A Day in the Life at Providence Place: Wellness, Community, and Purposeful Living

Every day in our senior living community is designed to feel comfortable, meaningful, and engaging. Whether it’s enjoying a favorite morning ritual, participating in activities with friends, or relaxing in familiar spaces, daily life is shaped around individual preferences and supportive care.

This article offers a closer look at what a typical day looks like for a resident and how our community creates an environment where seniors can feel at home, stay active, and enjoy each moment.

The “Dimensions of Wellness” Framework

Our daily activities aren’t planned in a vacuum; they’re engineered using the “Dimensions of Wellness” as a guide. This framework ensures that a day at Providence Place touches upon specific human needs:

• Physical: movement and nutrition
• Social: interaction and community
• Emotional: security and joy
• Intellectual: cognitive challenge
• Spiritual: meaning and connection
• Vocational: purpose and contribution
• Environmental: safety and aesthetics 

The Physical Dimension of Wellness

At Providence Place, physical programs are offered daily, with formal classes occurring an average of two to three times per week, depending on the campus. The schedule includes Yoga, Zumba, dance classes, and general strengthening exercises.

We partner with our in-house therapy to offer a monthly program, ensuring that the physical activities are not just recreational but are clinically informed.

We also encourage our residents to do as much as possible for themselves and to stay physically independent as long as they can.

The Culinary Experience

Resident meals are scheduled, and they have assigned seating. In the context of communal living, this functions as a mechanism for social safety and stability.

Our dining program gives residents daily menu options, ensuring they can choose a meal that they want to eat. Many residents jokingly complain about gaining weight a month into moving in.

We focus on using local fruits, vegetables, meats and breads, and the menus are carefully curated to include regional favorites, which is a subtle but powerful tool for comfort.

Special Dining Events

Our culinary team executes brunches, holiday meals, picnics, and “out of building dining” experiences. Additionally, each campus offers areas for families to host private meals and parties.

Programming That Supports Every Interest and Ability

At Providence Place, we offer multiple programs every day of the week, including weekends. We overlap programs to give options for differing needs. What sets us apart is that we offer a program that’s specific to residents living with dementia, who live among our assisted living and independent residents.

Church is probably the highest attended activity at all our retirement communities, followed by Bingo. 100th-plus birthday celebrations are also huge at our campuses. We host large-scale birthday parties with delicious cake, music, decorations, family members, and local community members.

Through our Wish program, we take residents one-on-one to places and events that they would otherwise be unable to attend. Some examples include trips to New York City, helicopter rides, and family weddings.

Holidays are also an important part of life at Providence Place. Our team strives to provide a home-like atmosphere and continue any known traditions. And we partner with outside resources to ensure the religious aspects of holidays are met. 

Resident-Led Planning and Community Roles

Program feedback is captured through multiple surveys throughout the year, comment boxes, direct access to email/phone numbers, and the monthly resident planning meetings, which allow residents to shape the calendar, ensuring the programming remains relevant to the current population.

We have strong resident leaders at each community that host programs on the calendar. We also have residents that help around the building, including:

• A librarian
• A gardener
• A dining room coordinator
• A welcome ambassador
• A program host
• A party planner

A Family-Centered Community

Our campuses are extremely family oriented – our residents’ families and our coworkers’ families are always welcome. Staff members know resident family members, and residents know staff members’ children by name.

We encourage families to participate in programming and everyday activities in our buildings. Plus, we host programs throughout the year, inviting friends, families, and sometimes the surrounding community. 

At Providence Place, we pride ourselves on our community partnerships with local businesses, schools, and churches to offer multi-generational programming.

Social Connection as a “Magic Bullet”

Mayo Clinic research suggests that “strong social connections” are the factor that comes closest to a “magic bullet” for healthy aging — potentially more significant than family longevity or the absence of physical illness.

The research categorizes loneliness and social isolation as health risks on par with obesity and smoking. Isolation is linked to an increased risk of:

• Premature death
• Dementia
• Heart disease
• Stroke

By providing a built-in community where making new friends or reconnecting with old friends is the norm, Providence Place acts as a prophylactic against these conditions. The daily schedule of socials and communal dining is, in effect, a medical intervention designed to prolong life and health span.

Learn more about the benefits of social connection for seniors’ mental and physical health.

Onboarding at Providence Place

The onboarding process begins with the sales team but is quickly handed over to peers. Resident Ambassadors are specifically tasked with welcoming new neighbors.

The combination of ambassador guidance, tours, orientations, socials, and daily management check-ins ensures the process is as seamless as it can be.

To learn more about life at Providence Place or to see how our community supports residents from day one, we invite you to contact us and start the conversation.