MaryannS 0 Report Share Posted August 11, 2009 Hi I work in a small center, but with a huge population. We service over 100 people per 5 hour shift, 2x a day. We have Indians, Americans, Spanish and Haitian People. It is hard to do everyday nursing home activities like trivia and sing-a-longs due to everyone's cultural and educational background. I am, in all honestly, running out of ideas. I sit and think I am the problem. My staff has little to no input on suggestions. Nothing seems to be working. Please help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pennie 26 Report Share Posted August 11, 2009 maybe you could do arm chair travel -- do one for each cultural -- look into everyone cultural & maybe do weekly thems based on residents that come there. This would be a great learning activity for everyone & the ones geeting the attention that week could share info with everyone. Anyway just a quick thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkc 0 Report Share Posted August 12, 2009 Hi I work in a small center, but with a huge population. We service over 100 people per 5 hour shift, 2x a day. We have Indians, Americans, Spanish and Haitian People. It is hard to do everyday nursing home activities like trivia and sing-a-longs due to everyone's cultural and educational background. I am, in all honestly, running out of ideas. I sit and think I am the problem. My staff has little to no input on suggestions. Nothing seems to be working. Please help! Wow what a challenge! I am not in a nursing home setting but maybe I can suggest a few things anyway. A tea - we did a Mad hatter tea party where they all wear crazy hats. Bingo or bowling is good. What about celebrating their differences? Get to know each others cultures better. Get the healthcare suppliers/companies to help out. They can maybe help plan and maybe get volunteer people to help you. On trivia maybe everyother question is something one of the other ethnics should know. Puzzle teams. Team them up in groups and give prizes to the group that finishes first. That way they are working together on something. Try to not get discouraged this job is hard and can zap energy to fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heavenstar 0 Report Share Posted August 12, 2009 I feel your pain everyday. I work in a facility where most people speak either Russian or Chinese. I have been here over 9 years and these are some of the things that I have found: 1. Music speaks everyones' language. 2. Art/Painting/Crafts-- stuff that is "hands-on" where you can show them what to do and not speak. 3. English Classes-- Conversational English-- teach them how to say hi to each other and to you. 4. Trips-- cultural trips to the museums, ballets, symphonies and anywhere near water work best. 5. Exercise 6. If you show movies, have the English sub-titles on. They can often read and comprehend English better than hearing it. 7. Food-- do an International Pot Luck dinner, have arm chair travel with food from that region and my favorite, a vegetable garden. You can find seeds in a feed store that will represent more countries and regions than you will at a Walmart. Have the residents plant and raise the veggies and then serve them in a meal prepared traditionally or sold as a fundraiser. 8. Photography- Give them a camera and see what developes! Then have a slide show or calendar printed. These are just a few, but maybe a start for you. What I love best about having residents who don't speak English is that if they like what you are doing, they smile. If they don't, then they can't complain because you can't understand them! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yrtype 0 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 (edited) You are at such an advantage with the "new culture change" QIS Survey being introduced with such a variety of cultures in your population. With the support of your Administrator & Management Team, you could write down all the different cultures on a piece of paper and put them in a hat. Send the hat around the the room at your next management meeting. Then come up with 3 simple questions about that culture. I would suggest food, music, some type of traditional activity. Ask each person to talk to those residents in that culture and ask several residents those simple questions. Then ask the person with the culture they choose to use their creativity and create a couple of events for that culture. You could get dietary involved with a lunch just for the culture, making it inexpensive, not a meal with 20 dishes. Just 2-3 to give those residents a trip down memory lane talking about this type of food, how it is prepared, where they find it, et et. see what fun! And, you can get the other staff involved too. Example: If it is chinese, you could get a bundle of chinese fortune cookies donated or purchase them from the local chinese restuarant, hand them out to the all the staff on that unit, have everyone read their fortune and get in on the fun! What an opportunity you have to be creative, out of the box, the favorite department of the facility!!! Go for it! Edited August 17, 2009 by yrtype Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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