Valentines Day at Hazeldene House

Several of our residents proved that romance is still alive and well by inviting their ‘other halves’ in for a sumptuous meal to celebrate Valentine’s Day recently.

Staff turned a room into a restaurant so that the couples could enjoy a romantic evening over a three course meal with wine followed by coffee and chocolates.

Manager Lorraine Cousins said, “It is part of our ethos to provide relationship centred care, so enabling residents who have partners living elsewhere to host a Valentine’s celebration meant such a lot to them.

“Due to dementia or other age related conditions, the residents themselves would be unlikely to initiate such a celebration, but with the support of staff they could really ‘spoil’ their loved ones, and it was so touching to see couples separated by necessity, enjoy each other’s company just like they used to.”

Ren, 87, invited wife of 65 years Dorothy along and treated her to a valentine card, roses and chocolates. They enjoyed reminiscing about romantic meals they had enjoyed on holidays. Dorothy said that being at home without Ren can be hard, but an evening like this made her forget the sadness and she really enjoy being with him. Ren admitted that getting dressed up to await Dorothy’s arrival reminded him of getting ready for their first date over 65 years ago, and they seemed every bit in love now as they were then.

Ren and Dorothy enjoy their Valentines meal

Lorraine added, “This is a first for us but it was an obvious event to hold to enable residents’ relationships with loved ones outside to continue to thrive. We have recently installed a family area at the home to encourage families with younger children to come and visit and we are planning a family picnic and play area in the grounds. We are now looking forward to Easter and Mother’s Day and will talk to residents to see how they want to mark these occasions.”