'It's a good feeling': Local seniors enjoy a night of music, food at first-ever prom

WAUWATOSA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- It was a senior prom like no other.

"Some of [the residents] were really excited. Some of them were like, 'a prom?'" Dana Roesner said.

Dana Roesner, Recreation Therapy Manager of Skilled Nursing at St. Camillus Life Plan Community, spent months planning a senior prom for the residents in memory care, assisted living, and skilled nursing at St. Camillus.

"It's so wonderful to see everybody's smiling faces here today. Everybody looks beautiful and handsome, and I love this!" Roesner said while speaking with the crowd of residents.

She tells CBS 58 she was inspired to bring the prom to the seniors after attending a similar event.

"It was an idea brought to me by Grandma when she was in an assisted living facility. They did a senior prom," Roesner said. "She didn't want to go, but we got her dressed and ready to go, and she had the best time, and we danced the night away. So, I thought it would be so much fun to bring it here to our residents."

The staff helped doll up the residents so they would feel ready for a fun night with a "Fly Me to the Moon" theme.

"We've done their hair, we've done their makeup, we've done their nails, we've gotten them really excited and hyped for it. So, we're like, come on, enjoy the champagne, the chocolate, the entertainment, so I think it really made them excited," she said. "We love our residents here at St. Camillus. We really do."

This year's Prom King, 86-year-old resident Wilbert "Dick" Nack, said he misses having fun, and this event helped fill that hole.

"It's a good feeling. Seniors generally are ignored, like to back of the room," he said. "It takes the boredom out of being old."

A slideshow with life moments of residents and staff members played during the night, a detail Roesner wanted to add to bring even more joy to the promgoers.

"I just wanted it to be something the residents could look at and remember from their past these special events," she said.

While chocolate fountains and champagne were flowing to add to the fun, the prom benefited residents' overall health.

"Especially during our times of COVID, we've had a lot of challenges with isolation, social isolation, residents not getting out their rooms," Roesner said.

"What we've been able to do is get them out of their rooms and just bring them to fun things that they look forward to that they can enjoy and experience socialization with other residents. Physically, mentally, socially, spiritually. It gets them out, and it benefits them in every single aspect of their well-being."

Focuses on the well-being of residents is something St. Camillus volunteer and independent living resident Al Blake admires about the facility, saying they work on this throughout the year with activities and events to keep residents' minds sharp and bodies active.

"We try to keep people from sitting in their room, fading away watching television," Blake said.

For one 96-year-old resident named Ramona Baumann, the night was an unforgettable prom as she wore a green dress and got her nails painted to match.

"I just feel rejuvenated. Very happy" she said. "I just feel wonderful, wonderful. I can't tell you how I feel. I just feel excited. Thankful."