BartMan

Thanks for sharing HeavenStar !!!! That gave me some great ideas for my facility! I loved the sideline CheerLeader. ;o) Merry Christmas to you your facility. BartMan

You are right yunakitty , whatever works ! I am blessed with an outstanding volunteer program and one of the first things I orientate them on is doing one on one's ;o) Hey, it works for me ! We just went through Joint Commision and they were very satisfied with my RT Department. Zero Tags. Later , BartMan

Yes , the Wii program or as we call here at our ReHab facilty "Wii-Hab" , has done nothing but Good for our patients. From upper body strength building to mental strength building to occupying patients with anxiety and depression , it's all been a good thing , nothing negative to say about the Wii yet and I hope there's not because we love it here ! BartMan in Tally ;o)

Thanks for the info MaryAnn !!!! BartMan in Tally ;o)

Yes , I am required to have a CDL class C license in the State of Florida to drive the Residents in the bus , to go on outings and such. I have been the Activity Director for my facility for 16 years and have had to keep these license up to date , hope this helps ya ;o) , BartMan in Tally ;o)

I have had the same program where I work for about ten years and it works great ! It's called "Adopt A Resident" . Staff , Family and Friends can choose a Resident and buy a gift for that Resident. It works really well for those that do not have much family or any at all. I create a folder with Male or Female choices as well , just in case the people choosing the Residents don't know their names or who they are. I have never had a problem with it. I set a deadline for the gifts to be wrapped and in my Sants Sleigh (a basic Activity cart all dressed up) and then myself and my elves pass them out on Christmas morning , we usually work a half day. It means so much to the Residents. And the people that "Adopt" feel pretty darn good too !!!!!!! Good Luck , hope this helps , BartMan in Tally ;o)

Welcome to the AD Message Board Annia !!!! I hope you enjoy it as much as everyone else does !!!! BartMan in Tally ;o)

Well I'll tell you guys a story : One year during survey Nurses , Nurse Tech's and even a Doctor kept coming in during Bingo to get ice from our ice maker. The Surveyor asked me if I had a "Do not disturb" sign or "Activities in Progress" sign , I said no but that I could go make one real quick , she said good idea because this is my warning to you that if another person walks in during this activity I will have to tag you. I wrote the sign and told the Nurses station and the problem was solved. I didn't know that they could tag you for this but they can and they will, so tell your facility that the State will cite you for Activity interruptions !!!!!!! BartMan in Tally ;o)

Well Beth , I have done this before and it really works . Go buy you one of those inexpensive blank tapes , the ones that last like an hour or two before they run out. Pick a night that you know is not going to be any rain. Get a recorder and put it outside. I actually put it in the woods and you wouldn't beleive the sounds I got off this tape , from crickets chirping to some sort of Owl or bird making a very strange noise. Not only was it cool but it was fun too !!!! Try it and let us know what happens , oh and turn the volume up high on the recorder ;o) BartMan in Tally

Hey Linda Welcome aboard !!!! I have found this site very useful , rewarding and full of great ideas from other AD's. I am glad you found it ! BartMan in Tally ;o)

Someone in my facility just told me that it is between five and seven years , they were leaning more towards five years. You could prolly' look this up on line though. Good Luck ! Wish I could be of more help. BartMan in Tally ;o)

I second you on John Collins HealthCare , I also used his classes and He is the Best at what he does !!BartMan in Tally ;o)

Hi Laurie , I also have a "Family Council Meeting" (same thing) Quarterly and truthfully when I started it ten years ago I was not getting any participation , that is until I introduced Free Food to the program. I'm not sure wat time of the day you hold your meeting but if you do it at lunch time or dinner time and say that lunch will be provided then I promise you they will come.... Hope this helps , BartMan in Tally , Fl. ;o)

LisaRee , Listen to me very carefully and do as I say , are ya ready ? Here it goes , VACATION !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BartMan ;o)

I have been an AD for almost 16 years now at the same facility. I have seen my fair share of "Bad Entertainment" .... I have always used the head on approach and confronted the problem quickly. I have never had a problem handling a situation this way. Just be honest , maybe that person doesn't even know that they could improve , or maybe they do and they just like to give their time and help in any way they can. Try to give then other things to do if that's the case. But in any case I recommend confronting the person, in person, with whatever the situation might be. It will be the best in the long run , trust me.... Try to never "phase" someone out for anything.... Not meant to be pointing any of your opinions out , just don't agree with it is all.... I-CARE , Integrity , Compassion , Accountability , Respect and Excellence !! BartMan in Tally

Welcome !!!! Please stick around ! I can't count how many Fantastic ideas I have got from this site , it's like a big family of AD's here and they are all willing to help in any way they can.... BartMan in Tally

We did about the same thing with the "Facility Bucks" but used regular Monopoly money , the left over money each Resident had was spent at our "General Store" here in our facility , Good Luck and Have some fun !!!! BartMan in Tally ;o)

We have our own grill here at our facility , sooooooooooo I throw them a cookout !!!! BartMan in Tally

copy and paste this questionnaire so we can get to know each other better and have fun! Karen What is your name? BartMan What is your occupation? Activity Director for LTC Facility •What are you listening to right now? Brad Paisley • What was the last thing you ate? Just had a salad out of our cafeteria here at work •Do you wish on stars? Yes I do •If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Purple •How is the weather right now? Sunny and hot 100 degrees , sticky and humid •Last person you spoke to on the phone? My Friend •How old are you today? 37 •Favorite drink? Bloody Mary •Favorite sport(s) to watch? Bass Fishing on t.v. •Have you ever dyed your hair? yep •Do you wear contacts or glasses? 20/20 vision for now •Pets? a fish •Favorite month? December •Favorite food? Pizza Hut Pizza (supreme pan) •What was the last movie you watched? Indiana Jones •Favorite day of the year? Christmas •Fall or Spring? Spring (great fishing) •When was the last time you cried? really can't remember , Oh Geez that's really sad , I think i'm gonna cry ;o( •What did you do last night? played nine ball (pool) with some buddies •What inspires you? My Daughter (7yrs, old) •What are you afraid of? Spiders , shhhhhhhh don't tell anyone •Favorite car? Ford F-150 •Favorite dog breed? Husky •How many years at your current job? 15 •How many states have you lived in? Seven •How many cities/towns have you lived in? Way too many to mention , you see I am a NAVY Brat , My Father was in the Navy for thirty years , we moved a lot !!!! Lived a lot over seas....

I too have had this problem in the past. I will tell you this. Document Document Document !! Make sure you write notes on exactly what is going on. If you have no higher functioning Residents right now that can make decisions then you have to do what you can. Still have your meetings but just make sure you document what is going on , the STATE will understand if you write this down and take good notes. Hope this helps , BartMan in Tally ;o)

We shall be taking our "Peeps" ;o) to the local Museum of Natural History this Summer , Oh and it's air-conditioned too ;o) !!!! Way to HOT in Florida right now to be going outside for an ACTIVITY , but in Sept. we will probably go fishing !!!! BartMan in Tally

Hi Sara , Last year our Facility went all out on this date and ordered Live Butterflies from a local flower shop here in town. It was quite expensive and will probably never be able to do it again. But it was an AWESOME experince for everyone that participated. We went outside and let the buttertflies go at one time, celebrating the end of slavery. It was so beautiful and the memory will last a lifetime for those that watched and participated.... We were even in the newspaper.... Good luck with whatever you decide to do !!!! BartMan in Tally ;o)

I also do a "Grooming Session" at my place. I get the Nurse Techs involved with it. I promise you that if you try to include the Nurse techs in your Activities that it shall pay off for you in the long run when you really need help , for example at Christmas when there is so much to do , they (Techs) will be more willing to help out...... Also you can use your "Grooming" as a one on one for Sate requirements , also you can turn it into a Sensory Stimulation class with the hand rubs and lotions and also a Aroma Therapy session all at the same time. The State will Love this....... Don't look at it as who's job it is to do "grooming" look at it as everyone working together as a team.... Try not to miss the "big Picture" if you will....... And don't take this the wrong way. I am not trying to tell you what to do , only suggesting you use this as an oppurtunity to bring your facilty and Colleagues closer together .... This will make the Quality of Life for your Residents only that much better. Good Luck !!!! BartMan in Tally ;o)

Yes Heavenstar , this is exactly how we create ours. They are really fun and the Residents/Family members love them !! BartMan in Tally ;o)