Residents Put Pen to Paper

Date of article: 06-Apr-09

Residents at Westwood Court care home in Winsford are putting pen to paper to help launch a new Hallmark Healthcare pen pal programme.

The idea behind the programme is to help residents form new friendships, share hobbies and passions, and exchange photographs and memories.

Gill Capner, Home Manager at Westwood Court came up with the idea to help stimulate communication and correspondence between Hallmark residents. She said: “The idea is to twin each of our Hallmark Healthcare homes with another care home in the group and to encourage our residents to write to each other. Everyone enjoys receiving a letter, and we feel this is a really good way to create our own set of pen pals.”

“A few residents are becoming pen pals and we really hope it works out so that others are encouraged to take part over time. So far everyone seems to be very enthusiastic about the idea”.

Westwood Court care home has twinned with Broughton Hall care home in Wrexham, where Gary Dodd is the Home Manager. Gill and Gary are working closely together to try out the initiative between their residents and have plans to arrange outings for the pen pals to enable them to meet and interact on a more personal basis.

Gary Dodd said, “My residents have been really excited about the idea of having a pen pal. It’s something they all understand the concept of, even if they haven’t actually had a pen pal for some time.”

Although the initiative has been piloted at Westwood Court in Winsford and Broughton Hall in Wrexham, it is something that may be rolled out across all the Hallmark Healthcare homes in England and Wales. The idea is that homes in each region will be able to communicate, interact and work together to enrich the lives of their residents.

Westwood Court and Broughton Hall are part of Hallmark Healthcare, the leading specialist care provider with 25 care homes across England and Wales dedicated to caring for the elderly. Established in 1997, Hallmark Healthcare is committed to the provision of personalised, quality care and facilities. Each of their carers and employees are highly valued and take great pride in delivering award winning standards of tailored care.

For further information please call us on: 01277 655655 or visit our website and request a brochure: www.hallmarkhealthcare.co.uk

For media enquiries please contact Liz Oulton at Vibe on: 02920 733526 or via email: liz@vibemail.co.uk

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