EASTON, Pa. (May. 24, 2022) – Maryellen Knitter, a healthcare professional with 28 years of experience, has been named Director of Life Enrichment at Renaissance Home Forks, one of four residential communities in eastern Pennsylvania that make up Renaissance Senior Homes.
Knitter strategizes, organizes and oversees the many activities residents enjoy, such as games, movie nights and craft activities.
“Maryellen is a wonderful and invaluable member of the Renaissance Senior Homes family, vital to providing the unparalleled care and activities that our residents and their families come to rely on,” said Dr. Joanne Regina, CEO and founder of Renaissance Senior Homes. “She brings vast experience and endless compassion to her role and helps make our communities welcoming and joyful places.”
Knitter ensures that residents are provided with a wide variety of activities to engage their minds, hands and hearts. Favorites include painting and craft projects that she has added.
“They love painting,” she said. “They love crafting of any kind.”
Another popular activity is the game “Tiles,” played every morning at 9:30. Residents form as many words as they can with a set of Scrabble letters.
“If they make up a word, I tell them they have to make up a definition for it,” she said.
She plays Big Band music to strike a chord in residents’ memories, and leads them in planting flowers first in pots, then in the home’s garden. With a newly acquired eight-person bus, she plans to take them on shopping excursions, or just for a ride to enjoy the farmland scenery near the Pennsylvania-New Jersey border.
To fill the calendar each month, she meets with a committee of several residents to consider new activities. When a new resident arrives who is shy about joining activities, Knitter meets with the person one on one to show them how welcoming the atmosphere is.
“Little by little, I will get them out to join an activity,” she said. “Even if they just sit and watch, the next time they’ll join in.”
Before coming to Renaissance Senior Homes, Knitter worked for 26 years at Pleasant Valley Manor in Stroudsburg, Pa. She filled several roles there, serving as a Certified Nurse Aide, and in the Medical Records and Activity departments.
“At Renaissance Home Forks, I work with an amazing group of residents and staff,” she said. “I enjoy seeing the residents liven up as they join in games that allow them to create, play, socialize and spark treasured memories.”
About Renaissance Senior Homes
Renaissance Senior Homes (RSH) provide affordable and compassionate quality care in a family-like atmosphere with nursing staff available 24-hours a day. RSH’s four communities in eastern Pennsylvania seek to maximize residents’ independence and provide opportunities for socialization, cognitive stimulation, physical exercise, healthy eating and artistic, cultural and leisurely activities, as well as religious and spiritual support and direction. Each location offers a wide range of amenities and on- and off-site activities. For more information, please visit www.renseniorhomes.com
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