Pennie

Hey All, It is really hard to pick what I liked the best! i loved the Wedding, Pictures on the Ceiling, What's Cookin & Whatzitfor?. Any of these would be easy to use in an activity program. They also would be great to use along with the new ftags! As for the voting, Texas is electing a new Governor, or maybe keeping the one we have, this Nov. 7th. I hate to admit that I don't usually vote and I dont like the games played by the canidates. But I watched the debate on TV, a first for me! I didn't like Perry & especially "one tough grandma". I think Kinky is my man. he may have said things that should have been reworded but I bet most of our residents can relate to what he was saying & to him. This was emailed to me about the debate. by SARA SCAFE TOOLE http://www.opednews.com Texas Governor's Debate Got Touchy at Times I just finished watching the debate between the Texas incumbents and Governor Rick Perry, and I have to say that Ms. Strayhorn almost literally sickened me with all of her talk about caring for the people, when most of her campaign funds have come from businesses that wanted tax breaks from her. She was the Mayor of Austin decades ago,a Democrat, and just like her fickleness over which party she belongs to, she also can't seem to keep a last name. She was known then as Mayor McLellan, and I really can't remember the specifics, but all that I know is many people here in Austin were very unhappy with her policies and performance. If she couldn't run a then small city like Austin, then how in the world does she expect to run a huge state like Texas? As for Chris Bell, I think that he did the best job of the three because he was concise, knew his statistics, and is not for the Texas Trans-Corridor fiasco, which will take thousands of acres from farmers to build a huge slab of concrete throughout our entire state! He also spoke of the need to do away with the TAKS test. This seems like a wonderful idea, as it only puts undue pressure on teachers, students, and parents. The children also take these practice tests that are so similar that one wonders if they have really accomplished anything except memorization. Texas is now in 32nd place in education, I believe, or thereabouts, and was all of the way down in the upper forties just a few years back. Congressman Bell also wants to completely re-vamp our school system, and give our teachers raises. He is also for campaign funding reform, and after you read about Perry, you will know why. As for Governor Rick Perry, he was the slimiest of them all! He, of course, is for the Texas Trans-Corridor; the company that got the contract is from Spain, and they contributed HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of DOLLARS to Perry's campaign. His meek reply to this was that some Texas contractors would also receive work, but I don't believe him for a second. Just two years ago, he was cheering for property owner's rights, and these farmers and ranchers voted for him. Now, he wants to take their land for the TTC. He wants to keep the TAKS test in place, and he stated that our children's scores have risen 20% in the past two years. What he DIDN'T SAY was that we are the highest in the COUNTRY in DROP-OUT rates, and that we were rated in the upper forties out of the fifty states about four years ago. I don't think that 20% is much of an improvement when Texas is one of the top 15 richest states. Many poorer states have better education than we do, and why is that? Ann Richards passed the Texas Lottery and had put in place that the money would be set aside in a Special Education Fund, solely for teacher salaries,and proper maintainance of Texas schools. Now, the money goes into a General Fund; who knows where it ends up. There was one other thing that irritated the Hell out of me. Mr. Perry said that Texas teachers had received raises. This is simply NOT TRUE! I just spoke to an Austin fifth grade teacher a month ago, and she hasn't had a raise in over THREE years! She is actually considering quitting teaching because she can't afford her living expenses, and they aren't very much. Perry is only interested in himself, and his cronies; FACE IT. He is a part of Bushco. Bush appointed him, and if we have to use the fraudulant voting machines, Perry will win once again, just like his mentor did in 2004 with Kerry. Our only recourse is to get out en-masse on November 7th, and let our wishes be known. If enough of us vote, I don't think that fraudulant machines will have a chance against us. Only 26% of the population voted in the last election, and voter's registration ends on October 10th,(Tuesday.) Now, I like Kinky Friedman for his complete honesty, and even though he has used some terminology that is outdated, one has to remember his age. I believe the African-Americans, at the time of his youth were probably referred to as negros. As for his other comments, they were made on stage, in a comedy act. I wouldn't take it personally if Richard Pryor said, "honkie, or redneck" but most of the general public hasn't seen his act, or read his books, so they don't understand that these were taken out of context to discredit him. To take the entire focus of his comments and place them on one outdated term was a crappy move by Strayhorn and Perry. Bell, however, stayed out of it, and focused on the issues at hand, which showed viewers what type of person he really was. Friedman has some wonderful ideas about bio-diesel, and ethanol, which can be grown by Texas farmers, so everyone wins. It would also cut down on pollution, and since Friedman's against the TTC, the farmers would still have their land to produce the ethanol base; whatever it may be. The panel mentioned Friedman's comment concerning the Katrina evacuees that he called crackheads, and thugs. I, myself read an article in the Austin American Statesman concerning this issue, and it's no joke. As Kinky stated, the murder rate has gone up 20% since their arrival, and I read about one apartment building that is filled with evacuees, and constant criminal behavior. The crime there is so bad that they have to have an officer's car parked there 24 hours in an attempt to keep crime in check. Mr. Friedman's idea of sending 100,000 more officers to the high crime areas may not be such a bad one. It would certainly send a clear message that Texas DOES NOT tolerate violent, and criminal behavior. I don't think that we'd need quite so many, but I haven't been there personally to see the situation as Kinky has, so I cannot give an educated guess. Mr. Friedman also wants to legalize gambling, and put that money into a Special Education Fund, just like Ms. Richards did. I think that's a wonderful idea, as long as the casinos are in good taste, and are not near schools, and churchs; just for propriety's sake. The last important issue that Friedman brought up was decriminalizing marijuana in Texas. Personally, I think that this is an idea worth considering, as thousands of people are sitting in prison, while we foot the bill, for having a little weed on them. Prisons are for violent/sex offendors, thiefs, pedophiles, and criminals. Rehabilitation is for people with addiction issues. My best friend died in a car accident because she was driving while intoxicated. Alcohol, to me, is a much worse drug than marijuana. One can black out, get violent, and when they abstain, or try to quit, they can seize and literally die. I have seen it in person, and it was not a pleasant experience. The lady was rushed to the hospital, where they re-started her heart several times. She was hospitalized for over a week. Alcohol can actually kill you; pot can't. It may be a tough decision for some, but to me one thing is very obvious. Governor Rick Perry is a parasite, and has got to go! If this means that former Kinky supporters will have to vote for Chris Bell in order to rid Texas of this greedy, selfish man who thinks that he's got it in the bag, then that may be the only solution, as sad as it may be. IREALLY DON"T AGREE WITH VOTING KINKY SUPPORTERS WILL HAVE TO VOTE FOR BELL. KINKY VOTERS GET OUT THERE & VOTE.

I am not sure about the browser Opera... sorry Does anyone else use Opera.. ? Do you have trouble viewing the images on this site? Post your replies.. thanks Pennie

New Calendar in the Activity Downloads Calendar Swap area.. located on the Main Menu, Left side of the screen http://www.activitydirector.net/modules/mydownloads/ If you have a Calendar or Newsletter that you would like to share .. simply attach a copy to and email and send to Admin(at)Activitydirector.Net I will get it posted and ready to share.. You must log in to download from the site.. its FREE! http://www.activitydirector.net/register.php thanks, Pennie

Hi Micki and Kim.. and Everyone! If you would like me to upload any of your calendars to our Calendar Swap area in the Activity Downloads Section , just email them to me and I will post them for you. Email it to me at admin(at)activitydirector.net You can just attach it to your email and I will post it in the Calendar Swap area and every member can download a copy. thanks, Pennie

Hello, All of the facilities I have worked at or consulted at the mail delivery were activities job. I would get the mail sort it out then I had a volunteer resident deliver the mail to the other res. & she would read letters etc. to those res. that requested it or was unable to do so. Just be sure that the volunteer res. knows to ask permission or repeat their request before reading/opening their mail. You the AD should make notes in charts to back up that res. want their read mail to them, why & that another res. is doing this task. Be sure that you have also charted that the res. that volunteers has requested to be a volunteer etc. As far as forwarding mail I always went to the accounting office because they usually had the forwarding address & forward mail from there. On weekends my staff would get the mail & have volunteer deliver it & keep rest in my office until Monday. I really didn't mind this job. As far as going to the store we tried to get family members to do but not all res. have family etc. So what I did was get a volunteer (in my case a family member) & she would go to the store for the res. once a month. I put the trip on my calendar announcing that (Persons name) will be going to (store name) at (time) for res. The res. knew to bring in their money & list to my office prior to the time of my volunteer going. After the volunteer went to the store she would also take items to the res. along w/ their recite & change. This worked out well for us because res. knew that if they missed out then it would be next month before they could get anything from the store (unless an outing was planned). As far as a ration I have never seen it written anywhere. There are no state or federal regs on this. I wish there were it would really help us out & be fair to our residents. If you are finding it hard to get all of your work done & doing all of the activities & 1:1's by yourself don't take your work home. Speak to the Admin about getting you assistance. By taking work home & getting all of your work done then as far as Admin is concerned there is no problem because you are getting everything done. So therefore no ass't is needed. Sometimes you have to take a hit by State to get your point across that help is needed. Actually the Admin should really be concern about activities since the new res. have passed. Use them to your advantage make a list of all the things you do in a day & what needs to be done show how it is not possible for you to do it all without help. Sorry so long I hope what I have written makes sense to you. My mind works faster than my typing. Be sure to ask your questions we will all help out best that we can. Pennie

Hey Guys, The new topic of the day is more disturbing then usual! I have been reading multiple articles suggesting we may be having to deal with drug use at our facilities as the Babby Boomers began moving in. According to the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, drug use in age 50 -59 has increased 63% in the last few years. 70% of which is being accredited to marijuana. Are we really going to have to start programs and rehabs for this? I guess it was only a matter of time before this became an issue for us. I guess I just never thought about it until reading these articles. Any thoughts?

Hello All! A member inquired about Oktoberfest today and if we had any information on it. Unfortunately, I did not so, I was wondering if anybody had any input on this holiday. Activity ideas, party ideas, recipes, etc. would be great! What do you do at your facilty to celebrate? Look forward to your responses! Thanx Pennie

OK all here is the offical word on who does what on the MDS. As much as I hated to read it!! Read away. The feds do not care who fills out what section of the MDS as long as the information is completed by a "qualified professional." Therefore, facilities can assign whatever sections of the MDS they desire to whomever the facility thinks is best to complete that section. Surveyors are looking to see that the AD is included in completing areas of the MDS that relate in any way to quality of life, that would be all of those sections that you have mentioned. However, most facilities have the AD complete section N, with perhaps verbal input to the rest. It is up to the facility policy and procedure and the MDS/care plan team. Whatever section is completed by the AD, he/she should be aware of the rest of the information recorded on the MDS. It is vital that the AD utilize this information in formulating the input for activities into the overall plan of care. Thank you Pam Sanders for all of the help & information Pennie

Hi, Are you wanting the CMS Guidelines? If so you will need to click on the word in that post & it will then take you to the links so that you can save them on you computer. You may also open them up, print them out, & not save them on the computer if that is the case. There are to many pages to fax, sorry. Pennie

Hi, Valerie_C you wanted to know what cognitive means: is used in several loosely related ways to refer to a facility for the human-like processing of information, applying knowledge and changing preferences. ognition is closely related to such abstract concepts as mind, reasoning, perception, intelligence, learning, and many others that describe numerous capabilities of human mind. It may also refer to the mental functions, mental processes and states of intelligent of a a person. If you are new AD this site is really helpful with lots of folks helping you out. Also if you are able to join up as a member would be really useful to you. We have activity terms (words like this that have defintions) Medical terms so that it will help you understand how to read the residents charts etc. Newsletters, calendars, activities, much much more. It cost $9.95 If you have any more questions or need help please ask us & we all will be glad to help you out. Thanks Pennie

Hey Annie & All, CMS in their webcast refers to us as Activity Therapists instead of Activity Directors/Professionals. This leaves one to ask What type of education will be required to do the required work we do. With the new guidelines coming into effect it will require alot more of us now. A wave seems to be happening in our field and this is only the tip of the ice berg. As time goes by we are dealing with a different generation of folks & this will be come more noticeable every year. Those not certified & choose to stay that way, I am afraid that they will be left behind. The pay will increase as the demands will on our profession too. Adminstrators will be looking at activities to see if they are pulling their weight, maybe not today but I'll bet they will be after their State Survey! Folks what do you think about the new name?

Hey Ella, I have searched & scearched the internet & can find nothing for laundry/houskeeping as far as a message board goes. Lots of things out there for nursing & even social workers If she knows enough about computers maybe this would be good thing for her to start up. In fact thats how this site started. If either of you do find something please share it with us. Sorry pennie

Hi Jen, welcome to the site. You will find lots of help here. Be sure to check back often as everyday we get new postings. Share some of the things that you do that work well with us too. If you every need anything just holler out & we'll be here.

Hi Linda, welcome to the site & to the world of being an AD. You will find lots of help & support from your fellow AD's so anytime you have questions, comments or a great activity come here As far as getting them to hire you an assistant you will need to show them that 1 person can't do everything by theselves. so try not to work yourself to death & do not take work home. It will be a fine line at first since you are new at the job. I know you want to show them that you can do the work (they didn't make a mistake by hiring you) but if you do it all then they will expect it & think you don't need any help. best of luck to you & hope you enjoy you new job.

hi we have a Chart Starter form in our download area, open the file in MS excel, fill out the top page which is the resident assessment and save it as the residents_name.xls .. it will create a workbook for each resident.

Hello, Grandparents this link has some great ideals and there are some certificates that you can print out. It is a great website. Pennie

Hi, I as well as my staff wear colored jeans & a variety of different type shirts. Shorts & Open toe shoes are not allowed. we wear tenny shoes pr any that are comfortable. The acception to this rule is if we are going on an outing , say fishing or the lake then we wear shorts. On special events, holidays we wear shirts to get the resdients in the staff in the mood. Sometimes we dress say western if we are having a western day etc. I tried changing the dress code at the request of my assistance, Black pants/jeans & Polo Shirts (I ordered some with Activties on them). After about a two weeks we went back to the colored jeans & shirts. Basically we wear anything that is comfortable but looks acceptable. Oh yea T-shirts were fine but they couldn't have any writiing on them, no holes in jeans, or no low-rise jeans. the unwritten policy was dress age appopriate & job appopriate. The Administrator has never said a word about how we dress. She has seen us on our knees looking for a Bingo Ball, getting stuff spilled on us, glitter, glue on us, climbing on ladders to decorate or get a balloon etc. Hope this helps. Pennie

Hi Laural, This a great AA Job Description. Copy it & paste it into MS Word, then edit it to fit your needs. Activity Assistant Job Description Definitions: Under the direction of the Activity Director, the Activity Assistant will assist in planning, coordinating, and implementing therapeutic activity programs on a daily basis to meet the individual Resident's needs and interests. Qualifications: The Activity Assistant needs to possess the following educational and experience requirements; and support the following professional viewpoints:  Have successfully completed or be eligible to attend State approved Activity Training Course.  Have a through knowledge of various Resident activities, and have familiarity with Resident limitations and needs.  Be able to work in close cooperation with the Activity Director, accept and utilize constructive criticism, and display initiative to compete activity-related tasks and programs. Reports To: Activity Director - First Administrator - Second Job Specifications: 1. Basic Skills  Dependability, punctuality, creativity, enthusiasm, affection, flexibility, and patience.  Ability to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing (in English). 2. Inter-personal Skills:  Sensitivity to needs interests, and abilities of Residents.  Ability to organize, supervise, and direct others; assume and delegate responsibility; accept advice and consultation. 3. Mental Skills:  Moderately complex problem solving, excellent safety judgement, have good short and long term memory.  Good organizational and planning skills. 4. Sensory Skills:  Constant use of sight, hearing, and speech for reading, identification, and communication.  Intermittent use of touch. 5. Physical Demands:  Direct participation in fine and gross motor skills.  Performance of a medium level of physical work; pushing, pulling, lifting, bending, kneeling, standing, sitting, carrying, stooping, reaching.  Move residents, tables, and chairs, exerting twenty pounds of force on a frequent basis, and fifty pounds of force on an occasional basis. Essential Job Duties:  Dependable, punctual attendance  Assist and/or lead assigned group or one-on-one activities  Assist Residents to and from activity programs  Report any changes in Resident behavior, safety hazards, or procedural difficulties, to the Activity Director.  Distribute monthly activity calendars to Residents. Post calendars on designated display boards.  Assist with an evaluation of each resident according to his or her backgrounds, activity interests, abilities, physical limitations, and needs for meaningful activity programs.  Maintain an up-date daily attendance chart on each resident  Transfer and file all Residents' attendance forms at the end of the month and quarter into a designated location.  Develop and display thematic/holiday decorations throughout the facility  Assist in developing and maintaining an active volunteer program which involves screening, training, and supervision of volunteers  Assist with maintaining current organizational systems or special needs lists (i.e. birthday list, different religious group's etc.)  Attend and participate at staff meetings, in-service training programs, and other meetings as assigned  Assist in maintaining equipment  Flexible work schedule (i.e. some nights, weekends, holidays)  Respect Residents and staffs privacy, no gossiping Non-essential Job Duties:  Ensure all Residents receive the daily mail  Assist in the care and treatment of the facility pet (if applicable)  Make activity announcements over the intercom as assigned.

Hello All, I received an email from Linda about a movie day every month. This is for the Houston, TX area in Copperfield. I don't know all of the details but what I have I will share & you can contact her for more information. It sounds like it might be fun. On the last Friday of the month their will be a movie shown at her facility (I think it's at her facility) Everyone is asked to be there around 10:45 am & the movies starts at 11:30 am. The movie takes place at lunchtime. (Maybe lunch is served with the movie?) She ask that anyone attending please RSVP prior to the event so that she knows how many to plan for. She named the event "Senior Studio Movie Grill" If it a movie & n I could residents enjoying this outing. Anyway contact Linda Locke via email llocke@studiomoviegrill.com

Hi Kevin, I don't have a policy in front of me but some of the things that were done at smoking facilities that I have worked at or been in had these things in place. Maybe you can use them. Residents where only allowed to smoke 2 cigs at each smoke break rather than 30 mins. Residents may try to smoke to many cigs in 30 mins & end up making their selves sick. It was always a fight on who had to deal with them while they smoked. CNA's didn't smoke, they had to much to do etc. (Every dept. had an excuse, including activities) So it ended up that every dept. had to a day assigned to them it was up to the dept. head to assign staff members to cover that day. Activities used their day to make an activity out of this, it seemed that smokers didn't come to activities because they were so concerned about missing smoking time & would not attend act. Another way that we covered our smokers was to get a resident that was alert responsible etc. & get them to became a volunteer. He would get the cigs & lighter from nursing & take the smokers out at a certain time daily. Since he was going to be there anyway & this was a burden off of staff for that time slot. Be sure that you have signs made up of where they smoke & the smoking times & place them at every nurse station and any other places needed. State eventually got us for the res. that carried lighters on them (seems like there was something about having a lighter in the facility), one was caught smoking in their room, caught giving other res. cigs, doing nothing but smoking etc. Of course this was a LTC facility. Anyway just some FYI's that may be useful. After you write it how about posting it here or emailing it to me & I'll post here for everyone Thanks Pennie PS Great for you on doing this. I loved this "Well I know that this is not actually an Activity Dept problem". It really bothers me when I hear people say but it's not my job! Teamwork is always best. You sound like my kind of people 8-)

Hey Kevin & everyone, Thanks for taking the time to tell us about the survey. I think we are all curious about how these go, even before the change. I was wondering did you change up how you keep you participations records&/ or how you keep any of your records? I guess what I'm asking is how are you showing that the staff members of other depts. are getting involved, especially when your not there. If so how & what did state look at? CONGRATS on a good survey. Pennie

Hi, There is a great website that you can use to translators your newsletter, calendars, a group of words just about anything into almost any language you need. It is free to use :-D here is th elink to it: Language Translator If any of you need a word search translated into another language email me the words & I have a program that will do this. here is the link to the webiste Pennie

Hey All, I have had Bible Study & Trivia groups with alot of success. Hold a men's Bible Study once weekly. There is a great website that has an outline for the weekly study with trivia. Check it out & give this a try. Bible Study Pennie

Here are a few simple games that you can print, then type each one out & xerox. Then do these with your bed-fast res., 1:1's or leave them for your In-rm res. & pick them up later. They are good for stimulation & even fun. I found these in a free paper that is placed in several stores in our area. UP THE LADDER LADDER puzzles test your ability to look ahead. You are given a word that must be changed into another word in a series of moves. During each move you must change one letter in the previous word so as to form a new word. Example FISH was changed into MEAT. EXAMPLE: FISH FIST FIAT FEAT MEAT Now see if you can change the following five words in four moves. The answers follow the puzzle 1. COIN to BILL 2. STAR to FEET 3. BELL to SIFT 4. CALL to MUTE 5. RAFT to WING ANSWERS: 1. Coin, coil, boil, boll, bill 2. Star, sear, fear, feat, feet 3. Bell, sell, sill, silt, sift 4. Call, mall, male, mate, mute 5. Raft, rant, rang, ring, wing Another one for you: A MONEY MATTER Take out an American one-dollar bill & see if you can count how many times the numeral "1" and the word "one" appear on both sides. (The numeral "1" does not count when it appears in a date or a serial number) Answer: The numeral "1" and the word "one" each appear eight times. BIBLE BITS "Bible Birds" 1. God created the birds on Day ___________? (Genesis 1:20) 2. In the Song of Solomon 1:15 to what bird does the writer compare his beloved eyes? 3. King _________________ taught the people about birds. (1 Kings 4:33) 4. The ____________________ served as food for the Israelites in the wilderness. (Exodus 6:13) 5. Ezekiel had a vision of a creature with four faces, one was a bird, which bird was it? (Ezekiel 1:10) Answers: 1. Five 2. Dove 3. Solomon 4. Quail 5. Eagle Hope you can find these useful. Pennie

Hi, In response to your question about fund raising. At the facilities I have worked at & Consultated at I have never seen any other dept. do a fund raiser except for activities. We usually have these because we have the smallest budget of all the depts. As AD's we need some items that are to expensive for our budget so we raise the money by having fund raisers. Examples would be; Big Screen TV, Stereo, Popcorn Machine, Cordless Microphone System, money to have good prizes & even money so that we can purchase items for some of our residents that have nothing & no one to get things for them (especially during Xmas). The good thing is that we usually have the support & help from other staff, family & community. Many times I have started a fund raiser for something (like a popcorn machine) & placed the info. in my newsletter as well as the bulletin board. Before I raise half of the money a family member spoke with her church & they bought us one. We used the funds for something else. This has happened more than once. It is good ideal to place a wish list board in the facility (place items on it that your dept. wishes for) also put this in your newsletter. You may be surprised by you next phone call :-P Bye Pennie