kelkat

Does anyone have some lady residents who would want to be penpals? I have about three ladies looking for an extra friend. They think the idea of exchanging information from other facilities across the U.S. would be fun so I mentioned pen pals. If anyone is interested please let me know and we can exchange emails for further info. Thanks, Robin (Indiana)

Hi Ladies, Good luck to you both! There is lots of information and help on this message board so do not be afraid to ask. Robin (Indiana)

I have just started a new idea this month to take place of a country bucks store and other treats for attending activities. On my calendar I have a number in parenthesis beside certain activities throughout the month. If they attend the activity from beginning to end they recieve the number of tickets corresponding to that activity. For instance I might have Bingo (3). After each activity their name is written on the tickets. We then put in a box and have a weekly drawing. We are also going to have a monthly drawing and then start the box over the next month. The prize for the drawing is a choice of a few things. A nice type of candy, puzzle books, reading books, stationary, etc. I do not have as much in this as I did the Country Bucks Store. Our monthly drawing will be for a $10.00 gift card to WalMart. I think this will also help me get some to more activities. If I definitely want to see a large turnout for an event, I put a number beside an activity. They then know they will receive tickets if they come. I'll let you know how it works after our trial run in January.

I know what you mean about finding new ideas. Sometimes I feel like I rack my brain to get something new and then noone wants to do it. It gets frustrating but I know they have the right to change their mind. We started a Travel Club and it gets really interesting. The first meeting I asked attendees what states and countries they have visited. We marked them on a large wall map. We then started with a different state twice a month. I pull interesting facts about the state from online and I also try to get some pictures of things tourist visit in that state. I also find 2-3 foods that are staples or well known for that state and they sample it. For example, Maine I served blueberry muffins and pancakes with maple syrup and crab cakes. Florida we had key lime pie and shrimp. This gives you an idea. It wasn't a large meal serving but just enough to give them a taste. We stopped for the holidays during November and December. They have been asking when we are starting it again. I find some have never been to any other states or very few states and this gives them a glimpse of the world. When we finish all 50 states we are then starting the countries. We will do them all even if noone has not been there to visit or live.

We are making Christmas ornaments. Buy the clear glass Christmas bulbs at Hobby Lobby or other craft store. Let them choose the paint they want to put in the bulb. I small squirt of their color choices in the bulb and roll around to mix the colors. You will want to leave the lid of until paint dries. This will take a couple days. We then take a glitter pen and write the year and "from: residents name". Family members love this because it is something they can be reminded of every year.

Here are some ideas we are using for our party on Thursday. Pumpkin Pass - We are setting up people in a circle. We have cut out paper pumpkins with numbers on them. We also have the same numbers in a basket on small pieces of paper. The residents will pass the paper pumpkins around the circle. When the music stops you draw a number and the resident holding the pumpkin with that number wins a prize. Ping pong toss - I found 2 small Halloween bowls at Wlmart for $1.00. The residents throw 3 ping pong balls and try to get the balls in the bowls. Pin the nose on the pumpkin - This is a fun game for any age to play. It is just like pin the nose on the donkey. Candy Corn Bingo - Halloween bingo cards and we are using candy corn to cover the card. Spoon Race - 2 teams. The first person holds a spoon with a ping pong ball on the spoon. If they are in a wheel chair, someone pushes them down to the bowl on the floor and they try to drop the ball in the bowl. The first team with the most balls in the bowl wins. Now is a good time to get a very large bag of candy at the store for a reasonable price. I hope any of this helps.

I believe it is a regulation no matter the size of the facility for a person to be qualified as an AD and that means taking MEPAP.

I am budgeted by census. .30 x # of residents x # of days in the month. I ususally average about $600 per month and I love it compared to other facilities. Although it sometimes does still not seem like enough.

I wonder about the same thing. We have to use public transportation. I almost always have everyone in wheel chairs wanting to go. 3 wheelchairs to a bus and most of the time we take two buses. I get upset that it is always the same people wanting to go. They sign up so quickly noone else has a chance. I am thinking about alternating who can go. If you went on the last outing, then you cannot signup for the next outing until others has had a chance to signup. Then if there is room you can go. I feel bad either way for the ones who never go and for the ones who always go and then to tell them no. What is other opinions?

I appreciate all the ideas from everyone. It seems we are all in the same boat. However, it is sad the residents are the ones suffering from lack of attendance to activities. I am scheduled to do an in-service for the staff on the importance of activities. I hope this helps a little. I think I will incorporate the incentive program and start covering my tracks on why a resident was not taken to activities. Thank you again for all the advice. Robin

I have only been an activity director for 6 weeks. I would like to know if any of you have trouble getting other departments to work together with you on getting the residents to activities? My DON and ADON both whole heartedly agree that all the residents need to be in activities. However, they do not want to push the charge nurses or aides to make sure residents are getting involved. They all act like the activity department is its own little segment and it should not involve others. My administrator wants the activity program to big a big hoopla and I do too. We only have 4-7 residents (out of 70) attend activites. This is so sad and I am not sure I can change it without cooperation. Anyone else have these problems? If so, how do you handle it? Thanks, Robin