Life in a nursing home can sometimes feel monotonous for its residents, so the staff at Oaks at NorthPointe in Zanesville, Ohio decided to spice things up a little by initiating a fun summer activity for the seniors.
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In the now viral video, the residents of this nursing home are seen slipping down a water slide and having an awesome time! The activity took place on June 7, and the footage of the event is being celebrated on social media for its pure sweetness.
“All the residents loved it! They said that the slip-and-slide event brought back their childhood. They said it reminded them of the good times that they used to have with their families and their kids, and when they were kids. They had a blast,” says Jackie Altier, 35, the executive director of Oaks at NorthPointe.
The viral video shows 94-year-old Millie going down the water slide assisted by a nurse, therapist, and another staff member as part of the Senior Health and Wellness Day event.
According to Jackie, 30 of the nursing home’s 98 residents participated in the slip-and-slide event. The oldest participant is Millie and the youngest is 62 years old.
“She went down the slide three times! She loved it,” Jackie tells PEOPLE. “I have three different videos of Millie on the slide and as she’s coming down she’s yelling, ‘I love it! I love this!’ She said …. the only thing she’d change is she wanted to go down the whole hill, but we could only go down half of it.”
In fact, the event was Millie’s idea. After the nursing home staff held a sledding event for the residents in February, Millie described to them what they thought was a water slide, but they were wrong. As it turns out, the senior was referring to parasailing. Still, the hardworking staff did their best to bring her vision into life.
“We immediately started talking about how we could do this safely. We went with a duck because of the head, that would provide support for the people who wouldn’t be stable in a seated position without that support. We used gait belts. We chose a location close to the curb so that way we could transfer the patient onto the duck,” Jackie said.
As of writing, the clip has garnered 8.4 million views and 123,799 shares!
“We’re completely shocked. I said, ‘Oh my gosh! Millie’s famous!’ ” Jackie recalls. “One day when we were coming down the hall, [Millie] stopped me and she goes, ‘I don’t know if you know this, but I’m famous. So I’m gonna start charging for my signature.’”
Jackie says that the slip-and-slide event was such a hit for the residents, that they are planning to have a repeat next month.
Watch Millie having a blast as she goes down the water slide in the video below.