Certainly a clientele that is much sicker and frailer than even a decade ago makes it harder for nursing homes to provide activities that require energy and skill. Some medications make it hard for residents to be engaged, and some residents, left to their own devices, would have what Paul Fairholm, past president of the Utah Assisted Living Association calls "self-imposed isolation." There is always a tension between being realistic about what kinds of activities an elderly person can engage in, and the reality that, as gerontologist Wright says, "if everyone treats you as frail, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy."

Still, it's not hard to imagine activities that might be more creative, more challenging and rewarding, more tailored to each resident's skills and interests, perhaps done in smaller groups or even individually. But doing that would require more thought and probably bigger staffs — and that would require more money.

At some nursing homes, residents tend little gardens and help with occasional chores like folding the laundry or folding the napkins for dinner. That's not much by an outsider's reckoning, but it's at least less an "activity" and more a continuation of a useful life.

Eliminating helplessness, as well as boredom and loneliness, is the goal of the Texas-based Eden Alternative, a nonprofit organization founded in 1991. The movement, which has so far enlisted 300 nursing homes across the country, encourages environments that are more spontaneous and filled with opportunities for residents to take care of "other living things." This week, representatives from the Eden Alternative are in Utah meeting with nursing home operators to gauge interest and provide training.

"Meaningless activities corrode the human spirit," says Marla DeVries, an Eden educator and mentor.

At Salt Lake City's Hillside Care Center, activities director Andrea Hawkins tries to provide what she calls "crafts with a purpose" — like service projects for Primary Children's Medical Center or quiltmaking for global relief funds. Morrison wonders why nursing homes don't team up with local nonprofits to hire residents to stuff envelopes.

And it's not just nursing home and assisted living residents who can benefit from being helpful and productive. JoAnn Knight, who lives in a low-income senior apartment at City Plaza, crochets blankets for battered women, a project through her LDS Church Relief Society. Lily Kunz, who lives in Wasatch Manor senior apartments downtown, does the laundry of her sick neighbors and makes cakes from scratch, dropping them off to her friends down the hall. To keep the place cheery, she puts up decorations near the elevator, changing them for each new season.