As "Rhinestone Cowboy" by Glen Campbell plays in the background, NHC Healthcare assisted living resident Catherine Morrison gets up and starts to dance. For her, music is a natural stimulant that keeps her young.
The Valley Singers get ready to perform at NHC Healthcare in Rossville.At "92 years young," she still has a love for music and dancing, she said.
"The music and dancing make my age unimportant," said Morrison, who has been at NHC for several years. "I do it every chance I get."
NHC Healthcare incorporates music into its programs every single day.
"Music is a universal language," said activities director Kathy Cruz, M.A. "Hearing is the last sense they lose. Many may have a difficult time to see, but music resonates the body on a cellular level.
"It makes them feel ageless when they can continue the things they enjoy."
Music at the facility is facilitated through a variety of avenues. Live musicians, video concerts and sounds from instruments fill the building and stimulate positive responses from the residents, said Cruz.
Every Wednesday NHC has a live band, Porch Pickers, which is made up of senior members who have been serenading NHC residents for close to 15 years, Cruz said. The Wednesday program is at 2 p.m. and is open to the public.
Cruz said the 110-bed senior community, which has long-term alert residents, rehabilitation and dementia patients, is growing and NHC Healthcare works hard to design programs and cater to the needs of their residents.
Cruz has worked in the health care industry for more than 40 years and said NHC is one of the best facilities. Every day staff gathers and discusses one of the 20 "Better Way Promises."
"My favorite is No. 19: 'Recognize that all the patient concerns are major,'" she said. "We may not really know how important something is to a resident so we give them as many choices as possible and deal with it the right way."
For more information contact NHC Healthcare at 706-861-0863 or visit nhcrossville.com.