Day spa to be added to nursing home facility

NORWICH – In an effort to help their residents feel the best that they can, the United Methodist Home, Pearl and Everette Gilmour Healthcare facility recently applied for a grant that would allow them to add services to their facility. The grant will allow the residential care facility to become one of only a handful in the country to offer resident the services of an on-site day spa.

“We are proud to announce that we are a recipient of a grant from the Greater Norwich Foundation for the initial start-up of an on-site Wellness Day Spa for the residents on campus,” said Director of Activities and Volunteers and Licensed Massage Therapist Kate Conant. The handicap accessible day spa will feature a hydraulic lift massage table, commercial spa quality pedicure stand and barbering stations that are more accessible for the disabled and the elderly. Services provided will include; manicures, pedicures, beautician and barbering services, massage therapy, aroma therapy and reflexology. More services may be added as time goes by.

According to the American Geriatric Society, “Massage therapy reduces the pain of chronic disease and minor injuries, decreases muscle spasms and stiffness, and increases mobility, while providing more physical and social interaction for elders.”

Despite this fact, the number of day spas in long-term care facilities is extremely low. “When I researched day spa in nursing homes, I came across only two or three throughout the United States, and I hope by starting such a program, that other long-term care facilities throughout New York will follow suit,” said Conant. “It is an excellent program designed to improve the quality of life for the residents.”