The residents stood in a large circle, some faces plastered with huge grins, others with looks of fierce determination.

Each gripped an edge of a large parachute, in the middle of which bounced a ball that danced over the chute's surface as the residents vigorously waved it up and down.

This parachute exercise is a lively example of therapeutic recreation activities that take place seven days per week at Mercy Health & Rehabilitation Center in Auburn.

The facility, which provides both long-term and comprehensive, short-stay rehab services, offers some of the most extensive rehabilitation programming in central New York.

“People might be surprised at some of the activities we do here,” said Amy Gannon, Mercy's director of therapeutic recreation, from her office.

Residents, many of whom are recovering from strokes, suffer dementia or require full-time care during their twilight years, participate in yoga, basketball, even an adapted version of kickboxing, Gannon explained.

“There are tons of benefits of our activities,” she continued. “They increase self-esteem and self-awareness, provide the opportunity for socialization. ... there are lots of advantages.”

The overall purpose of therapeutic recreation, Gannon said, is to “maintain or increase the abilities residents already have.”

Physical activities like basketball help patients work on range-of-motion and muscle strength, she added, while others such as trivia, board games and arts and crafts have more cognitive benefits.

Gannon said when a resident first arrives at Mercy, she and her five-member team perform an extensive assessment to help determine recreational programming.

“We assess their life-long interests, then develop (activities) based on that. We try to not do the same activities over and over, and ones that everybody can participate in,” she said, noting the residents' physical capabilities are varied.

In the warmer months, Gannon and her staff take residents onto the grounds of the facility, where they participate in gardening and enjoy entertainment like guitar and accordion music provided by local musicians.

“Being outside always rejuvenates (the residents),” she said. “It's great for them to be able to get some fresh air.”

And the benefits of the aforementioned parachute exercise?

“Numerous,” said Lynn Anderson, head of Therapeutic Recreation Studies at the State University of New York at Cortland.

“The idea of doing that kind of activity versus plain old physical therapy is that it's more stimulating and engaging and fun,” she said. “The research is pretty solid that when people are enjoying themselves, they're much more open to learning. They're able to obtain a level of functioning they probably wouldn't reach otherwise.”