The Littlefork Health Care Center is scheduled to host upcoming cultural awareness days celebrating Scandinavian, European and Ukrainian cultures.
The first in the series is Scandinavian day on Thursday beginning at 10 a.m. at the nursing home. The event aims to celebrate lineage from Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Iceland. A Swedish dinner will be offered at 11:30 a.m. and a cultural show-and-tell is scheduled for 2 p.m. Scandinavian music will be presented at 3 p.m. Activities, crafts and food will be offered throughout the day. The event is open to the public, and guests are encouraged to attend wearing Scandinavian country colors.
The series of cultural awareness days is funded by a grant the nursing home received from the Minnesota Department of Human Services, as part of the state’s Nursing Facility Diversity Mini-Grant Program. The program encourages nursing homes to find ways to bridge gaps among various cultures.
“We strive to understand the needs of a diverse population — including communication styles, work habits and expectations about care provision,” said Kimberly Perkins, chief executive officer at Littlefork Medical Community. “Cultural awareness days are a fun way to educate, celebrate and embrace the ethnic differences present in Koochiching County.”
Research shows possible cultural disparities among different population segments, Perkins added. She said that as the population of older adults gets more diverse, nursing homes must find ways to learn about various ethnic and cultural sensitivities.
“I wrote the grant telling the state that if nursing homes would embrace cultural differences (by celebrating them), then staff and residents from different backgrounds may experience a higher quality of life in a nursing home,” Perkins said.
Dates are not yet scheduled for European and Ukrainian days. For more information, contact activities director Jennifer Fondie at 218-278-6634 ext. 116.
