AndiLynn

Here is a few suggestions for men's activites. I hope you can gain something from them. We have a happy hour. Alcohol free, we use immitation Rum and make "rum and cokes" or "pina coladas." Sometimes we break out the blenda and do virgin margaritas. We have little appitizers. It is so funny. We also have a veterans club. I don't know if you have any veterans but if you do this is a good one. We discuss the old days and how it was for them back when we were at war. They can talk to each other. Its funny cause the navy guys hang out with navy, and army guys hang out with army guys, and they don't really mix. We also have sports times. They watch a big screen sports game. Superbowl sunday passed but we had a superbowl party. We also have poker games. They gamble with fake money or winner gets a prize, just a little something. Hope you can use them.

At my facility we have dinner at 5 and then we have what i like to call "Fireside Event." We build a fire in the fireplace when its cold and we sit around (some in their pajamas), drink sugar free hot chocolate, read from our "Chicken Soup" books, and then discuss topics or reminisce about the good old days. It was awsome to see how close people got and how far they could remember back. Then one Thursday night out of the month we have our "CandleLight Dinner". Starts at 5, goes to 6 or 6:30 but it is a chance for the residents to get dressed up and have a more elegant dinner (ofcourse there is not candlelight but you get the point). We have someone come and play special music, have a nice dinner with appetizer and dessert (all voted on each month at resident council). They are also aloud to invite up to 2 guests per resident. It sounds like there is a lot of people but we only really invite the people with regular diets, no puree, no mechancial soft. They should also be able to eat independently.

Just something else to add. I use the activity calander as well but i have found it very helpful to label what kind of participating they do. I use different color highlighters to label how they did in the activity. It seems more complicated but in the end it has really helped in the annual assessments and the careplan updates. If they are sleeping all the time, if they are really active, if they are just sitting there, if they don't come down at all. It really helps. Here is what i do......Green - actively participated, Pink- observed, Blue- Sleeping, yellow- particpated with extreme assistance (for people who cannot move thier hands, etc) I hope it helps.

At my facility we do not have anyone who is in charge of volunteers. The activites department supervises them and handles the paperwork but I wanted something more organized. The only people who came to volunteer is high school students getting their community service hours. They do well sometimes but not very reliable and my department needs more help. I came up with an idea. We have a lot of group homes, recovery programs, and rehabilitation homes. Basically places where people who are on parole or people working a drug and alochol program live. My hope was to add some conditions and rules to a volunteer program but let people come to the facility for their court mandated community service hours. I know this sounds bad and I am not saying I want people fresh from the pen volunteering at my facility but i think they could be of some help and would get some common sense that high school students don't really have. Does anyone else use people that are court mandated to have community service hours? Do you use that as unsafe even if they are supervised? Are there facilities out there that do not except anyone with any kind of record like mine? What do you think?

HA HA HA... I really feel your pain. Not just with the grooming classes but with your DON. At my facility we use to do manicures as an activity but now we use it as a one on one approach in rooms. We also have a woman that comes in once a week and does the whole "beauty parlor" thing but that is not an activity from the activity department. That is a service we offer our residents. I think to do that on a day to day basis would be a waste of time. In my facility that job is a huge part for a CNA. That is what they are there for. I just don't see why an activity department would take on that responsibility. Having said that i also want to say this. We have a once a month dinner where the residents can invite a family member. It is a casual-formal dining experience. The dinner is better and the decorations are more elegant and all revolving around a central theme for the month. It is an awesome experience. The management and activites department serves the food, we hire cheap entertainers in the area that would come and do special performances and make it really nice. As an activity before the activities department goes into one room and does woman's nails, hair, and make up. We try and dressy them up. Some people come together and chat, some come alone and just talk to the staff but either way it is a chance for them to get dressed up and they feel really good about themselves. That is once a month though.

What if you had her call the bingo numbers? Would she be able to say them loud enough for the other residents? We had a few problems like that. I feel for you. I know we feel bad when we don't invite someone to a particular activity but we can't have the disruptions either. Maybe you could also put her with another resident/friend who will assist her with her own card. I know when i put people together they tend to be less stressed and they can figure it out together. Also the other person can remind her to be less vocal. I hope something helps for you.