HELLO

[1170la 0]

HI AD FAMILY !!!

MY NAME IS LAURIE AND I'VE JUST BECOME A MEMBER . IM IN RIVERSIDE CA. WE HAVE 51 RESIDENTS (FAMILY) AT OUR SNF ALZHEIMERS FACILITY . IM OF COURSE THE ACTIVITY COORDINATOR THERE , I LOVE MY JOB , I'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR 2 YRS NOW . ITS VERY CHALLENGING ESPECIALLY WHEN MY PEOPLE CHANGE SO RAPIDLY SOMETIMES . THINGS THAT NORMAL SENIORS CAN DO , OUR PEOPLE CANT ! SOMETIMES I THINK WE ARE A LITTLE LEFT OUT OF THE LOOP . MY BIGGEST CHALLENGE RIGHT NOW IS FINDING SOMETHING FOR MY GERI-CHAIR PEOPLE BESIDES READING , LOTION , SCENTS. I WANT SOMETHING MORE . ALSO IV'E STARTED A FAMILY SUPPORT GROUP AT OUR PLACE AND I NEED SOMETHING TO DRAW THE FAMILIES IN ON MY FLYER HELP !!!!

LAURIE

[BartMan 0]

HI AD FAMILY !!!

MY NAME IS LAURIE AND I'VE JUST BECOME A MEMBER . IM IN RIVERSIDE CA. WE HAVE 51 RESIDENTS (FAMILY) AT OUR SNF ALZHEIMERS FACILITY . IM OF COURSE THE ACTIVITY COORDINATOR THERE , I LOVE MY JOB , I'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR 2 YRS NOW . ITS VERY CHALLENGING ESPECIALLY WHEN MY PEOPLE CHANGE SO RAPIDLY SOMETIMES . THINGS THAT NORMAL SENIORS CAN DO , OUR PEOPLE CANT ! SOMETIMES I THINK WE ARE A LITTLE LEFT OUT OF THE LOOP . MY BIGGEST CHALLENGE RIGHT NOW IS FINDING SOMETHING FOR MY GERI-CHAIR PEOPLE BESIDES READING , LOTION , SCENTS. I WANT SOMETHING MORE . ALSO IV'E STARTED A FAMILY SUPPORT GROUP AT OUR PLACE AND I NEED SOMETHING TO DRAW THE FAMILIES IN ON MY FLYER HELP !!!!

LAURIE

 

Hi Laurie , I also have a "Family Council Meeting" (same thing) Quarterly and truthfully when I started it ten years ago I was not getting any participation , that is until I introduced Free Food to the program. I'm not sure wat time of the day you hold your meeting but if you do it at lunch time or dinner time and say that lunch will be provided then I promise you they will come.... Hope this helps , BartMan in Tally , Fl. ;o)

[jerusha 0]

HI AD FAMILY !!!

MY NAME IS LAURIE AND I'VE JUST BECOME A MEMBER . IM IN RIVERSIDE CA. WE HAVE 51 RESIDENTS (FAMILY) AT OUR SNF ALZHEIMERS FACILITY . IM OF COURSE THE ACTIVITY COORDINATOR THERE , I LOVE MY JOB , I'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR 2 YRS NOW . ITS VERY CHALLENGING ESPECIALLY WHEN MY PEOPLE CHANGE SO RAPIDLY SOMETIMES . THINGS THAT NORMAL SENIORS CAN DO , OUR PEOPLE CANT ! SOMETIMES I THINK WE ARE A LITTLE LEFT OUT OF THE LOOP . MY BIGGEST CHALLENGE RIGHT NOW IS FINDING SOMETHING FOR MY GERI-CHAIR PEOPLE BESIDES READING , LOTION , SCENTS. I WANT SOMETHING MORE . ALSO IV'E STARTED A FAMILY SUPPORT GROUP AT OUR PLACE AND I NEED SOMETHING TO DRAW THE FAMILIES IN ON MY FLYER HELP !!!!

LAURIE

 

Hi there, Im Jerusha , 34 yr/female, and I just found this sight yesterday and I love the connection to other A.D.'s .Im in Imperial Beach and I was a caregiver for a year, and A.D. for a year now. Its a 29 bed Alz/Dementia assisited living. Its a challenge but I love it.

Koosh balls are great for res. who are immobile. Have them hold a koosh ball. They are rubber and have these hair like stringy things on them, they come in all colors, Target or walmart.

Caged parakeets or birds are good too. Set the cage in front of them and they will enjoy just watching the bird. We finally got the OK to get a bird of our own! Caring for the pet is a great activity for the higher fuctioning Alz/dem. resident. ^The ones who cannot participate in the caring love watching. Remember, with Alz/dem...even if they are not participating, the fact that activity is going on around them is very stimulating in and of itself. If they are following the activity with their eyes, they are benefiting in some way. Do not put low functioning res in their rooms and feel like you have to do one on one all the time. Bring them where the activity is! Make activity,,then have them there to watch and every so often make physical contact, like touching them or talking to them.

Buy some punch balls, remove the rubber band, and hit it back and forth. My res will do that for hours if I let them. Low functioning ones love to watch from their chairs. They will follow the ball with their eyes.

Good food, or special treats are great. Nothing like a peice of choc(watch for diabetics) or candy. Something that they never get. We have an occassional McDonalds night. Double cheeseburgers(99cents a peice)and reg fries(99cents a peice).

Thats only $60.00 for 30 residents! They freaking love it. Never heard it so quiet during dinner time. I put McDonalds placemats at their seats . Remember, McDonalds has been around since the 40's, its nastalgic. KFC night is good too. People who usually are feeders will all of a sudden feed themselves! (its a miracle!!) I ask for extra buckets to use as centerpeices for each table. I could go on forever,,but the key is...create activity, and have the lower functioning res be there, participating or not, they are absorbing what is going on around them, wether you think so or not..GOOD LUCK!!!

[corelens 0]

Hi, Laurie. I'm new here, too. I received group facilitator training by the Alz. Assoc. at an all-day training event several months ago.

 

I've yet to facilitate a family support group at my facility, but I do hope to implement it before year's end.

 

V.

[gaelicpaddy 0]

Hi Laurie,'My name is Trish. I am the activity director for a 76 bed facility with three assitants. I have worked at my job for only a year. But, I actuall started working there as an aide in '93, got promoted to AD, and resigned in 2001, moved away for a few years and came back to just recently. I think what I'm doing is awesome. We just recently let go one girl and it has made the work load harder, but it has been a blessing! We are always looking for a group activity that the residents will enjoy besides bingo and dominos (those seem to be the two favorites!)

Thanks for your post and good luck in the future!

Trish