Visiting with kids at Good Sam's

The Good Samaritan Village is a nursing home on Route 60, just across from Socorro General Hospital. If you have small kids, I would really encourage you to visit. It's a lovely place, smells good, the staff seem happy and they are very respectful towards the residents. While I was there they had to clear out the recreation room and one resident didn't want to leave. She was wheelchair-bound and clearly the nursing aid could have easily wheeled her off, but at her protest, everything ground to a halt, and first the nurse, then the director came and spoke to her quietly, consulting, listening. When I'm old I want my unreasonable demands to fetch the director.

The center has a huge finch cage with 6-8 nesting finches -- my kids love watching that as much as the residents do. They are also excited, I must confess, about the juice in the cafeteria.

There is a locked Alhimier's ward, and this is where I would take the youngest children. The ward is an open, airy, sunny large living room, and the residents sit at tables, pace, or in easy chairs. There are children's toys -- ballons, balls, crayons, and while I was playing catch with my two year old, half the eyes in the room where watching, some smiling and laughing, some just alert. The place is spotless and a crawling baby won't find anything to get into trouble with. When my baby headed toward the exit, without me, one of them spoke up and said "She went that way". A babe in arms would be greatly admired, a young crawler would be very appreciated and any child young enough to be cheerfully self-absorbed would be enjoyed by the residents. Next time I am going to bring some music and dance with my kids for the grandmas.

4H had a special "crafts day", and I know that schools sometime visit but really it's much better for a smaller group -- an ideal thing for a stay at home mom with two kids to do. Just the presence of the kids in the center makes a difference. It doesn't take long before the residents recognize you. Christina and her girls take nail polish and do all the residents fingernails.

While there are many visitors on weekends, during the weekday, especially during the work day, there are very few. Many of the residents really enjoy hanging out and chatting in the hallway.

During flu season, children under 14 aren't allowed, so you may want to call ahead. As with daycare I would follow the 24 hour rule -- no visit 24 hours after a fever, or vomiting.