Promoting active participation for healthy ageing at The Hawthorns

Independent retirement living at The Hawthorns communities provides a new freedom of lifestyle and promotes the opportunity to stay healthier for longer. Our residents are encouraged to engage in continued meaningful occupations and pass-times or to take up new interests, with current thinking identifying occupation as a benefit to maintaining well-being in retirement.

Occupations and activities are what bring us meaning and purpose in life. They shape us as individuals, define our character and provide us with a sense of purpose, vital to who we are. The Hawthorns offers a comprehensive and balanced approach to maintaining well-being, covering a person’s mind, body and soul. Leading the sector, The Hawthorns Programme uniquely uses a Well-Being Measure for all the individual programme elements. It identifies occupations that have personal meaning and significance and categorises what is important to the resident to help them keep or get involved.

A great example is The Hawthorns Walking Club, where residents wanted to take part in daily exercise to improve their mobility. Over time this activity can become a meaningful occupation by offering social connectedness and psychological benefits, through valued friendships, shared time, and reaching personal goals. This provides a new impetus to life, to engage in an activity of meaning, not merely for the sake of it.

All of The Hawthorns communities have walking clubs for their own grounds. Some venture further afield; there are free exercise classes and one even has its own gym! Getting involved in gardening for some green-fingered residents is a positive experience, and for others, it can be the regular quizzes to keep the grey matter going. There are a wide range of ways that The Hawthorns lifestyle keeps you moving in your retirement, helping you stay healthier, for longer.