Today we went to visit the Balboa Older Adult Program that is run by Jewish Family Services of San Diego. When we first arrived there, we received some context and background of the facility. The two ladies who gave us a tour of the place were very engaging and thoughtful people. We learned about their various programs like their food pantry program, their program for older people and Alzheimer's, and the one where they delivered food to people to their homes. I really liked how their facility is not only clean and spacious, but also how they have many programs to assist people depending on their need. For example, overnight, they allow families that live in their cars to park in their space to have a safe place to stay and also find ways to help them get back on their feet at the same time. Another thing was their food pantry to assist families and individuals with food insecurity. It works on a point-based system where healthy food are worth less points to encourage healthy eating. They also partner with businesses like Starbucks and Whole Foods to make this possible. Another program of theirs was their daycare program where they help take care of individuals with dementia for $27 a day, which also includes a meal, to give a break to caretakers. I thought this was really nice because it can be exhausting and isolating for caretakers to not have time for themselves when they're busy caring for someone else.
For the second half of our site visit we went to play bingo with older people who had dementia. The theme of the bingo card was nursery rhymes. It was fun and engaging because we also got to sing the nursey rhymes as well which I believed help the older people with dementia jog their memories. Our bingo table won quite a few times, including myself. I'm not sure but I think this may have been my favorite site visit so far.
For the second half of our site visit we went to play bingo with older people who had dementia. The theme of the bingo card was nursery rhymes. It was fun and engaging because we also got to sing the nursey rhymes as well which I believed help the older people with dementia jog their memories. Our bingo table won quite a few times, including myself. I'm not sure but I think this may have been my favorite site visit so far.