Recreation therapy brings joy and results to patient care

At All Saints Springhill Hospital, recreation therapy is proving the power of play. 

Joy Meloro is a recreation therapist with a master’s degree in the field and a passion for people. Darcy Gould, with a background in kinesiology, works as a health support aide. Together, they are helping patients rediscover happiness, connection and purpose.

They’re showing how play can reshape recovery.

Each program is tailored to reflect what matters most to patients.

That’s how one woman, once hesitant and withdrawn, ended up back on her four-wheeler. 

“She lit up when she talked about it,” says Joy. “So, we asked, ‘What would it take to make that possible?’” So, the team got to work. The physiotherapy team helped design a strengthening routine to mimic the movements she’d need. When she was ready, they took her home, helped her onto the machine and watched her ride with pride.

“We focus on what people can do,” Joy explains. “It’s not about limitations. It’s about helping someone rediscover purpose and live beyond the hospital walls.”

Whether it’s wheelchair golfing, beach outings or grocery runs, the team tailors each experience to the patient - starting with what matters now and building toward what’s possible next. Their work goes beyond routine - it helps patients reconnect with who they are by reclaiming the meaningful moments that make life feel like theirs again. This work doesn’t happen in isolation. Recreation therapy integrates seamlessly with physiotherapy, occupational therapy and nursing care. While Joy leads assessments and sets personalized therapeutic goals; Darcy brings those plans to life by developing customized programs and one-on-one sessions based on each patient’s interests, abilities and motivations.

The outcomes speak for themselves: Patients smile more and they connect with others. 

Once withdrawn and uncertain about what lay ahead, one young patient found new purpose - and a transformed outlook - after his time at All Saints. With encouragement and small, meaningful goals, he began eating healthier, lost weight and started working toward getting his driver’s license. All goals sparked by a therapeutic relationship built on trust and joy (the feeling and the person).

“He said, ‘I'm so glad I ended up here,’” Darcy recalls. “That changed everything.”

It’s not only the patients who feel the change, staff and physicians in Springhill say the whole unit radiates new energy. “People smile more; they talk more and they come out of their rooms again,” Darcy says. “People heal faster when they feel seen.”

Even fellow patients form lasting friendships – like two residents who, after bonding through group rec therapy, asked to share a room in long-term care.

Joy is now pursuing a second master’s degree in mental health counselling, aiming to bridge the gap between physical and emotional healing. “People come to us anxious, grieving, or disconnected,” she says. “We give them purpose. That’s the power of this work.”

At its core, recreation therapy shifts the focus - from what's wrong to what could make today feel more right. And that shift from diagnosis to delight can change everything. 

Photo of (L-R) Joy Meloro and Darcy Gould.