bigchris

Merrill Gardens is a large assisted living company, many in the south.

Low Function Residents are sometime the best to program for.... Try getting creative wityh outdoor activities that you can wheel them around in and talk to them. sensory stimulation is always good. If you are desperate, investigate the Montessori method on the internet, they may have some ready made ideas.

I try to avoid this by getting references and demo tapes. If they are not willing or the tapes are bad, we then reject them. I also network with other facilities and find out who they like.

Microsoft Publisher is nice and easy to use.

Warneille, You need to contact the Georgia Nursing Home association. Talk to Belinda....thier number is 678-289-6555. Tell the m that you need to know about the 36 hour course in November. I will be taching so I will see you there. bigchris

I tried to be nice to them but then I got nasty. But, I am a supervisor. If you are not in a place of authority, you will have a difficult time. Also, after I was abrupt with them, I recognized that they did put the effort into getting the residents to the activity and thier involvement. That works pretty well.

I have found that most of my guys aren't really into the crafts. So I am going to do a barbecue with a band and they are bringing thier friends to join in.... Nothing flashy, just doing guy stuff for the day.

With sand the only infection control you would need to worry about would be with animals present. If you have cats, keep them away from the sand. If you are worried beyond that, Purell on the cart. BC

I use the large cases made by Quartet. I get them at Office Depot. Hope it fits your need. BC

Cindy, I would suggest moving away from those companies and getting creative. We started taking our volunteers on quarterly "trips". Last year we took them to the North Pole and On a cruise. They seemed to enjoy the effort and the creativity. Chris

There is actually a ton if information out there and several books. Google it and see what you find. Chris

Pay in GA. Hey Nikki, I am an ADC here in Atlanta and I can tell you that you problably won't get that kind of money in the seniors area of TR. Sorry to say, but we have a ton of them and it is not a requirement in the Nursing home. If you go to a hospital...maybe. Those of us who do make that kind of loot are not doing the traditional TR/AD stuff. The good news is that the cost of living is a lot lower, the weather is warmer and the people are nicer. Chris

International week. I do something simaler at my facility and I ask for recipes from our employees and residents from different countries. We then do a bulletin board featuring those selections with pictures. We have music and differnt programs for each country. With ours we do a whole month with a different area each week. I have found that travel agencies and embassies are more than happy to give you posters, music and other items for free. That should save you some money. Chris

On Men's activities.... I may be using a simple answer, but I have foud the best way to program for men is to ask them. Most of my guys were in leadership roles. So when I first started I tried to make them happy and let them lead or be in a position of power. That did not work. I found that most folks, whether they are men or not. Prefer to be heard.....that is, they did things in the past and the best way to get them involved is have an activity that they did in the past. So sit down and talk to them. Get feedback on what they did and ask them what they miss, what they want to explore, what they need. That is the best way for me. Now, I am a guy, so there may be an advantage for me. So I will relate the way that I program for my ladies. The same way! Now, I said that was too easy. So here is the worst case scenario. I have found that if you get other residents on board with what you do, they can be your best recruiters. I have several residents that I assign to my "hard to reach" folks. These residents will go talk to the difficult ones for me and that way it is a little easier to break the ice. Hope this helps. Chris

I hate to say it, but we don't even recognize it. My opinion on the week and the other "Hallmark holidays" is to show appreciation every day to my staff. We do have a celebration in older americans month, which is May. And we do many activities during that. Chris

I used to show new movies, but found that they are not appropriate for the older generation. Now, our library has nothing newer than 1970. The residents seem to appreciate them more. Chris

Storage----- I am at the brink with my storage rooms.

Make sure that they know that you are a different person. One way that I shake things up is by random/spontaneuous activities. A resident mentioned to me that she wanted a chili dog one day, so we got in the van and went. She is now one of my biggest fans. Create fans on a day to day basis.

I work in a very conservative facility and I had to deal with the "SINS" of my residents for about 6 months. I finally got tired of the staff picking on the residents and saying that what they were doing was "wrong" so I suggested to the residents that they get married. Needless to say, the staff had question marks over thier heads, because they couldn't say anything anymore!!!! I have found that the staff throws more into the argument than the residents, staff seem to get holier than thou at work. But when they walk out they are scandalous! Anyway, we had the wedding and I prepared a honeymoon suite for them, everything turned out great. bigchris

I am big into this, especially in the alzheimers unit. I have used many different things including massage, lights animals and manipulation of the environment. I also use a ton of aromatherapy, not only to eliminate some of the odors that come with the facility, but to keep the residents calm, healthy, etc. bigchris

Weekends are aconstant for me, however, I have learned to deal with it through delegation and time management. My situation may be unique in that we have activities 7 days a week, per my choice. So I went into the situation prepared. Since I go to school, my boss also gives me comp time to make up for it. bigchris

auction Update- News is in on getting items for the auction. First of all let me say this, without the help of my friends in the field, this would not have been so successful. Ok, with that said, since my last update we have acquired approx. $11,000 worth of goods and services to go on the block. Since I have talked to you, we have expanded the offering to a silent auction, live auction and raffle for a variety of items. Now comes some of the harder work, while I continue to gather items until October, there are other things that I am working on to prepare. 1) Storage space for the items- as you may have experienced, the facility has sticky fingers wandering around. So I have designated a storage space and re-keyed the lock for safety. 2) Who will make the gift baskets from items that we have received- thank god for volunteers!!!! 3) Where will the volunteers work?- Haven't figured that out yet. I am hoping that the storage space can double as a work room. 4) How much is it all "really" worth? Good question. This is just the tip of the iceberg. More later. Remember, feedback is encouraged. Chris

Hey Dawn, I am sorry to say that I have been un-impressed with the majority of "activity" books there are on the market. In my opinion, most seem out-dated and based on the Bingo principle. However, there are some great books on the individual aspects of our job that include: pet therapy, art therapy, aroma therapy and dementia. I apologize but I am at the library and cannot give you all of the titles, but if you let me know your interests I can look them up on my bookshelves. Chris

Jessica, Congradulations, you do get some bonus points. Your answer is partially right. As I mentioned in the article-HIPAA was created to regulate transferability of health information and to fight fraud. So you comment about standardizing claims is correct, but it is also there to provide a forum for every health care provider to transmit information privately and to protect the resident. +1 point. On the pharmacy issue, you are in essence correct, however, pharmacy was only 1 piece to the puzzle. There are also DME providers, doctors, therapists, etc. who have defrauded the government. +1 point. And to answer your first question, as a matter of fact I do know about Gray, GA. I know a wonderful person who lives there. Maybe you know them. Thanks for your question, please let me know if you have more. And hug Gracie for me. Chris

Absouloutly and thank the lord! In GA. there are 6 males out of 160+ activity directors. Chris