When reading though the trouble areas I found yours to be a very serious issue as well. The problem is that you will take the heat if the form is showing little participation. It is very important that your company hear you on this issue. Your activities are probably new and improved with the times and resident interests and the form is not.
I would try:
* Seeking the help of other Activity Directors in your company (if it is that big) I would suggest a meeting about the form. So all of you can present it to the company together. If you explain your frustration with the form in such a way that Administration sees you just want to keep the dept. in compliance they may understand that.
* There may be an Activity Director you know from a nearby company you can have meet with administration with you.
* Or try using one active resident in an example and show how much more they do for two week time period then the form represents.
* If Social Services were willing to help you argue this point that would also help them because their sections require them to write about activity involvement.
* Check around in the Company to see if any other department is using a form they had to create. Maybe Social Services, or Dietary.
* Other Activity Directors from the area could Email their forms to you so you could present it to the company. If you show your boss that other homes they respect create their own forms for activity, this may help.
If no one will hear your argument I would add a simple comment sheet on the back (you could even copy it to the back side of your form) as a place for the staff to put the date write in the extra things residents do such as, go to the beauty shop, go outside to the porch, talk on the phone, visit with family, or the special events you add in like Super bowl parties!
I have worked in 3 long term care homes and we have tracked participation in different ways and each way is fine as long as the surveyors can
clearly read it. In one home we even highlighted the activity calendar to prove participation and this was also fine. Other homes are using different forms that staff created and Administration approved and they are part of the permanent medical record. The form I use right now matches what our company started with but I recreated it in a word table and changed the words. I added: Outdoor Activity, Men's Club, Sun Bonnet (which is our coffee shop), etc.
I hope you can resolve this in a way that makes you feel good about using your form and proves the hard work you have been up to.
CJackson, on 16 March 2005 - 11:56 AM, said:
:hammer: [B][FONT=Impact] My trouble area would definatly be the daily activity log. Who participated in what. The company we are with require us to use a certain form. The only problem is, The form stinks!! It has all these items on it. But most of them are not applicable with my residents. There is absolutely no way to Personalize it. So half the time, it looks like they are not doing much. if anything at all. I tried a different form one time, and got in trouble because it wasn't a "company approved" form. I have also tried to explain this to company people. Do they care? no, they want the approved form and everything else be.. well you know. Sometimes I feel like I'm slamming into a brick wall. (of course that could very well be what their heads are made of!) :-D Any ideas would be soo greatly appreciated.
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