Hawaiian Theme Offers Winter Warmth at Braemar Cooinda

The tropical warmth of Hawaii came to a cold and wintery Perth last month, as residents of Braemar Cooinda Aged Care in Melville enjoyed an Hawaiian theme day.

Despite the rain and wind outside, the 108 seniors who call Cooinda home were transported to the warmer weather of tropical Hawaii for an afternoon of cultural delight.

Music was provided by the team at Memory Lane Karaoke, allowing residents to engage with singing and dancing in the facility’s large lounge. While there was a great variety of Hawaiian themed music, hits from the Beach Boys and Elvis Presley proved the most popular on the day!  

Each resident was presented with a Hawaiian Lei, while tropical drinks were on offer for those who wanted to fully immerse themselves in the Hawaiian spirit. To round off the festivities, a group meal was served with Hawaiian themed food prepared by the Cater Care Chefs based at Braemar Cooinda. 

Braemar Presbyterian Care CEO Wayne Belcher commented that such theme days are part of Braemar’s commitment to an engaging resident enrichment program.

“One of the things that make Braemar unique is our organisation-wide dedication to a resident enrichment program. In the past 12 months alone we have seen this expanded to include technology classes on iPads and the like, history lectures, visits from the Royal Flying Doctor and theme days like this one,” Mr Belcher comments.

“Despite Hawaii being over 11,000km away from us, for the day we were able to bring its unique culture, food and music to Melville. This is really important as it allows those residents in our care the opportunity to expand their horizons and learn new things in the comfort of their home.”

Braemar was established by the Presbyterian Church over 65 years ago and today provides care and friendship to over 200 elderly residents.