Serving Hunterdon, Somerset, Mercer, Middlesex, and Warren Counties
Quality of life can be elusive for a person who cannot or chooses not to readily participate in day-to-day activities, whether a solo ager, one who has lost a loved one, or one who has a disease, disability, or special need. When social opportunities shrink, loneliness can often times follow, and the risks for deteriorating health conditions and increased care demands heighten.
Our research and experience tells us no matter what social and physical changes happen during one’s lifetime everyone deserves continued joy to sustain their sense of dignity, independence, and quality of life. This is where Thoughtful Engagement® comes into play.
Kelly McNamara, RN
Owner
Thoughtful Engagement.
Your Voice. Heard.
Thoughtful Engagement’s personalized, one-on-one, joy-producing activity program is designed to provide social enrichment, personal connection, and ample amounts of fun regardless of health condition. In its uniqueness, the Program:
The Thoughtful Engagement® Specialist is a positive, personable, compassionate, caring, curious, and patient person who becomes the participant’s activity explorer, creator, and joy-producing partner.
Through a deep social history exploration, the Specialist interviews the participant, and other care partners if important, to help illuminate the interests and activities that have brought joy to them throughout a lifetime. The Specialist then creativity devises an Engagement Plan where the activities and life-joys beautifully align, and the engagement experiences come to life with intention.
FORMER PARTICIPANTS UNCOVERED NEEDS | JOY ACHIEVED |
She loves gardening. | Succulent garden materials were brought to her room, where she calls home, so she could create her garden. It morphed into ongoing community showings. |
He loves birding (especially identifying them). | A downloaded “Bird Call and Identification” phone application generated enthusiasm to regularly go outside and listen to simulated bird calls so he could identify them. |
He is a lover and driver of Chevy sports cars, also a tinkerer. | A visit to a 2024 Chevy dealership unveiled the new Corvettes, to his delight, and the Bolt electric car, the first he’d ever seen. |
He is a lover of music, and former DJ. | A visit to a vintage record store was a multi-sensory, industry evolution experience for him. |
She loved teaching at an elementary school. | A personal tour of a local elementary school brought her back to another memorable and honorable home |
Our Thoughtful Engagement® program nurtures, inspires, and continuously explores the activities that bring joy at every point along life’s journey.
For Participants…
For Care Partners…
Do you have any questions, or would you like more information?
Please call 908-452-6644,
email info@nightingalenj.com,
or send a message by completing this form:
A caring staff member will get back to you within one business day.
We think you'll appreciate learning more about the magic the Thoughtful Engagement® Program has brought to so many. If it feels timely to explore what magic might await you, please contact us for more information.
Now she’s happy to go out to a museum or the zoo. But that was not the case before. Ever since she had to retire due to moderate frontotemporal dementia, Maureen was withdrawn. Not herself. So her niece called Thoughtful Engagement.
Read MoreDiane’s son, Joe, was diagnosed in his twenties with paranoid schizophrenia. At fifty he was living in a group home. He was generally stable but spent most of his time smoking and alone. Diane, now in her seventies, was experiencing health challenges. She worried about what would happen to Joe when she was gone.
Read MoreChelsea was worried about her dad, Mark. He used to be so outgoing. But lately he refused to leave the house. It wasn’t COVID or dementia. He was simply too anxious. His dog, Maggie, held the key.
Read MoreWhen Peggy’s husband died, she found it very difficult to go out in the world without him. She even quit going to church because it was too painful when people asked how she was doing. Her daughter, Debbie, lived far away and was extremely concerned because her mother had now lost not only her husband, but also her spiritual and social community.
Read MoreRoberto was a confirmed bachelor and beloved uncle to his many nieces and nephews. Always the life of the party at family barbeques, he had begun to withdraw. He no longer hung out with his buddies, and he was even losing weight. The family wasn’t sure what to do.
Read MoreJames, a long distance son, was worried about his mother’s isolation and lack of mental stimulation following a series of minor strokes. Ruth had been a tenured professor of Art History, but had retreated since her husband’s death. She was becoming so withdrawn, it was difficult for James to have conversations with her on the phone.
Read MoreSarah, a caregiving wife with health issues had a husband, Tom, who was prone to falling. She needed to go to her medical appointments, but her husband kept firing the caregivers she hired to stay with him.
Read MoreReiko had always been a happy, talkative person. But four months after moving into an assisted living community, the staff confirmed that Reiko spent most of her time in her room. Her daughter, Sue, was concerned. This wasn’t like her mother. Sue also felt guilty because she had encouraged the move.
Read MoreDave’s wife, Cindy, never got a moment to herself. Her energetic husband, Dave, had moderate dementia and demanded her attention all the time. He had even begun wandering. She was worried she couldn’t keep him at home much longer.
Read MoreThoughtful Engagement® is a national network of Specialists trained to develop personalized, one-on-one, creative activities that reignite joy in the lives of its participants. NightingaleNJ is the exclusive provider of Thoughtful Engagement activities in central NJ.
© 2002-2024, NightingaleNJ. Site created by Elder Pages Online, LLC.