“Whack-a-Mole” is a popular game seen at arcades and fairs across the nation. But what if it was … human-size? That’s the question staffers at Mary Immaculate Health/Care Services in Lawrence, MA, asked when they began assembling their own handmade, life-size “Whack-a-Mole” board.
“It was probably a week [to assemble] because I had to go to Lowe’s to get the cardboard that was big enough to make it challenging,” said Director of Memory Care program Rebecca Alfonso. “Once I got the cardboard, [I was] just cutting out the circles and then we had to spray paint the background green. Then we taped on silk flowers just to make it look more like it just pops out. People think that life in a nursing home isn’t fun and we’re totally against that. We believe life in a nursing home can be fun.”
The project started when Activities Assistant Sophia White saw a similar game being played by a nursing home in a Facebook group. After bringing the idea to Alfonso, they started bringing it to life to celebrate National Skilled Nursing Care Week.
After a week of hard work constructing their version of the game, they volunteered to be the “moles” alongside loose balloons when residents played. Don’t worry, no one suffered head trauma; residents use pool noodles instead of mallets to bash the moles.
“It was kind of tiring crawling around and popping up. The idea was to hit us and not the balloon but they were having so much fun just with the balloons,” said Alfonso. “There was one lady in particular every time we would pop up in front of her, she would yell. I think she was surprised to see us pop up, which was really funny. It was enjoyable for us to see our idea coming to fruition.”
The activity brought joy to residents but also provided some mirth for staff members. White sees this as just another part of the job description.
“Even other staff members were coming in and watching and laughing, just like me personally,” said White. “I think why I love the job so much is I love coming in and making people laugh because I think a lot of people in this stage in their life can be hard on themselves and maybe feel like they can’t have fun. Like Rebecca always says, ‘We’re the fun crew’ and I feel like laughter is medicine.”
