Grand entrance opening and launch of sensory garden project at Grace Manor’s Care Home Open Day

Friday 19 June 2015

The completion of one project, and the launch of another will form part of the National Care Home Open Day on Friday 19 June 2015, when Grace Manor Care Centre in Gillingham’s Grange Road opens its doors for a day of art, celebration and entertainment!

The celebrations start with a symbolic re-opening of the front doors of the home, which have not been used as the primary entrance to the care centre for several years. “This is a beautiful listed building with a magnificent entrance hall, and I was keen to bring this back into use as the primary entrance to the home,” says centre manager, Russell Menoza, who joined Grace Manor earlier this year. “Making a great first impression for residents and visitors alike is so important to ensuring that everyone feels at home here, so we’ve moved our reception team into the original entrance to provide an extra warm welcome to everyone who walks through our doors.”

Whilst work is complete at the front of the house, another project is just starting at the rear, where staff, residents and visitors will start their summer-long project to create a new sensory garden. All visitors during the Open Day will be invited to write a message of hope on a new pebble which will be incorporated into the garden design, with visitors invited to bring along small plants or cuttings from fragrant plants and shrubs for residents to cultivate within the new sensory area.

“We encourage our residents to get involved in continually developing and improving our facilities here, and by the end of the summer, we hope to have the sensory garden complete, with textures, colours, sounds and aromas to stimulate the senses in a safe environment for our residents to explore,” adds Russell. “We’d love to welcome some of our neighbours in to create this as a community project, and the open day is a perfect time to set the ball rolling.”

Indeed, all guests will be invited to join residents in the home’s extensive gardens, which include an enclosed courtyard, a mature garden to the side of the building and a lawned area to the front, for afternoon tea, with entertainment provided by local singing group, The Music Makers, performing a host of classic hits from the 50s, 60s and 70s.

Grace Manor’s open day runs from 11.30am to 3.30pm, with visitors welcome to attend for any part of the day. The home itself is located on Grange Road in a beautiful listed building, featuring 53 individually-designed and furnished rooms, set in its own stunning grounds, which includes ruins of a church and a wall of Gillingham’s Archbishop’s Palace.

Grace Manor is part of the Forest Healthcare group of homes, which includes 13 individual homes throughout the South East of England. For more information on Grace Manor, please visit www.foresthc.com or call 01634 570230.

ENDS

For further media information or photographs, please contact:

Sam Orange or Jay Commins

Pyper York Limited

Tel:         01904 500698

Email:    sam@pyperyork.co.uk or jay@pyperyork.co.uk