Pennie

hi everyone well we have the site up & running. Lots of time & man hours have gone into it & we are still at it. Those of you who have signed up thank you. If you haven't join you should really think about it. The cost is very reasonable. Many thanks to Karen & Chip for all of the long hours & time! We have tried to cover every topic know to AD's. There are new things added daily, live help, lots of activities, newsletters, calendars etc. I would love to see more join and hear from those of you that have joined. My passion is & always will be with all of the AD's out there & of course the residents. Many thanks Pennie ;-)

hey all if you have not become a member on the activitydirector.com area you should think about it. The cost is reasonable and it address many of these troubled area like bedbound, men's activities, CP's and much more. I hope to see you as a member soon Pennie

Hi I had a member email me about Chocolate Heart Bingo.. does anyone have the instructions and variations on this activity..? Valentines Week coming up.. :-) thx.. pennnie

hey there, I know my kids (who are in their early 20's) hate the thought of spending their time with old people! It was the same when a teacher would bring in his senior's student 2xw to do stuff at the facility. I discovered that what got these students to come back as volunteers on their own time was asking them to help me decorate the facility for the month, do my bullentin boards, decorate for special parties, then on thei rcomputer at home or on one at the facility: to make all of my monthly flyer, games etc. the girls didn't mind doing the pretty nails, as long as res. nails weren't gross. I was even able to get some of them to help me do a family history/genealogy on some of the res. You have lots of res. that make some great tutors. Share this poem w/ the students: This poem was given to me by my very first teacher and it touched my heart. It was one of the major influences in my life and made me know that my decision to become an Activity Director was right. (Thanks, Gerry) Minnie Remembers By Donna Swanson God, my hands are old. I've never said that out loud before but they are. I was so proud of them once. They were soft like the velvet smoothness of a firm, ripe peach. Now the softness is more like worn-out sheets or withered leaves. When did these slender, graceful hands become gnarled, shrunken claws? When, God? They lie here in my lap; naked reminders of this worn out body that has served me too well. How long has it been since someone touched me? Twenty years? Twenty years I've been a widow. Respected. Smiled at. But never touched. Never held so close that loneliness was blotted out. I remember how my mother used to hold me, God. When I was hurt in spirit or flesh, she would gather me close, stroke my silky hair, and caress my back with her warm hands. O God, I'm so lonely! I remember the first boy who ever kissed me. We were both so new at that! The taste of young lips and popcorn, the feeling inside me of mysteries to come. I remember Hank and the babies. How else can I remember them but together? For out of the fumbling, awkward attempts of new lovers came the babies. And, as they grew, so did our love. And, God, Hank didn't seem to mind if my body thickened and faded a little. He still loved it and touched it. And we didn't mind if we were no longer beautiful. And it felt so good. And the children hugged me a lot. O God, I'm lonely! God, why didn't we raise the kids to be silly and affectionate as well as dignified and proper. You see, they do their duty. They drive up in their fine cars. they come to my room to pay their respects. they chatter brightly, and reminisce. But they don't touch me. they call me Mom, or Mother or Grandma. Never Minnie. My mother called me Minnie. So did my friends. Hank called me Minnie, too. But they're gone now. And so is Minnie. Only Grandma is here. And God! She's lonely!

Hi, Pat Thank You, Thank You did I say Thank You (lol) for the nice words about our site. We are putting in lots of hours getting it to a place that all AD's & AA's will come to: they know that they will find the answers (help) they need. My AA's refused to become certified as AD's. I really tried to get both of them to do it but no way! They said they liked being the AA's, first they didn't have the stress, not near as much paperwork or pressure & got to do the job they loved, being w/ res. & doing the activities. Julie I am not sure how others feel about this but I get alot of questions on Quality Assurances (QA). It seems that alot of AD's don't ubderstand exactly what it is &/or how to do it. Another area that help may be needed in is Men's Activities, geeting them involved, out of their room?! How to deal w/ the problem res., the ones that alert, know full well what they are doing etc.. but they are bossy, demanding, mean, gossip, try to take over everything etc.. Don't know if this is what you are looking for but if it is well here you go Penie

Just a quick note about having "Bingo" on your calendar to often. Years ago I was given a deficiency fo rthis by State. But my residents refused to have it cut down & in fact wanted to see more on the calendar. So here is I solved that problem: During Resident Council this was discussed & because they wanted more bingo & it was in the mins. State could not do anything about it!! We also play Pokeno which is like poker but played like bingo. The resident who don't care for bingo (& those who do) love this game. So you will find Pokeno in the am & bingo in the pm. Alternating them on 1 weekend day. As for the prizes I put in my newsletter: asking for any unwanted items they had at home be donated. I recieved money to buy prizes with, usually hit the dollar store, families that had own business would donate items, ladies who sell avon would bring in samples. The ambulance companies (2 of them) donated 2 roll of quartes a month. I also ordered chips, candy, etc. from dietary supplier as this came off of a different budget than my activity one, pretty smart anyway hope this helps. DON"T MESS WITH YOU"RE RESIDENT"S BINGO! words to live by (lol)

The 1st prize was inserted in Cracker Jacks Box on Feb. 19, 1913. Go to the dollar store & buy some cheap prizes, put popcorn in a bag & insert the prize. Show a movie & pass out the popcorn. Another thing you could do is gather residents & ask them about the prizes they remember getting in Cracker Jacks & pass out the bagged popcorn w/ prizes in them. Easy to do activity.

hi phylis are you looking for a form.. that is filled out so you can use it for a sample ... or is there a form that you forgot to attach to the post? let me know... Pennie

Hi All - Call your cake the Kings Cake, this is the traditional cake of the holiday. Here is a download from the Members Site - Members.Activitydirector.com Mardi_Gras.pdf

Hi All, The answer to PCB's question is Yes we have Online MEPAP Courses in development. In July 2005 we established the Activity Directors Network and assembled a staff of Teachers, Consultants, Therapists, Directors, Marketing and Computer Specialists to create a Complete Activity and TR Website. We launched http://Members.ActivityDirector.Com in November to provide the AD and TR with a complete repository of custom Newsletters, Calendars, Clip-Art, Theme Activities, Activity Forms and a host of other services,being added to, and developed by our staff. We are continually upgrading to add more tools and to offer the best resources available. Our membership has grown to over 12 thousand caring professionals and a half a million visits every month. I have been running this Website for 10yrs, this month, and have been blessed with an incredible following, I stand and applaud each and everyone of you.. miquel, gina, bigchris, ElderCare, SeniorAct, llucas(ADO), THCA, DH special services, Karen(tinki), dorothea, donna martin, pam and a list that goes on and on.. all caring people, thank you!<br> Our Network includes: Http://freemail.activitydirector.com - Our free email service "YourName@Activitydirector.com" a feature rich email service including Spam and Virus Protect, 25megs of storage, Custom Wallpapers and Fonts, super reliable and free. Http://www.activitydirector.net - Our networking hub, featuring our Activity Message Board, Job Board, Entertainer Listing, Blogger and Bookstore to provide a common meeting place where Directors and Therapists can share and help one another. Http://members.activitydirector.com - Our Resources site that I mentioned above. Http://www.activitydirector.org - Our Online Classroom for AD and TR Professionals. We will be launching our classroom later this month or early February, as soon as it tested and ready to go. :-)

Hi All.. I agree with Christine, the Initial Assessment is to evaluate the resident for the first 7 days.. not including prior living enviroment. The No Change defines the resident as content with current activity routine, and the New Admit fits this definition.. the Slight Change defines the residents content overall, but would prefer some modification to their activity or a new activity and Major Change is for a resident that is bored, restless, isolated, discontent with their activity program.. or could feel trapped by involvement in certain activities and would prefer a change to relieve a stressfull situation. hope this helps.. Pennie

Yea! for the Old Folks A college student at a recent USC football game challenged a senior citizen sitting next to him, saying it was impossible for their generation to understand his. "You grew up in a different world," the student said loud enough for the whole crowd to hear, "today we have television, jet planes, space travel, man has walked on the moon, our spaceships have visited Mars, we even have nuclear energy, electric and hydrogen cars, computers with light-speed processing... And uh...." Taking advantage of a pause in the student's litany, the old geezer said, "You're right. We didn't have those things when we were young; ......so we invented them, you little twit! What are you doing for the next generation??" :-) visit the New ActivityDirector.com...

Hi, Are you're men not coming because they are the one's put on the diet restrictions or is it because you are no longer serving the non-alcoholic beer, pizza, chips etc? If it is because of the diet thing talk with dietary for some suggestions. If it because of the food no longer being served well you should serve it and have food that the ones on diet restriction can eat/drink. Another way to encouage them to attend is by making the activity more exciting. Example: Make up a football pool, offer a prize, have each resident write down the number that equales the 2 final scores added together i.e. Bucs, 24 and Dolphins, 40 total is 64 . The person coming closest to the total w/o going over (Price is right rules) wins the prize. Call this the FOOTBALL POOL (Be sure to include you're residents that are 1:1's or In-rm in the football pool game) Do a Football Trivia game during commericals, invite men from the community, family members etc. to attend/watch the game with them. Pass out small door prizes through-out the game. Ex: Football cards, team hats, team shirts, check out dollar store for football related items. The outlet stores has shirts, caps etc. on the teams that didn't make it to the Superbowl. If you need more help or unclear about some of this info. let us know. Share with us anything else that you come up with. P

Hey, Like others replied, when the mail comes in the receptionist sorts out the mail and puts in the appopriate boxes. Activites gets the mail for residents and passes it out to them, you may have a volunteer do this. The only mail that got fowarded was if a resident was no longer in the facility or deceased. I would take this mail to the accounts payable/receivable dept. and they would foward it on. Since they have the fowarding addresses, we usually don't get this infomation. The only change in this is on the weekends when the receptionist is not working. I would get all of the mail then take out the residents mail and pass it out. The rest of the mail was locked up in my desk/office until Monday. Then passed on to the receptionist when she arrived. Print out this posting and take it to your administrator to discuss with her/him.

Just to clarify a few points: 1. You may never, never, erase, use white out, or scratch out anything on the medical chart. If a mistake is made you mark thru the mistake one line only, write error above it & initial it. 2. Anyone that is not certified as AD, ADC or TR can not sign off on any records in the chart. You're AA may write the progress notes, annuals, interviews sign them but the certified staff has to write "Reviewed, date it and sign off." 3. So since you have to review the records it may be just as fast to do it yourself. 4. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THE DOCUMENTATION ON THE CHARTS, IT IS YOU'RE LICENSE AT STAKE :idea: :-o 5. Me personally, I never allow anyone to do my charting. See the posting by Rhonda Holthe, this is same thing my ass't do.

hi.. you can let the assistants chart for you if you want .. not recommended but it can work if you sign off on everything.. The medical chart in LTC/State Funded is god.. if ever there is a lawsuit, a state inquiry.. they use the medical chart as basis for any discrepencies, imagine what a lawyer would do with something erased and changed in a medical record.. it would be an "OJ's Glove" all over again. Check with the DON .. she will enlighten you as to the regulations in your state..

Hi.. If you are in LTC / State funded, and you are the attending Certified AD, you are responsible for every word in the chart, if someone erases or scratches something out to re-do it.. you could lose your certification.. Assisted Living / private pay.. may be different, you would need to check with your state regs, and corporate policy.. Anyone with some additional info ..Please join in here.. this could get out of hand thanks, Pennie

Sounds like you are in for a crash course in AD-101.. I am not sure I would post a goal atop a participation sheet and put it on the chart.. but you could use that as an internal document to keep you and staff up to date on residents progress towards the goal. Each chart should contain Assessements / progress notes that keep the chart up to date as to the "meeting of your goal" this is where the goals should be. The former AD should have them written somewhere, you should have a form that outlines 1.the Concern/Problem - not that they are all problems, but that is usually how it is listed on a form, 2.the Goal, i.e. to keep the resident active and happy. 3. the Approach/Strategy, i.e. the resident will attend 4 activities a month.. this is simplistic, but you get the idea,, but dont create goals that are unrealistic or too specific, because to a State Surveyor, if you miss it by a little, its a miss.. so dont pin yourself to tightly. For each resident you should have a set of documentation.. 1. Initial Interview - Filled out an completed upon arrival to your facility. 2. Initial Assessment - filled out within the first couple of weeks from arrival, your evaluation, the start of your care plan,, take the info you gathered from the Interview, compare with doctors notes and create the initial assessment. 3. Quarterly Assessments - filled out every 90 days from arrival-much like the initial, just a re-visit to keep your goals on track. 4. Progress Notes - to keep a running tab on the situation, obstacles, attendance issues etc. 5. Participation Records which you seem to have. These are the basic forms needed to keep your residents documentation in order. Go through the charts and make sure the dates are in order.. you should have a quarterly assessment for each 90days of calendar. Check the nursing and doctors reports for any residents that may have been sent to the hospital for a time.. they may need to be re-assessed, (new initial assessment) if they were away for a time. Dont let your charts get behind. If you have been working in the department for some time you probably know all your residents, they are your family, you know their likes and dislikes, their habits, restrictions etc. So you have a good idea of what residents attend what types of activities, and which residents need to be gathered up and brought to what activities. You know which do not attend and may need your help and encouragement. You mentioned a careplan book, which I am guessing is a running tally of everyone and how they are progessing through your program. Read through this get an idea where your problems are, compare the participation records to the goal and make notes as to where you need to be with what residents in order to meet your goal. Compare you activity calendar to your resident needs and make sure you have planned enough activities to meet the lagging residents goals in time. A Tea or Ice Cream social can always be adapted to include a bible study a poetry reading, movie etc. to entice a resident that needs more participation to meet their goal. your 1:1's need 2 or 3 visits a week, 20min each.. set up schedule to meet this requirement, It is not always possible to meet, but with a little streamlining and creative thinking you can get it done. Assemble a cart (quietly borrow form dietary), with everything you can think off, books, bibles, pen & paper, cards, lotion, music, tapes, games, craft supplies, broken things that the men can repair for you, this will help with your time restraints on your in-room and 1:1 schedule. Come in on sunday and meet with your church groups, try to recruit a few volunteers to help with your program. Contact families, alot of the time you can find a family visitor that will meet with several residents that have no families. in summary gather your staff, and keep everyone up to date with what you know about each residents needs. get their input and devise a plan to get the lagging residents attended to, write it down and check em off as you progress through the month .. use your heart.. its your best guide in this business.. the residents are your family, you are their best friend, their only link to anything thats normal in a world of poking and prodding, nursing, doctoring, take care of em, the rest will work itself out. let me know if you need anything. :-) pbacon(at)activitydirector.com

Hi Tanya.. look at this site.. payscale.com here is a link that shows the pay for an activity director in several states . You can register for a free pay evaluation in which you will be asked your education level, experience, location, to further pinpoint your pay. http://www.payscale.com/salary-survey/vid-41019/fid-6886 Visit the New ActivityDirector.Com :-)

Hi niscie.. here is one .. let me know. Pennie Courtesy of the New ActivityDirector.Com :: click here to visit 49.pdf

Merry Christmas All.. Thanks so much for everyone who has contributed to the website.. I hope everyone has a GREAT! holiday season and a exceptional New Year to our moderators Gina, Miguel, Bigchris and Tinki .. I appreciate all of your help! Pennie :-)

Hi, I want to say a big Thank you to Mi from the maint dept how wonderful that you care enough to help act. & res. I also worked at a facility that we had a wonderful relationship with our maint dept they were so much help. merry christmas to you as far as drinks go in LTC where i have worked they only ones who got the real stuff was the ones w/ dr. orders and in their room usually as a nite cap. at act functions it is near beer & virgin drinks. but you would be surprised at how drunk some of them can get off of the virgin drinks (lol). happy holidays to all P

Hi, You probably have used some of these things but just in case here are a few: Tapes are a good way to stimulate them here are a couple of companys you may want to check in to Resource: Tapes, music of all kinds Recording for Recovery 413 Cherry Street Midland, MI. 48640 Devotionals Our Daily Bread Radio Bible Class Grand Rapids, MI 49555 Also use ice chips to rub on their lips and other body parts, watch for a reaction. Lotion on the hands, legs etc. use different oils for therapy: Camomile: relaxing the mind & body. Sedative for anxiety & muscle tenderness Benzoin Tincture: Warm, soothing, comforting oil. Add to a cream for protecting skin against chapping or cracking. Camomile Roman: Strong soothing effect on the body & mind. Calms nerve, soothe headaches, and relieve insomnia & relives menstrual disorders. It can be used on inflamed skin conditions. Coriander: Good massage oil blend to relive stiffness & muscle ache. In the bath refreshing & stimulating. Geranium: Balancing oil for mind & body. Relaxes, restores & maintains stability of the emotions. Good for massages, treating eczema (itching skin inflammation with oozing & crusted lesions) & psoriasis (red patchy skin disease covered with white scales). It blends well with floral oils & mixed with lavender & bergamot produces a good room freshener. Sitting and reading to them helps hang up mobils and pics in the room Brush their hair I know their is alot of other things that you can do but maybe some of these will be new for you & them.

Hi, We celebrate Thanksgiving before the actual day. It goes out in the newsletter family members are invited, no limit. However they are to RSVP by a deadline date so that Dietary knows how many are coming. Activities, maintaince & housekeeping get together and set up tables and chairs. Tables have the residents name on them. Space is tight so we use all dining rooms, living room every ava. space in the facility as needed. This is lots of work but it is well worth it. After all the facility is the home of the residents and they never limited their homes to a certain number of family members, this is a quote from the administrator. Thanksgiving Day the residents are served Turkey & dressing family members may sign up for a meal if they wish. I close the activity office on Thanksgiving Day they worked hard helping with the res. dinner prior to this day and also theire are so few res. in the facility on that day anyway. We do leave Bingo and other act. out for them do which usually a few family members will get together and do for them. After all they are wanting something to do too. Christmas we do don't do a dinner but we have a large Christmas party. Hope this helps. Pennie

Hi Everyone... this is Pennie... we now have two sites.. the new pay site is Http://members.activitydirector.com If you like to join, just visit the link,, I am letting everyone have the first two months of access for the price of one.. We have live help, calendars, forms, games puzzles, activitys.. we have a great staff that has designed a terrific months worth of calendars, newsletters, games , activitys, parties, clip-art... the works.. All of our downloads are in publisher, word, printmaster, or adobe.. just pick your preference.. We are still adding hundreds of fun facts, history, downloads, activity forms, clip-art... day by day.. Our Careplanner is due early Dec... pic your problem .. situation.. a keyword.. and get several Goals and Aproaches to fit your individual resident.. email me for more info.. at info@activitydirector.net or use the contact form on the Members.ActivityDirector.Com.. Click here to visit :-) ActivityDirector.Com