bigchris

Are you an Activities Assistant hungry to move up? Do you have so many ideas that your head hurts? Are you the best Activity Professional in your company???? Then we want you! Atlanta area facility is seeking that hungry, creative activity professional that can have thier ideas and activites come to life! We offer great benefits,salary, EDUCATION and other perks. We are the REVOLUTION! Are you ready to join us? If so: act.shoreham@shccs.com bigChris

First of all, sorry for the late replies to these questions..... Can you D/C Careplans that were written by others that are not accurate? Heck yeah! Remember the care plan is an evolving document....we have residents that improve, decline, stay the same, leave and comeback.....so yes. Feel free to change or D/C the care plan as you need. Also, remember that is supposed to also be a communication tool for other departments as well, so I would keep it simple AND informative. BC

Pennie, Yes, the substitute for the RAP is now the CAA. Depending on which software application you use, the CAA is a TOOOOONNNNN easier to use. In my comppany, the CAA supplies all of the options for the care plan and MDS decisions. The CAA also lets you give a longer narrative for the decision and some good identifying information for your decisions ( which makes it nice when there are conflicting items in other departments). Finally, it is written with less intensity on medical jargon and explanations. Here comes the however.....If you have not heard about the glitches in the new MDS 3.0, there are several. I say thiis not to blame the government(or anyone else), but our IT provider had a particular glitch with the F section and the CAA data entry. I say that because my whole explanation may be moot, once they iron out all of the bugs and (possibly) make changes to the actual format of the CAA. So for now at least, that is my story and I am stickin to it! Hope this helps! BC

Hello all, For those of you who don't know me my name is Chris and I have been on this site for some time.... I have recently been named the Georgia contact person for the NAAP (National Association of Activity Professionals) and I am trying to collect the info from all of my cohorts here in the Peach State! If you are interested, just reply to this and we can exchange information. There is a web site for the NAAP and encourage you to check it out! Thanks, Chris

Mrs. C, The question you asked has a simple answer and a complex answer....which one first? Simple....great! If you want to work in the Nursing Home/Long Term Care industry...certification in any type of "specialization" in caregiving is a plus. With that said, it is an investment and does take up a chunk of time. You can go several different directions on the local, state and national levels. The two national factions are the National Association of Activity Professionals (they have created a standardization of certification) and the National Certification Council of Activity Professionals ( they have several levels of certification as well). If you do not plan on staying in the field.....ehhh....that is up to you. Now, most companies willl pay for the courses and give you leeway when you need it (for study, projects, etc.) My advice would be to draw up a presentation to your boss that points out all of the benefits of your increased education, including the MARKETABILITY OF A CERTIFIED ACTIVITY PROFESSIONAL in your building......just a suggestion. Hope this helps, Chris

As I have mentioned, adaptations for activities are an imperative part of the activity plan and the Care Plan itself. I want you all to think about this..... When you conduct an activity, say church service...How do you know that the resident is actually participating if they have a vision/hearing/language/cognitive issue? The easiest answer is your adaptations. A surveyor came to me a month or so ago and asked how I communicate with my Haitian residents. I told her that I learned the language and speak with an interpreter in addition. BTW- for those who were not informed like me, even though Haitian is a French dialect, it is technically not French, it is a form of creole. However, the internet being such an awesome tool, had many web sites with simple phrases and terms that I could use when our Haitian staff was not around. I use this example to point out the fact that surveyors are looking...gone are the days of Bibles, Birthdays and Bingo. It is now time to get creative with our residents. If we don't those tags will come a rollin in ! Until next time.... BC

It should be noted that CMS has finally "finished" MDS 3.0 and has information on thier web site. As I collect it , I will relay it to you all. BC

There will be times that Care Plans will "sound alike". The point is to be more resident based with the care plan and supply the most individual plan for that resident. I am sorry to say that detail is a key and that the traditional one sentence statement is out of the window. Many of the new care plans that I have written are paragraphs. Speaking of the state...the good news is that they have been very complimentary in the past 2 surveys. Speaking of Mr. B- You can offer as much as you like, if you don't think that Mr. B will attend those activities, it may be time to re write the goal statement. Once again, detail is the key. I understand your feeling about having so many residents. I have 150+ with a post acute unit. So I am in the same boat, keeping up is key....

I saw this article as I was doing research on my own article, specific for activity directors. As I was writing, the Nursing Home association was condicting a class and they had to cancel a good portion of it. Why? CMS is still changing the MDS 3.0 documents and overall program. Needless to say, I put a pause on my article! I have calls in to CMS now but all they say id that yes, we are still making changes that will alter the final draft......so stay tuned folks.

That is the point! We are moving away from thinking of a care plan as dealing with problems. Even though most software has it stated as the "problem" statement, we are moving to change that whole way of thinking. So call it a STRENGTH statement instead! My biggest pet peeve about the care planning process is writing a problem statement that is not a problem. I do have my staff write their strengths but doesn't it seem like we're making their able to determine their own routine or ability to initiate independent pursuits a problem? I guess this is more of a vent and my own craziness but maybe someone can help me re-think this, because it drives me crazy seeing "Problem: I am an independent resident..."

My first piece of advise would be to go to the careplan section on the message boards, I have written some examples of the I care plan and some other tidbits. Chris I would love any advice you have on care plans. I just started my first job out of school and am trying to remember everything from my internship. We used I-Care during my internship, but do not use that at my current job. I remember them being pretty simple, but I can't seem to remember what types of things I wrote in them...especially for people who didn't really have a problem with activities. I am so nervous I am going to do something wrong, so any advice on any of the documentation would be great!

Let me know if you need any help with your careplans. I have done them for a few years and I also host the Care Plan section on the message board. BC

So new job...and I willl be starting the process of composing the I careplans for all of the residents. I hope you all have enjoyed using them. I knoow that I will at my new facility!!

I am taking my guys fishing and cookiing out for them. The kicker is that I enlisted a PTA from therapy so we will get therapy minutes too!

http://ezinearticles.com/?HIPAA-For-Activi...&id=4309223

I would second that statement about making predictions on when they are coming!!! Our last survey was so late that we will have 2 during the 2010 year. There are a lot of variables that effect when the surveyors come. In Georgia, some are: furlough days that are mandated for state employees, time between complaint surveys and the scheduled survey, facility reputation, etc. bc

Hello all, It has been 3 days since the surveyors have left my facility. I spent some time with the surveyors and we shared some information with each other. In the next few weeks, I will share some of that with you. Here is the first thing.... We all know that nursing and the Hospice nurses need to have Careplans for the treatment of the resident that is on hospice care. About a year ago, I began writing "I" care plans for my hospice residents as well. Now, with that said...I personally don't like the term "hospice". Traditionally, hospice has been stereotyped as a service for those who are going to immediatly pass. In my years, I have found that this is usually not the case and for most residents, they can be on hospice for quite a while... Anyway..... The reason that you want to write a careplan for hospice residents is this. Surveyors have the impression, that hospice residents need more care. Therefore, thier care services will interrupt any activity interventions that you may have. Also, it is believed that hospice residents are lower function, therefore need more activity interventions. Here is my basic "I" care plan statement for a hospice resident... "I am currently on hospice care, there is a need to adjust my activity careplan for morning activities due to_______ as I am in a geri chair" With that said, there may not be any need to adjust any of the residents activities, but the surveyors want to know what you will provide for that resident. I will usually play it safe and explain what adjustments we make. Hoping you have a great survey! Chris

Hello all, After several months in different positions in the Nursing Home, I have settled back into Activities (for now!) and I am looking to finish a book that I have been working on for a few years. I wanted to reach out and see what topics you would find interesting and possibly add them to my ever growing 1st draft. As you may already know, I work extensively in CarePlans and other areas, but I would really appreciate some input. Any advice is appreciated, thanks and have a great 2010! bigchris

Hey guys, I think that I answered this, but I will give another for ya. On the assesment side, we have a standard assesment that several of the activity directors in my company have created and formalized. Yes, it takes time to gather the info for the residents, but the form is easy and only 2 pages long. It has preferences, history, allergies, etc that relate to the resident and once you get into the groove, the actual process gets easier. On the careplan, it depends on a few things....but I can give you a sample "I" care plan for our younger, more tech saavy resident... " I enjoy independent activities such as surfing the internet and e mail with family and friends, instead of structured facility activities. Please make sure that I have access to the computer room." Since most of our rehab/short stays are in the "boomer" generation, it is not feasible to expect them to enjoy the same activities as the Long Term Residents. It is important to focus on providing unique activities as well...... Hope this helps... Chris

During my travels, soe folks have used the criticism that the "I" Care plan is unfair to residents, because staff are speaking for the resident. I actually had one person come to me and say that I was lying about the resident and treating her unfairly.... Here is the deal folks....in the traditional careplan, we only focused on the issues that we wanted to fix in a very "sterile" way of speaking. The "I" careplan does a few things... 1) It focuses on the strengths of the residents 2) It states the strength in a more positive manner 3) It uses a different way of thinking For example- I enjoy getting up early in the morning and participating in morning/early afternoon activities. Now, when this person saw that statement, she noted that the resident was not responsive, so I was lying when I said that for her.... Relaize that the statement is the same basic information of the traditional careplan, we just state it from the first person. So, if anyone gets caught up in the language....point all of this out.

For all of those activity directors worried about food at your facility. Go to the CMS website for clarification on F371. Reference: S&C-09-39 The memo was issued on the 29th of May. bigchris

I am looking for an online resource for Bingo prizes....does anyone have any besides S and S, M and N and Oriental????

There several products out there in S and S and other catalogs, they are now also in the Parade magazine for 10 bucks or so. Also, attempt and document any measures that you take to reduce noise and provide a quiet space for activities!

Ella, Sorry for the delay with your resident. I would say this one thing as 1) I am a male and 2) I don't know about your guy. As a male, we are expected to be on the straight and narrow (not me but everybody else) and you said that this guy was predominant in your town.... Is it possible he is just acting out because he can????? It sounds (once again sounds) like he is just reverting back and acting up. From your description, he could be in a behavior unit (or equivalent) but it doesn't sound "major" to me. To be honest, most of the guys I have had over the years did the same thing. Most were the men of the house and most were demanding and frisky when we got them in the facility. Tell me if I am off base, or is there more info that you think I could use???? Chris

I ask that all of my folks on AD.net, give me thier scenarios, questions or comments. If possible, I can careplan for one of your "trouble" residents. bc