Pennie

watch for the grand opening of the new members.activitydirector.com Pennie :-)

I have worked at a few different facilities as well as Consulated at several. Never has it been to AD's job to take res. to the doctors. Most places try to get the family to take them to these app't. Otherwise the Socail worker did it. At a couple of facilities they had drivers. As far as outings go the Act. staff went as well as a nurse aid for transfers as well as a nurse. I refuse to take res. out without a aide & a nurse. It only makes sense to have them on the trip. If something happened to a res. & you didn't have the appropriate staff then you are looking at a law suite! Last but not least how do you take activites away from the res.? I mean try explaing that to state! Hope some of these can help you win the battle, you are after all trained to do activites not as a driver

Depending on the age and crowd you may be able to use some of these suggestions: Bob for apples Have ducks with numbers on them place in a tub of water. The number on the bottom of the duck will get them a prize. (Have maybe numbers 1, 2 &3; then have boxes with these numbers on them filled with prizes) Go fishing; Hang a sheet & have someone behind it hanging prizes on the pole. Fill jars with jellybeans; Guess how many are in there winner gets them Have someone to read palms Have a cake walk or w/c. A really popular game with res. is horseshoes & washers. Washers you bury 2 tuna cans & you can buy washers from your local hardware store. Ask some res. for the rules. Let us know how it goes, sounds like lots of fun. P

Hi All, well we live in Livingston, TX and trying to prepare for Rita. It is such a mess and not even here yet! Most of you, I'm sure have heard about the residents in Lousiana nursing home that died. The husband & wife who are up on charges for their deaths. Then this morning (Sept. 23) that bus that caught fire off of I-45. 43 residents were on it from a retirement center and 20 died on the bus in the explosion/fire. My heart goes out to those resident, family & staff. They had on the news that at Baytown nursing home had 14 critcal care residents & no way to get them out. Well a ambulance company saw this & sent several ambulance to get these res. You think people are not as nice & caring as they use to be in the old days but this mess here in Houston has shown that people are just as caring & good now as they were in the good ole days Well I have to get back to work before Rita gets here. Pennie

Hi, Lots of us have tried to use the chatroom but like Diana said it is so hard to connect with others. Everyone is busy and it makes it hard to connect. But when you have the time keep trying you never know when someone might be in there.

Hi, Contact either of the 2 people below for information about taking on-line courses. They teach the MEPAP1 & 11 courses as well as the TR courses to become National Certified. Thell them that Pennie referred you. Karen k8822@hotmail.com Dave & Theresa dtntt@wctatel.net I lived in Cleburne for several years, not far from Hillsboro. we ude to do a craft show there every year around the court house, do they still do that?

Hi, One of the games that my residents love to play is Pokeno. The res who love bongo like this but the ones who don't will play this game too. So you might look at it. Pokeno

Hi, I found this Christmas Bingo game & for the price it would make a great addition for any act. dept. here is the info: Comet The Reindeer Wildcard Bingo Includes: 24 Individually Sequenced game Cards 81 Calling Cards (Includes Wildcards) 1 Checklist 1 Instruction Sheet Just $4.95 Link to see it & buy

Hi, Did you look at the area about slaray/wages? Go to the homepage & look in the most popular topics. Lots of postings from everywhere. Also have you called any of the other AD's in your area to ask them about their wages? You might give it a try. And look at NCCAP.org they have message board that covers this topic too. If all else fails make up a list of all that you do and take this to your administrator and explain why you think you deserve more pay. If you can get some figures from any sources take these as well. Approach this with caution you don't want it to back fire. Let us know what you find out for the salary in your area. Best of luck P

Hi, the age old problem.. which program do you use now? I personally use PrintMaster, 11x17 this is the largest paper we can print out. We always include it as the center of our newsletter. Email me and I will send you an example.. pbacon(at)activitydirector.com thanks, Pennie :-)

Welcome Wendy I am in Texas so I can't help u with Seattle. Maybe someone on the NCCAP.org site can. If not go to the instructors listing & see if one is listed there maybe u can call them. However here CNA is for certified nurse aide AAC would be activity assistant certified (if they are certified) otherwise AA activity Ass't. They don't have to be certified in here, just the AD does. We'll look for you on the board. Also please register on our site you'll get our newsletter & up dates as we are making lots of new changes & adding to the site. We'll will be announcing stuff to everyone very soon. Pennie

Hi all, September is National AL Week, National Heath Care Enviormental & Houskeeping Week & Grandparent's Day. This would be a great way to involve your res. & staff in activites together. Check out the links for these events located under the Wacky Days. Be sure to share with us how your facility plans to celebarte these events.

Hi Shannon, Today is Aug 16th & it is you're day :-D So from all of us here at Activity Director network we want to wish you a very Happy Birthday :hammer:

Hi Suzy, I took a class with a lady who worked in the hospital doing act. I don't recall if she held the title as therapist. At that time my comapny called me a recreational director so maybe it just what that hospital has decide to call their AD?! I do remember that she had to do act., & calendars for all ages & her calendar was for shorth term stay res. Also most of hers were in thearpy of some sort & rarely got out of bed or attended act outside of their rooms (for various reasons) I wonder if this is the same thing? Let us know what you learn about it please. Pennie

Hi Is your facility must be private pay or you worked at AL fcaility? They are more expensive or not covered by Medicare/Medicade in some states. The key is that people must not a certain dollar amount prior to 5 years of entering a LTC facility. This is hard on lots of elders! I don't know the room rates but those on Medicare/Medicaid all of their money goes to the facility except for the $60 a month that the residents keeps. This does not sound like much but when almost everything is supplied for them it usually is enough, the only ones who have a problem with this amount are usually the smokers. If a res. accumlates a certain amount of money it must be spent, I have had to go & spend their money for them you would be surprised how hard this is to do.

Hi Sara, I think you should go back and ask the DON what she had in mind when she suggested this. Tell her you want to be sure that both of you have the same thing in mind. I am not sure what she is looking for unless she is think along the the lines of helping res. with say having their nail done, hair fixed things along these lines. ADL care but just more personal attention that maybe her staff can't do but we could to a point in activities. Let us know what you find out. P

Hi Did you get what you were needing on this? The formula is to take the time that the res. is awake for the day, don't count hours that s/he takes a nap if longer than 1 hr. Then take the time awake subtract the time in meals, doing adl's, therapy etc.. then from this you have his/her free time. How much of that free time is s/he involved in activites? You can take act. time divide into 1/3 for little, some, most. Figure all act. they do by the tim edoing it using formula above you get you're answer. Remember they don't have to be doing group act. or scheduled ones. The res. may read, watch tv, visit w/ others etc.. Anything they consider as recreation is to be counted as doing act. Hope this help out. P

hi, We always had a sign to remind, but the key here is that if State was in the building and you "allowed" or did nothing to prevent activity interruption you could be subject to a deficency, which would cost the facility MONEY, the M word is always a good tool to use with the Administrator. I know that you are not allowing this to happen, but State Surveyors only have 2 speeds, either its happening and its your responsibility or its not happening and its your responsibility. We alway grabbed a Wet Floor Sign off of the maintence cart, and hung a Quiet Sign on it, posted it in the doorways of our activity area. Of course trying to work this out is going to be a game of chess, because most of the time, the nursing staff has little respect for what you are doing, but with a little effort and a little ear pulling, even nursing can be trained. Start off by planting subtle hints, the signs, ask the DON for a schedule of med and shower times for the residents so that you may schedule your activitys better,(a little reverse physco).. be sure to ask while you are in a Careplan meeting or some other meeting where everyone is present. You may not get the schedule because it sounds like they have no schedule, but at least the seed of thought will be planted. Over the next couple of days afterward, start noting which residents are being disturbed, or which interruptions are occuring during which activities, and note the times. Confer with the DON on an idividual resident basis now, take steps to make sure that Resident A is medicated and bathed before she can attend certain activitys at certain times, OR OR ask if the resident could possibly be attended to before the Certain Activity at a Certain Time.. You may get the DON to start leaving charting notes for her staff as to which residents bath in the morn and which in the eve.. A Schedule is Born... Once there is a schedule or the attempt at one, then you can also plan your activitys around this. With your signs, start off with a couple, in the attempt to get the Admin to ask " why the signs?" if she still doesnt ask , increase the signage... maybe a few leader signs posted in the hallway leading to the activity.. like on the highway... eventully you will get her to ask... and you can explain you not want deficencies... Departmental Harmony is a Dance... make sure you lead... good luck, Pennie :-)

We seem to have a more active role in the facilities now that we did in the 80's and even in 90's. However I don't think we are where we should be yet. This seems to especially true in the LTC field. I do think that in AL we have grown alot and it seems to be growing field. I have noticed that comericals on TV put recreation when they are talking about retirement homes. The pay seems to be a little better than in the past but still a far cry from I think it should be. We just have to keep pushing and making it know what activites can do for res. Hopefully we have gotten past the saying of" I wish I got paid to play games or finger paint." The other day my 21 yrs. old was saying she thought of me (our profession) in that way until I had her work a summer with me. She has a new respect for us now! P

Hi, The Progress Notes I always liked best are blank lined sheets. They say Activity Progress Notes at the top and are lined. I would just place the date on left with a note on what the progress note is for the below that make my notes and sign off on it. I like it because I can write as little or as much as I need. The next time just start again on same sheet under you're sign. I don't have near the bulk in my section of res. chart if I used a seperate sheet everytime. Just a note however, be sure to sign you're name below the last entry(each time) and draw a line to the end of the line so that noone else can make an entry between you're notes and you're name. CP's usually have 3 parts: Res. Problem/Needs, Goals and approaches. These can have up to 4 entries on them if they are 2 sided. P

Hi, Karen it looks like everyone enjoys filling out the questioneer out. It is a good way to talk about ones-self and to learn about others. I think if you took this and changed a few of the questions it would work great on new res. even with some of their family members. So much better than some of the interview forms I have seen &/or used. What is your name? Pennie What is your occupation? AD, Consultant/Advisor, Web-Designer/Builder, Occ. Instructor, Working on some new ideals related to this field at this time. What are you listening to right now? Hunt For Red October What was the last thing you ate? Carrot Cake Do you wish on stars? sometimes, always on shooting ones If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Varies, blue, yellow, pink How is the weather right now? Nasty rainy & muddy Last person you spoke to on the phone? My Cousin How old are you today? 48 Favorite drink? Non-alcohol: Coke, is there anything else? Favorite sport(s) to watch? I don't give me Lifetime or WE Have you ever dyed your hair? I don't remember my natural color Do you wear contacts or glasses? As soon as I hit the big 40! Pets? 5 dogs, 2 cats and unwanted gators and snakes Favorite month? May or nice 70 degree weather months Favorite food? Hamburgers, of course chocolate once a month! What was the last movie you watched? Ice Princess Favorite day of the year? Any that get my family together, usually the summer ones so that we can go out on the boat. When was the last time you cried? July 7 right before I went to the ER What did you do last night? Watched Ice Princess What inspires you? My kids and all of you What are you afraid of? Snakes and death of a loved one Favorite car? Trucks Favorite dog breed? Blood Hounds How many years at your current job? Lost count How many states have you lived in? – 1, Texas How many cities/towns have you lived in? 4, Lubbock, Houston, Cleburne & Livingston. So boring, huh.

Hey All, I just read the message about the music boxes/snow globes. I think that is a great suggestion. It so simple and makes me say hey why didn't I think of that. Thank you for sharing it. This will be an activity I will remember and try. P

Have you ever tried to find something that would help enable a resident to hold cards, large print cards? This site has some items that we can get that might help a res. to participate in activities. Once you have gone to be sure to go to the index and look at all of the items thay have. Resouce Items

Hey All, I have found a web site that has Party Themes. It covers all types of parties, help planning, advise, Personalize it and lots more. So check it out: Party 411 Enjoy Pennie

One of my most memorable activities, was never on a calendar, never planned.. it just happened. A young volunteer from a high school started visiting on a regular basis, reading the bible, passing out supplies.. just visiting the residents. She started talking about their past, she was intrigued, "did you know in the war Freddy was a bomber pilot or gwen was in the ballet in Russia" she started writing it all down, eventually we all came on board with her endevor, she organized all the info, had the families bring photos, mementos... we designed an ongoing history book, bound in wood with hinges and string so that we could add to it, and placed it in the lobby... the absolute best! Well we have a new Author joining our board she has written a book.. that I LOVE! Leaving a true legacy for your family and friends, priceless. A Personal Portrait will guide you step-by-step through your memories. Bridge the generations by sharing what you have learned through your own personal journey. A Personal Portrait Your Life, Your Words, Your Legacy by Gavriel Hasaya Its not in our Bookstore Yet... but you can buy a copy HERE (click me) Gavriel will be featured in our Aug. Newsletter, and will be writing Articles to share on our board. She will be teaching online classes on memoir writing. The Aug 10th class is FREE! View the Details there is a limited number, so dont hesitate! Contact: GavrielHasaya(at)Gmail.com Website: http://GavrielHasaya.com enjoy... Pennie