Nursing Home Visits
By Amber
@AmbiePam (101843)
United States
August 20, 2025 10:07am CST
Talking about nursing homes isn’t a popular topic, but I was thinking about my dad and stepmom’s visit to a couple of nursing homes this morning. Once a week, they, and one other lady (she’s retired) from the church go to two different nursing home to visit and sing to two ladies who used to regularly attend our church. One lady can’t see anymore, and can barely hear, but when they start singing hymns, her face lights up. They have to sing incredibly loud to be heard by her, and I asked my dad if that bothered the other residents. He said no, by the end of the visit, workers have pulled up chairs outside the door for other residents so they can better hear them sing too.
It reminds me of growing up in school. Every Christmas our class, and three other grades would pile in the school van, go to the nursing homes, and sing Christmas carols. (I went to a Christian school so no parents were complaining about our choice of songs.) I used to wonder why on earth they would want to hear us sing, but they really seemed to enjoy it. They just loved the interaction.
I wish more could be done for people stuck in nursing homes. My late grandma was blessed enough to live in assisted living (although they put a lot of memory care patients in her section simply because memory care was overwhelmed.) They had church choirs come, they had chair yoga classes, dog therapy…
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if more would be done?
15 people like this
14 responses
@xFiacre (14173)
• Ireland
8h
@ambiepam I conducted services in nursing homes for years. For people who had memory problems the singing of a hymn they could connect with and they knew all the words. My sermons may not have meant much but hymns and reading Psalm 23 was what they needed.
5 people like this
@snowy22315 (194689)
• United States
7h
Last Thanksgiving my dad who has Alzheimers went to a program just after the holiday, (sis was in the group) they were all singing Christmas Carols and he knew every word and sang along.
3 people like this
@xFiacre (14173)
• Ireland
9h
@looeyville and many of them smell like a magic room.
3 people like this
@GardenGerty (165439)
• United States
4h
The nursing homes I worked in had quite a few visitors especially at the holidays. That included students walking from nearby schools. When we had a different music teacher our kids did that as well. There is a nursing home/assisted living walking distance from the school.
3 people like this
@snowy22315 (194689)
• United States
7h
That is really sweet. I remember doing that when I was in girl scouts and again in college as our choir went to one to perform and sing Carols.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (481940)
• Italy
9h
Yes, you are so right and so sweet to think to those people in nursing home. We visit very other Sunday. we have breakfast at the nursing home near the house where we lived before. We stay there for a while talking with the residents. They are happy to interact with people who come from outside.
3 people like this
@Traceyjayne (4455)
• United Kingdom
6h
There are some very good nursing / care homes ....one I know of has regular activities and entertainers visiting . They also have animals going in ....very therapeutic.
The staff know it is people's honesty and they are treated as such
However, I know of another where this is not the case at all
3 people like this
@allknowing (152023)
• India
1h
I have not done that but my good acts I think are having those parties for poor kids and seniors in an old age home every Christmas
@xstitcher (35246)
• Petaluma, California
5h
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if more would be done?
It would.
2 people like this
@wolfgirl569 (121069)
• Marion, Ohio
3h
Many are put there and forgotten. Glad they go visit.
2 people like this
@RasmaSandra (88146)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
3h
Nursing homes make be both sad and scared, I do not like to imagine people put in institutions, If only there could be nursing homes made to be more like regular homes,
2 people like this
@Fleura (32390)
• United Kingdom
2h
Like you, I have often wondered if the residents really enjoy these visits or if they are just obliged to sit through them. I know school children go to some and give carol concerts, the children's wind band goes to some and plays some tunes, even the local Morris dancers visit and perform sometimes. I don't know whether the audience appreciate these visits. Having visits from people they know (like the people from church) would be different.
I'm just doing my best to avoid ever getting into one of those places.
1 person likes this
