chaplaindeb

I need help with decorations. I'm just bad at decorating. I have lived in my house for 11 years and still don't have curtains in my bedroom because I just CAN'T do it. My ED says he wants me to decorate but he doesn't know what he wants. Half the time when I put up decorations he takes them down because they're "not right." But he doesn't know how they're not right or what he'd rather see. It is frustrating and budget-busting to decorate 2/3 times for everything because I get it wrong. He liked my Memorial Day decorations so now we're going to celebrate every patriotic holiday no matter how insignificant. He is an utterly fantastic ED and he should not have to worry about decorations. I'd like some resources for how to decorate.

Another Newbie! My name is Debbe, and I'm Activities Director for a Life Care Centers of America Facility. I was a volunteer chaplain here for 12 years and just became Activities Director a year ago. Our department has one Full time AD and two full-time Activities Assistants, plus a bus driver and a few random people and about 30 volunteers. For 112 beds. I am a CNA, which I have found gives me the ability to do more things to enhance the lives of the residents. I love what I do, the residents I serve, and the amazing ladies and fellows I work with. I'm looking forward to seeing what MEPAP can teach me, and hoping like crazy there will be something in here about "HOW TO DECORATE A FACILITY" because this is my biggest weakness.

Hi, Nan, Our facility has about an equal number of men and women (50 of each), and though we don't have many activities "just for men" the men seem more active than the women. In house, We can usually get the men to come to anything that includes food. A number of them are very enthusiastic about Brain Games, where we play games like Wheel of Fortune and Chain of Thought (I mirror my Kindle to the TV and we play the free apps). They got so good we made a Brain Games Team and challenged the staff for National Nursing Home Week. Our men really enjoy going on outings. The Le May Car Museum is a guaranteed hit, they like the beach, the lake, Wal-Mart, the History Museum, fishing, the zoo, going out to lunch, and anything that gets them out and about. In winter we go to a discount movie theatre once a month and the men flock to that (I have enough staff go along so that they can split up and see different movies if they want). The State fair is a HUGE hit and they enjoy Scrooge the Musical at Christmas. Men are the backbone of our Resident Council. The workers at our Resident Store were mostly men. They like to work on projects and volunteer in Activities. We do charity work and I can count on the men to stick to it until the end. I like some of these other ideas. I'm trying to figure out how to get them to a sporting event or rodeo.