Don't be surprised if relatives begin showing up more often for visits at the St. Mary's nursing home in County Monaghan, Ireland, near the border with Northern Ireland.
The reason: The home now has a pub.
Actually, it's had a bit of a bar since the 1970s, but recently upgraded it to a real pub for the principal benefit of home residents, average age 85. Nursing home officials noticed a fair number of residents were able, and quite willing, to stroll down to the village pub, sometimes for a drink but sometimes just for coffee or tea and a chant.
The desire was obvious: to enjoy a non-institutional life experience as much as possible.
As Rose Mooney, associate director of nursing at St. Mary's, told an interviewer, " .. Most of our lives, you know, center around the pub or some kind of recreational activity, but definitely in Ireland social life revolves around the pub and all of a sudden, you know, we shouldn't allow that just to stop dead when people come into a care setting, whether it be maybe they're only here for two weeks or for you know, six weeks rehabilitation or for long-term care."
You can get the full details on the topic by checking this transcript of an Australian radio show interview with Mooney.
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