Residents and staff at the Kane Regional Center in Scott Township recently got caught up in the Olympic Games hoopla.
No trips to Vancouver, British Columbia, were on the agenda, nor was there any international athletes competing at the center. Instead, Kane Scott created its own brand of Olympic-style games and festivities ranging from snowman-building to Nintendo Wii bobsledding to Olympic noodle hockey during the week-long event modeled after the recent Olympic Games in Vancouver.
Residents participated in an opening ceremony and later competed in a snowman building contest. The fourth floor, representing Canada, took the gold medal while the second floor, representing the United States took silver, and the third floor, representing Poland, won bronze.
“After the first day of competition, the residents had hot cocoa with whipped cream, and Olympic torch cupcakes which were baked in ice cream cone cups by the kitchen staff,” said Marci Donovan, Kane Scott Recreation Therapy Supervisor. “The next morning the residents were treated to a special Olympic breakfast of champions that offered scrambled eggs, made to order omelets, bacon, sausage, home fries with onions and peppers, pancakes with strawberry sauce, blueberry sauce or syrup, and three varieties of toast, along with coffee, tea and juice.”
Olympic Noodle Hockey utilized the staff’s creativity, as “noodles” typically used to assist residents who visit swimming pools were cut in half to be used as “hockey sticks.” A goal cage was placed at each end of the activity room and residents used a soft ball to play hockey.
“The cheering was so loud for the noodle hockey game that staff from other parts of our building came to see what was going on in the activity room,” Donovan said.
The games continued with Wii bobsledding played on the Nintendo game system. “The residents were amazed at the technology and really enjoyed watching the event and scenery on the television screen,” Donovan said.
The Olympic week concluded with an awards ceremony and an ice cream social. The third floor earned gold, followed by the second floor with silver and the fourth floor with bronze.
“The competition seemed to brighten up the facility,” Donovan said. “Activity staff on each floor decorated their portion of the building with an Olympic theme.”
For more information, contact Marci Donovan, Kane Scott Recreation Therapy Supervisor, at 412.429.3163.