kimberly

Here's what we do at my IL/AL 125-room facility. We have 2 bus drivers. They are the only ones that take the residents to and from their scheduled appointments. AND we only have those scheduled appointments on Wednesdays and Thursdays within a certain radius from the facility. Then we do a shopping day on Saturdays. I plan my calendar around those days. If the resident wants to go to the doctor or run errands on a different day at a different time, then the bus driver comes in on that day (as long as the resident gives us a 24-hour notice) and we charge the resident a fee. That really cuts down on the special trips! I am the activity coordinator at my facility with no assistants or any volunteers. I am it! I could no way be running my residents all over town. Who would call Bingo?.......

Hi everyone, I just wanted to say thank you so much for your encouragement! You all made me feel so much better. I am still adjusting at my job and getting to know everyone so it kind of shakes me up when I hear complaints. I was warned by my supervisor that I will never please everyone. And like you said, I need to focus on the handful of residents that really do appreciate what I have done. Those are the ones that I do this for. It makes my day when a resident stops me to tell me how much fun they had at an activity. Working with the elderly has been my dream and I have directed my education in that direction as well. This is my first job working with the elderly and I guess I felt some kind of a let down or reality check of some kind with all the negativity. Like mbkemp had stated in her reply, I also get accused of rigging the bingo games. Come on now! I just hope I can settle in and get adjusted because I really do like what I am doing! Thank you all again. I am glad I found this site!

Hi everyone. I am new here and new to the activity world as well. I am getting a little discouraged so I thought i would come to you here for help. I have been an activity coordinator at a 125 room independent/assisted living community in Southern California. I am really liking the job and feel I am doing a great job so far. I have planned several outings that the residents really enjoyed and I am just starting to get to know the residents on a more personal level. However, yesterday was National Senior Health and Fitness Day, and I planned a whole day of speakers, lectures, and fun for everyone. I feel it went over great! But I hear from some other employees that "some" of the residents were complaining that the raffle was fixed, the speakes were just here to try to sell them their goods (they werent!!) etc. The negativity is just rampant here. I am starting to re-think my career choice. I know I shouldn't take this personally, but it hurts my feelings when I work so hard for them to make a fun day and they just complain about everything. Is this the way it is everywhere? Thanks for your help!!!