Columbia Crest residents parade to Dairy Queen

MOSES LAKE - Residents at the Columbia Crest Care and Rehabilitation facility led the parade down to the Dairy Queen for some ice cream in celebration of National Nursing Home Week.

This is the ninth year residents have wheeled down to the Dairy Queen for ice cream, said Midge Sauceda, the facility's activities director. They were assisted by family, nursing home staff, students in the in-facility certified nursing assistant program, students in the CNA program at Big Bend Community College, and sixth graders in Pod C at Chief Moses Middle School.

Sixth grader Damian Torres explained that the lady from the nursing home, Midge, called Mr. Krogh (teacher Matt Krogh). "They asked for 20 people to help" with a project at the nursing home, Damian said.

So the students in Pod C volunteered to help and joined the parade. Residents and staff decorated their wheelchairs and tied on lots of balloons, and a lot of people carried pom-poms. "We helped push them (the wheelchairs) and waved our pom-poms," Damian said.

Between residents, staff, family and friends and volunteers the parade totaled 105 people when they turned into Dairy Queen, said human resources director Patty Lin. Dairy Queen donates the ice cream cones, Lin said.

The crowd gave the Dairy Queen owners a hearty cheer when they lined up for a group picture.

National Nursing Home Week is an annual event, always the week after Mother's Day, Lin said, designed to spotlight nursing homes and their residents.

Columbia Crest will wind up Nursing Home Week with a barbecue for residents, family and interested people from the community, Lin said. People who don't live at the nursing home are asked to RSVP by contacting the front desk, 509-765-6788.