Jeanine

Angie, I just went through a similar situation with VHS tapes and I found that my local library was happy to accept the donation and it is tax deductable too. Good luck, Jeanine

Hi, Having a love for the elderly is a great place to start. I would suggest that if you want to get into the activity profession, start out as an assistant which usually does not require certification and see how you like it. If you have a good activity director as your supervisor, she will set up a training program that will help you advance in your career and let you take on additional responsibilities. You could start out by leading activities on your own and doing one on one visits and then as you got to know the residents, start planning the calendar and go on from there. I have a new assistant who has no previous experience and this is working well for her. One thing you have to know is that there is alot of time spent outside of work preparing for activities and if you don't want to spend your own time, this is not he field for you. Good luck!!

I am also pretty new, only 2 years in the business. In my facility we play once per week (Sunday afternoons) and my residents are fine with that. Every other facility in my area plays at least 3 times per week. For prizes we have small candy bars (like you would give out at halloween) or sugar free candy. For the coverall, we have small figurines or change purses, very inexpensive. We have no male residents playing or we would have to have prizes appropriate for them.

bigchris, Thanks for the clarification on the "I Care Plan". I was not familiar with this type of care plan until I attended a seminar and they were talking about it. I agree that it makes a care plan more personal and the resident is not seen as an object, but when I have to write a care plan on a resident who is unable to express themselves and state strengths and goals I feel that using their name, instead of saying "the resident/patient" makes it more personal. It is,afterall, my perception of their strenghts and/or needs that plays a large part in the goals that are set. I feel uncomfortable speaking for someone else. Does anyone else feel the same way?

What is your name? Jeanine What is your occupation?Activity Coordinator over a skilled nursing facility with 42 beds. I have one part time assistant who is wonderful. • What was the last thing you ate? fruit and yogert •Do you wish on stars? shooting stars yes! •If you were a crayon, what color would you be? magenta •How is the weather right now?Freezing, below zero •Last person you spoke to on the phone? friend •How old are you today? 54 •Favorite drink? water, sprite zero •Favorite sport(s) to watch? tennis on tv, football in person •Have you ever dyed your hair? if highlighting counts •Do you wear contacts or glasses?contact •Pets? 2 dogs, Maya and Moose •Favorite month? October •Favorite food? Pasta •What was the last movie you watched? You Never Looked So Good •Favorite day of the year? Thanksgiving •Fall or Spring? Both •When was the last time you cried? Tuesday •What did you do last night? watched CSI, read in bed •What inspires you? happy people •What are you afraid of? snakes, worms and crawly things •Favorite car?Toyota convertable •Favorite dog breed? Chow •How many years at your current job? 2 •How many states have you lived in? 2 Massachusetts, Nevada •How many cities/towns have you lived in?6 - Rockland, Amherst, Sunderland, Las Vegas, Haydenville, Easthampton

What we are going to do for Chinese New Year on the 26th is make paper dragons (go to www.crafts.kaboose.com) and look for Chinese New Year Crafts. Look for Dragons on parade. We will make the dragons and hang them from the ceiling. Also find the birth years of the residents and read to them the characteristics of that year (the year of the horse, etc). We will have fortune cookies and tea for snacks. Jeanine

Our residents also like to feel they are a part of the community and like to give back. We try to do something at least quarterly. Last Easter, we put together 46 easter baskets to be brought to a long term pediatric wing. We ran it like an assembly line, each resident putting in candy, toys and little trinkets depending on if the basket was for a girl or a boy. The children were very appreciative and our residents had a blast. We will be doing it again this Easter. We also made book marks out of the foam paper, decorated them with foam stick ons and put a ribbon at the top. We donated them to the local library. We got a nice thank you letter from the children's section and the residents were so pleased. Jeanine

I have only been an AD for 2 years and have tried a variety of activity logs. The one that works best for me is this: I have an 8.5x11" copy of my monthly activity calendar for each resident. After each activity, I highlight the activity attended. On the reverse side is a "note" page which I jot down anything out of the ordinary, such as "Mary really enjoyed participating in the balloon toss today and was more alert and receptive throughout the activity." I keep 3 months of these calendars with my copy of the resident care plan so when we have our quarterly meeting, I can look and see if the resident is acheiving the goals for attendance we have set. I can also read the notes for the month and see if there is a pattern of behavior s uch as "Jan became aggitated and unable to be redirected around 11am". I have not had a problem with the surveyors using this method and for me, It is a great way to see exactly who participates in which type of activities and when care plan goals are not being met. Hope this helps. anyone please let me know if your surveyors have had a problem with this type of log. Jeanine