Rasheda Peoples-Starling and her ACE team members smile after a successful exercise session at St. Ignatius Nursing Home.
While all of PPMC’s staff members are dedicated to helping our patients live their best, healthiest lives, some team members take it a step further by continuing their work outside of the hospital and in the community. When Rasheda Peoples-Starling, RN, BSN-BC, a nurse in the Acute Care of Elders (ACE) unit on Scheie 3 and a recent Penn Medicine CAREs grant recipient, realized that patients on her unit were struggling to stay active on a regular basis, she decided to team up with local nursing homes to offer guidance on strategies and exercises to improve endurance, strength, balance, and flexibility even if age and mobility seem like roadblocks. Thus, the “Elders on the Move” initiative was born with the full support of her ACE team.
While the nursing homes provide the space and the attendees, Elders on the Move provides the equipment, music, and motivation to get residents/patients engaging in indoor sports like volleyball and badminton, expressing themselves through dance, and testing out a variety of physical activities. (At the most recent summer session at St. Ignatius Nursing Home, dancing proved the fan-favorite.) Given that the target population is 65 years old and older, the goal isn’t to get them primed for CrossFit or SoulCycle by the end, but just to encourage an active range of motion and wellness through movement and socializing. Not only does exercise build energy, but for seniors especially, it can improve both the body and mind by boosting cognitive abilities and memory.
“Our goal is to promote wellness and activity, but in addition to getting their bodies moving, we do our best to keep their minds active by giving them crossword puzzles, books, and coloring books. The CAREs grant has been so helpful in helping us give out those items and other small gifts like blankets and reacher-grabbers,” Peoples-Starling said. “The success of this initiative has been down to the partnership and enthusiasm between the ACE team and the nursing home staff. I’ve gotten really great feedback from the movement therapists, and they’ve said the residents are always excited for us to come.”
Volunteers are always needed! Peoples-Starling and her ACE unit volunteers have scheduled their next Elders on the Move session to coincide with Geriatric Nurses Week during the first week of October. To learn more about joining them, email Rasheda.Peoples@uphs.upenn.edu. Interested in pursuing your own Penn Medicine CAREs grant? Visit PennMedicine.org/Community