aRBeRec

I just moved to a new facility and one thing I found odd is how diffferent their attendance policy is. I left a facility with four units but residents could chose any program top attend, so attendance was taken at each program and at the end of the day staff would mark the attendace down in the residents file. At the new facility there are six units and most activites occur on unit for their population, they do not take attendance becasue staff is consistance and they know who does what. For full house programs attendance is taken and filed incase someone needs to look back on it. What is your activty practice? Should each resident have their own activity record? or can we just keep the attendance on file "in-case"?

Well a few ideas... one is as Cindy said try to set up accounts so that you can pay with a purchase order and not cash. I order almost everything from S&S for that reason. The other idea is to do some fundraising and set up a start up so that once reimbursement comes in you are reimbursing that fund, kinda like your own petty cash fund. You can do the same with your own money (put aside a set amount and then you're always just replenishing), same would work with a credit card (I would reserve one specifically for supplies & work things) and since cycles are monthly and you are reimbursed within 2 weeks it shouldn't be too much of a hardship. Good luck!

We have entertainment, a countdown with a balloon "drop" (more like, staff stands around the room and throws balloons in the air) then new years day we spend talking and acting our traditions from around the world.

Well I think you would need to offer specific programs or activities, there are music & art therapists that travel to different facilities and I know it is not easy for them to get booked so if you're certified for something specific that may help. The only outside activities I've ever used are entertainers and a horticulture therapist (because I kill plants). I find that most other "activity vendors" aren't worth the expense since I am already paying my staff to do them. I don't want to rain on your parade, just think you need to find a special niche.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but depending on your area, Act Asst. don't make much more than $8-10 per hour, full or part time and some directors not much more than that. Check out the wage comparison board... http://activitydirector.net/forum/forum/12-jobs-description-and-wage-compare/

Hmm, well first question is... Are they going to bed after dinner because they want to or because they have nothing else to do? I'd say survey your population. You may find they're going to bed right after dinner because that's what they think they're supposed to do (or it's convenient for the evening staff). If your patients all refuse to attend evening programs and its documented I don't think there's anything to worry about. A special dinner can also count as an evening activity; i.e. dinner & a movie or live entertainment during dinner. Evening programs are not as populated as our daytime programs but well worth it for the 15-20 residents who would otherwise be bored.

Do you think we're going to see much of a difference from an activity standpoint with the QIS? It doesn't seem to be much of a focus from what I've read.

I think it depends on your state but we have evening activities daily on our dementia unit and 4 nights for the rest of our population. We have a movie night, play bingo, play word games, or have evening entertainment.

Sometimes families make comments b/c the resident complains to them "I can't do anything b/c I can't see". Just re-assure residents and families that adaptations are made so that most programs are adaptable for the visually impaired and point out which ones and how. (i.e. Live entertainment can be enjoyed without seeing the show, or how during exercise verbal instructions are given along with the visual, etc.) Also when families mention we should have more of this or that they are usually saying this before looking at our calendar so I review it with them... i.e. I was told that we don't do enough exercise, but once I explained that or sport activities are also exercise they were satisfied. I'm sure what you offer is sufficient, just make them aware of the adaptations... you could also add a special program just for the visually impaired, like an audio book club.

They also vary by reigons but check this board... discusses what people make & where Salary Poll

I'm pretty sure you cannot be forced to get a flu shot, at any facility I've worked at I was always offered a flu shot but not mandated to get one.

Well not sure about your budget but I could see vines hanging from the ceiling/draped around the room. Craft stores usually sell them but I think they're a bit price.

Pens & Notepads or Stationary TV Chanel Listing Maybe a tip sheet? (i.e. if you need help use the call bell, where to get a cup of coffee or newspaper, location of the vending machines etc.)

I think you're misunderstanding, yes the residents do have rights and that is why we need to work around the residents schedule, regardless of staff members involved. What are times that most residents are available for activities? That's when you need to schedule your group programs, unfortunately that may mean adjusting your hours. If you wont change your activity schedule you can try to give notice to the therapists of who will be in what activity when but in my experience, a lot of sub-acute patients need to be seen by multiple therapies and most of the time they cannot co-treat. So if a patient only gets two hour a day then you can ask for them to be seen in the morning or in the afternoon so they can attend your activities, but in most cases where residents are working hard to return home, therapy is both morning and afternoon sessions. have you discussed this with the therapy director or admin?

Well when I worked in a 100% sub-acute facility, we designed our calendar to be open ended and held organized groups at 3pm & after dinner when most therapies where over. Since our patients were short term & focused on returning home, missing therapy for an activity was not an option. We basically had open hours where we would be available to place games, have coffee, discussions, trivia as residents became available. Hope that helps. Yes we are supposed to work around the residents schedule, but since the reason they are there is to receive PT/OT/ST we should work with them and not conflict with those prime therapy times. Not sure how your staffing is not but is it possible to have staff come in later?

What about getting a Karaoke machine?

it all depends on your population.... one facility I was at had 30-40 patients who were up and ready to party at night so we have evening activities 5 days a week, trivia, word, games, movies, etc. My current facility I can only get people out at night for entertainment and other evening programs only get 7-12 participant (after extensive encouragement). I would just take a look at who is staying up after dinner and find something to please them, even if its getting a group to watch jeopardy & wheel of fortune together.

www.SSWW.com and enasco.com are the two I used, mostly S&S.

Looks very cool. I'm running it past our Admin & Owner to get their ok.

Bowling & Basketball are our popular sport activities. For basket ball we use a pool basketball hoop on the floor. And if its within your budget Wii has some great simple sport games. I would stay away from baseball with my population, but there are foam bats & balls you can purchase at a toy store, same for safe golf clubs.

Doing anything special for it?

Our owner want to buy an iPad for our residents, I never used one before so I'm unsure of what to do with it. Our population is not very tech savvy, I've been giving the same few people computer lessons for a year. Any ideas?

The biggest reason is for the addition is for evenings to help in dementia unit and help serving dinner Thanks for all the ideas!

This may not sound like a problem, but its about to be. I have an 159 bed facility and 8 full time recreation aides, I have multiple activities going on all day, everyday, and I was just told "Good News, you can hire two more." I said I don't need them and still I'm getting them... so what can I do. I can't add more activities because attendance is low since we have 4 things going on at once. I'll assign more 1:1 visits but even that its just too much. Any ideas of new programs to add?

Well thats a bummer, can't use shorter sticks? or make up your own pool game without sticks? Could always use it for horse racing, or Left Right Center (LRC) dice wont fall off the table because of the bumper.