The sounds of laughter and friendly chatter filled the hallways of the Cass County Medical Care Facility Sunday afternoon.

The sounds were coming from the care facility’s residents as they caught up with loved ones that they rarely see.

“It’s so lovely to have my family here,” said resident Irmgard Deford, surrounded by multiple generations of her family. “I’m just tickled pink.”

Cass County Medical Care Facility, 23770 Hospital St., Cassopolis, hosted its annual Thanksgiving meal Sunday. For the meal, the facility treated residents and visiting family members to a home cooked meal consisting of ham, turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans and rolls.

Annually, the event draws between 200 and 300 visitors, facility officials said.

The Thanksgiving celebration is a long-held tradition in the facility, with both facility administrator Merri Terborgh and assistant administrator Christian Lutes saying that the event has gone on as long as they have been with the facility.

“We do this so that folks who want to be out of town with their kids [for Thanksgiving] can do that without feeling guilty,” Terborgh said of the families of facility residents. “This way, they can come visit their loved ones who live here and then go out of town on the regular Thanksgiving.”

The Thanksgiving meal also gives residents of the Cass County Medical Care facility the chance to socialize with family and celebrate Thanksgiving, as there are some residents who may not be able to leave the facility on Thanksgiving proper, Terborgh said.

“We want it to feel like family here. We want this to feel like a family Thanksgiving,” Terborgh said. “It’s great to see the effect [the Thanksgiving meal] has on our residents. It lifts their spirits.”

This was true of many of the residents who took part in the meal Sunday, with several saying that they were pleased to be able to spend time with their families and that they were happy the facility was putting on this event for them.

For Deford, the effort on behalf of the care facility to help her have a good Thanksgiving was especially meaningful because Thanksgiving will be the first major holiday she will spend as a resident of the facility.

“It is so nice,” Deford said of the Thanksgiving meal. “Sometimes it takes a while to see each other [her family], because they live far away or are busy. So, I’m very happy to have them here today.”

Terborgh and Lutes said they were grateful that they were able to provide a happy day for their residents and that they strive to do  that year-round, with the nonprofit facility offering several celebrations and meals throughout the year.

“The residents and the community are our family here [at the care facility],” Lutes said. “We want to provide a sense of belonging, a sense of family and a sense of being part of something [to our residents]. When you provide such intimate care, you become like a family, and everyone that comes through here leaves with new family members. That’s who we are. That’s why we do this.”