and Pat Schultz have a fun chat with Vista Prairie Goldfinch Activities Director Courtney Johnson while playing bingo in Fairmont.

FAIRMONT – Whether it’s in Fairmont or greater Martin County, the activity directors of assisted living facilities are doing what they can to bring excitement and fulfillment to their residents’ lives.

Ingleside’s Activities Director Michele Bulock said in her position, working with seniors on activities starts right away.

“When they move in, I do an activities assessment to see what their likes and dislikes are and their likes and dislikes of present and past,” she said. “Then we go from there. We have a resident council meeting once a month, and it’s resident-led. I go from feedback, from what their likes are, their dislikes, what they would like us to try, or what they would like us to see.”

For spiritual activities, Bulock said there are five congregations that visit monthly and a resident-led Bible study every week. Some examples of activities in the nursing home include sign language, chair exercises, social activity, nails and live entertainment. They also go out to eat once a month.

“They love bingo,” she said. “They love their social, coffee time that they do daily. They love the church. What’s nice is the churches come to us, so they don’t have to worry about getting out to church, because that’s a worry sometimes with this time of year.”

Right now, they are at nearly 60 residents. By having this range of offerings for residents, Bulock said it boosts their morale.

“Feeling included in things we do here,” she said. “I see them build friendships because for different things we’re doing on the assisted living side, I will bring memory care down to participate, like in the live entertainment, the church services, bingo and stuff like that. They build such very good relationships with each other.”

At Heartland Senior Living in Truman, Activities Director Wendy Evans said they do crafts, exercises, church, bingo, cards and more throughout the week. In the summer, they go fishing, boating, to the fair and participate in the parade.

“Every year we’re in the Truman parade,” she said. “Depending upon the weather, if it’s not too hot, we bring our king and queen out on the float.”

The king and queen are chosen in a vote by all the residents of Heartland, of which there are currently 36 with 26 in the main center and 10 in assisted living who also participate in activities. By having this interactive piece, Evans said it brings the residents great joy, and the more bubbly types even choose to interact with the crowd.

Some activities also seek to assist residents with replicating common aspects of life. One that’s a hit with residents is the Country Store.

“We give them Country Store coins,” Evans said. “Every time they partake [in activities], they earn these coins. We take a tally on what they want, whether it’s body wash, snacks, whatever. We go to the store, we buy it, and then they get to do their shopping. It’s like a shopping center. They can buy whatever they want with their Country Store coins that they’ve earned for partaking in the activities.”

By having these unique, varied and consistent activities, Evans said she can feel the difference it makes in the residents.

“They’re not sitting in their rooms all the time. They’re engaging with other residents and other things to do. I feel it really benefits them so they’re not feeling alone all the time.”

ABOVE: Residents at Heartland Truman show off the Purple People Eaters they made during a crafts activity with Activities Director Wendy Evans. From left: Keith Moeller, Marlene Breitbarth, Cheryl Ferch, Phyllis Garrison, Wendy Evans, Patty Prechel, Maxine Sanders.

Fairmont’s Lakeview Methodist Heath Care Center offers daily and weekly options for its 72 residents in hymn singing, crossword puzzles, Farkle, Pictionary, bingo, name that tune, crafts, bible study and several church services. Monthly and special events include musical entertainment, a carnival, movie days and holiday events.

This year, there are 21 couples across Lakeview’s Nursing Home, Independent Living and Assisted Living. To tie in with this special occurrence, they will be having a special Valentine’s Day event where couples make desserts together.

One weekly option that stands out for Lakeview is their baking club. Activities Director Jessica Gronewald said this activity comes from the lives of their residents.

“A lot of these ladies, baking and cooking was a big aspect of their life,” she said. “A lot of them were on the farm and made big meals and desserts and active in their churches. Every Tuesday we have a baking group on first floor, and every Friday on second floor. This is the resident’s home, and so we ask them, like, what is something that you want to bake or make? We do anything, from baked goods to savory items, taking the residents’ lead on what they want to do.”

As for how they choose what activities to offer, keep on, or move away from, Gronewald said they take the lead from their residents.

“Sometimes it’s trial and error,” she said. “Bingo, we’ve played for years. It’s their favorite activity. We learn different games from us or from the residents. They love some of the old, tried and true things too, like hymn singing. That’s a big part of their lives always.”

Through these activities, Lakeview Activities Team Member Carol Brennan said they help residents who join the 72-resident maximum nursing home adjust to their new home and make new and old connections.

“As we have new residents that come in, they’re always exhausted just from the move, and might be going through physical therapy,” she said. “It doesn’t take long that we can get them interested in one activity. They meet people around the table, and they share commonality. They might have known them from raising children, their neighborhood, or church. They start visiting among themselves, which I think is that sense of family and community that’s so vital to their mental health.”

Vista Prairie Goldfinch Estates in Fairmont has 120 residents it serves daily with activities. These include exercise, bingo, movies, dice, cards, etc. When it comes to how they do activities, Activities Director Courtney Johnson said they follow a specific framework.

“Aspire: Life on Purpose,” she said. “We have five pillars we like to meet with our activities, social, emotional, intellectual, physical and spiritual. We try to make a calendar for them that has activities that have all those included.”

By following this framework of five pillars, Johnson said it ensures there is variety and synergy for their residents.

“We think it’s really important that our residents aren’t getting repetitive activities or things that really don’t have meaning for them,” she said. “Choosing activities to put on the calendar that meet all five of those pillars gives them a really well-rounded day and experience in living here.”

Right now, the most popular activities surveyed through resident intake questionnaires are bingo and its varieties music and grocery bingo, as well as music. For monthly and special events, they throw a big party every month for residents with birthdays in said month, with different kinds of music, and use resident feedback to choose what they want for special events.

When it comes to getting everything together and ensuring activities run smoothly, Johnson said her team is a big part of their success.

“I have a great team,” she said. “They’ll help knock on doors, go out into the community to dine-outs with our residents, bringing residents down to activities and doing them with them is really huge in making sure those go smoothly.”

While the activities seek to benefit everyone at Vista Prairie Goldfinch, Johnson said they have also helped the nursing home’s memory care residents find their shine as well.

“Sometimes Memory Care is a little bit forgotten at times, but we really like to showcase things that they can do,” she said. “We bring them over to assisted living. We have their own music. It’s really important that we take extra time to do things in our memory care.”

*Editor’s Note: This article ran in the Sentinel’s Just for Seniors section on Jan. 29, 2026.