Category: For Fun
Posted by Dr. El - January 19, 2010 - Anecdotes, Communication, Customer service, For Fun
Today’s story, courtesy of Sandra Cherry, LMT (Licensed Massage Therapist), is a humorous reminder to those of us in long term care to be mindful of jargon and the words we choose when speaking with those new to the nursing home.
Today I visited my dad at the nursing home and, as I prepared to leave, I came in contact with a fairly new resident who was somewhat agitated.
Me: Ms. Williams, why are you so upset?
Ms. W: I am so sick of these people in here. They want me to sit in this wheelchair and I keep telling them no. I don’t know how to work that chair and no one has even tried to help me with it. That old aide over there told me she wasn’t going to be helping me up and down that hallway anymore. Well, I’ll just sit here in this chair!
Me: Ms. Williams, they’re supposed to send someone to help you learn how to operate the chair. Are you sure no one has come to help you?
Ms. W: The only person that’s been coming is some boy saying he want to take me to occupational therapy. He comes every day. I look at the clock when he comes to my room. Every day he comes between 10 and 10:30 and every day I tell him no. I don’t know who he is, and why I got to go for some occupational therapy? I ain’t looking for no job. What, they expect me to be doing some work, and I’m here in a nursing home. They must think I’m crazy!
Me: (Trying to contain my laughter) Okay, I’ll ask them to stop sending the occupational therapist to you and send the wheelchair guy down instead.
I explained the confusion to the nurse, who immediately went to Ms. Williams and confirmed that the wheelchair guy would be there on Tuesday to help her with the chair. She appeared quite relieved.
Posted by Dr. El - November 17, 2009 - Communication, Engaging with families, For Fun, Resident care, Uncategorized
The holidays can be a difficult time of year, especially for residents in nursing homes. Many residents once hosted family gatherings, or were regulars at a holiday event, but now their physical disability complicates their participation in familiar rituals. Last year I wrote a post on this topic from the residents’ point of view,
‘Twas the Week Before Christmas…. This year I’m hoping to gather creative ways family members have come together to celebrate the holidays with their loved ones, despite the challenges of physical limitations. Here I offer a few suggestions, and hope you’ll add your ideas and experiences to the Comments section below.
A few years ago, my Aunt Bevy wasn’t feeling well enough to join us for our annual family gathering, so my cousins and I stopped by with leftovers and a quiet chat after the festivities. I know she appreciated that visit, especially since it was the first time she’d ever missed our party.
Most residents would like to be at the home of a family member to celebrate the season, but once they’re in the nursing home, it’s not as simple as picking them up at the door. With some advance planning, the physicians can write out the home pass orders, and the nurses can gather the necessary medications and provide instructions so loved ones can spend a few hours with the family.
If the holidays will be spent in a home that’s not wheelchair accessible, the family could gather for a separate meal in an accessible restaurant, or some members could join the resident for dinner at the nursing home.
If a resident is on a special diet, such as puree, for example, a variety of pureed soups and puddings could be offered, as recommended by the dietary department.
I once knew a man who wasn’t able to eat and was on a tube feed. At Thanksgiving, he and his children gathered at the nursing home for a gratitude ceremony, sharing aloud the things they were grateful for that year, and the qualities they treasured in each other. It wasn’t the Thanksgiving everyone was used to, but they’d created a ritual that fit for their new circumstances.
Posted by Dr. El - November 3, 2009 - Engaging with families, For Fun, Tips for gifts, visits
In my post, What I Want My Nursing Home Room to Look Like, I mention I’d like to have family pictures in my room. Actually, I’d like everyone to have family photos in their nursing home rooms, in addition to photos of themselves when they were young. Before I started in long-term care (I was working at the state psychiatric hospital at the time) and Grandma Lily was in a nursing home, I bought a multi-photo frame, inserted pictures of the family, and hung it on her wall. It transformed the previously anonymous space and I felt happy to see her surrounded by loved ones whenever I came to visit. Pictures and memorabilia tell the story of someone’s life and remind everyone who the person is. They’re the single most homey addition to a room and they last longer than flowers. I’ll be talking more about the holidays as they approach, but if you’re wondering what to get a nursing home resident, photos are an excellent gift.
My parents were thrilled with their 50th wedding anniversary gift of a photoscope created by the talented Sue Samek of Photoscope Gifts. Sue creates one-of-a-kind artwork from your photos.
Here’s a photoscope of Sue’s family, and a detail of the work. She also creates photoscopes for hobbyists (cat lovers, gardeners, etc), travel buffs (a great idea for vacation photos), and any series of photos you can imagine.
Posted by Dr. El - October 2, 2009 - Anecdotes, Customer service, For Fun, Something Good About Nursing Homes, Volunteering
This positive story about long term care is from the perspective of a nursing home administrator/president. If you’d like to add your own good news, please use the comments box at the bottom of the post, or for a possible featured blog post, send me an email using the Contact Me button on the top right corner of the blog. Enjoy!
“Having been a part of the Long Term Care profession for more than 38 years, I find myself always being defensive. You are right in the fact that most of the good news in nursing homes never gets printed, just those about the bad things. I would love to share a couple of projects we are doing in our facility which have been wonderful for those residents entrusted into our care.
One is a writing class. It started out with residents writing/telling something about their first day at school, or their first car, things of that nature. It was fun to hear them share. We had some assistance from our activity staff and a couple of volunteers. We collected these short stories and printed them into a book and invited their friends and family to come to a reading. Most of the residents read their story. It was a blast to watch a gentleman with Alzheimer’s disease read flawlessly as if he were giving a presentation to the city committee. He never missed a beat. Yet when he had finished and a couple of others shared their story, he asked when his turn would be. To assist in our second book, we asked the our local college if any English majors would be interested in coming and assisting the resident in writing their stories. We were able to have two students come for a semester and would record the story and help the resident in getting it ready for print. We have printed 3 booklets of short stories and each resident and family member receives a copy.
Our second project was a dream of one of our staff members and it’s like the “Make a Wish” program. It’s called “Day Dreams.” We have a dream team made up of staff, who then volunteer their time in helping residents have a wish come true. These dreams can vary from going a local restaurant with their loved ones, to flying model airplanes, to traveling out to their homestead, to riding in a parade in a convertible with the top down. There is no cost to the resident of this experience. We have been able to receive some donations to help cover the costs. We have been able to do over 45 dreams since 2005. These are only a few of those dreams.
I share these with you to encourage others, that being a Caregiver in a Nursing Home is a wonderful profession. It is not for everyone, but most of those caring for others are angels.
Thanks for stating there is a lot of good going on in Nursing Homes.”
Gary M. Riffe, CNHA, Fellow
Administrator/President
Hi-Acres Manor Nursing Center
Jamestown, ND
Posted by Dr. El - August 26, 2009 - Customer service, For Fun, Inspiration, Something Good About Nursing Homes
Today I learned of an Indianapolis-based volunteer organization with a mission “to make the dreams of elderly and terminally ill adults come true.” How cool is that?
Never Too Late has helped an 88-year old man race around the Indy 500 track, an 83-year old woman go sailing, and a 70-year old man learn to read, among the 1825 wishes granted to date.
Posted by Dr. El - August 26, 2009 - For Fun
Beauty queens want Ms. Missouri Nursing Home crown
BY HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Nell Shepherd was past her century mark when she competed in her first beauty pageant with a walker and lively stories that made judges tear up with laughter. She reveled in the shows, so much that she insisted she be buried with her sparkling tiara.
“We bawled, my staff, when we heard that” request, said Carla Lungren, co-chairwoman of the Ms. Missouri Nursing Home Pageant, which plans to crown its 29th annual champion Wednesday at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center in Kansas City.
Lungren and other organizers of the three-tiered, statewide competition say Shepherd’s request epitomizes why such pageants are so important.
“That’s totally why we do what we do everyday in long-term care,” said Lungren, who works with the Missouri Health Care Association. “To touch people’s lives and make them meaningful until the very end. Nell’s was. There’s no doubt about it.”
Posted by Dr. El - August 14, 2009 - Anecdotes, For Fun, Inspiration
In May of this year, I wrote about nursing home artist, Vivian Mae Treadwell Baker, and thought you might like to know what’s transpired since I discovered her wonderful watercolors in her dresser drawer and posted some of them on my blog. The artist moved into a private room, and, with the assistance of her dedicated therapeutic recreation director, she now has a view of her beautifully matted and framed artwork from the comfort of her bed. She wanted you all to know how much pleasure and satisfaction it gives her to see this every day.
Posted by Dr. El - August 3, 2009 - For Fun
Posted by Dr. El - May 5, 2009 - For Fun, Inspiration
Vivian Mae Treadwell Baker was born in Huntingon, NY in 1927. She’s proud to be part Shinnecock Indian. She was in foster care from the age of seven until she rejoined her family at 17 years old. Ms. Baker supported herself throughout her life with housekeeping and work in factories, the post office, and a bank. The artwork she created in the community was lost during her transition to the nursing home. These are watercolors she made while a nursing home resident.
See also Update on Vivian Mae Treadwell Baker and Vivian Mae Treadwell Baker, 1927-2009.
Posted by Dr. El - April 3, 2009 - For Fun
When I went away to college, my dorm room, much to my parents’ chagrin, was on a co-ed hall with alternating boy/girl rooms, just like the halls of nursing homes. Instead of posters of rock stars on the walls, however, the rooms of my patients are covered in photos of the President.
The owner of the first photo below commented, “My roommate saw I had two photos of Barack Obama, so she went and got an even bigger one. It’s beautiful, though, isn’t it?”
