Category: Something Good About Nursing Homes
Posted by Dr. El - March 17, 2010 - Business Strategies, Something Good About Nursing Homes, Volunteering
In addition to meeting the needs of residents, enhancing community relations, and increasing the visibility of and referrals to the nursing home, Volunteer Coordinators provide a huge bang for the buck.
Ellen Stein, Director of Volunteer Services at the Cabrini Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in New York City, shares her secrets for obtaining 600 hours of weekly volunteer work for every 20 hours she puts into her job.
Dr. El: What do you do as Director of Volunteer Services?
ES: I recruit volunteers, interview them, orient them to the nursing home, place them in a department best suited to their abilities and interests, and provide ongoing training and supervision.
Dr. El: What qualities should nursing homes look for in hiring a volunteer coordinator?
ES: It helps to have an outgoing personality, and to enjoy engaging with people.
Dr. El: How do you get your volunteers?
ES: Believe it or not, most of my volunteers these days come from the computer. I have four listings at a volunteer site at nyc.gov for different locations and aspects of the volunteer program. One of the listings got 5,000 hits last year. [I didn’t try it with every state, of course, but if you Google “volunteer” and your state, you should come up with a site where volunteer opportunities can be offered/reviewed.]
Dr. El: What kind of jobs do people do as volunteers?
ES: Mostly they’re involved with Recreation activities, like bingo, adaptive sports, and parties. Other volunteers visit the residents and act as “listening ears.” Some volunteers, who often have a particular religious affiliation or organization, help with pastoral care. While Cabrini is a Catholic facility, we have residents from many faiths, and we have volunteers providing Buddhist and Jewish services. One of our hairdressers is a volunteer. [Hairdressing is a great service to provide, as some residents have no income at all and can’t afford the regular stylist on site.]
We also have corporate volunteers, where employees of the company come in to run special activities several times a year. They even give holiday gifts, because as you know, some of the residents have no families to give them presents.
In addition, members of a local church are very involved with the residents, visiting regularly, running a street fair once a year, and even taking the residents out to dinner on occasion.
Dr. El: What do you look for in a volunteer?
ES: The best volunteers are reliable, honest, open people who are there to make a difference for the residents.
Occasionally I’ve had to “fire” someone because they didn’t understand the importance of keeping the residents’ information private, or because they spoke to me disrespectfully. If someone’s treating me disrespectfully, I can’t trust they’re treating the residents with respect when I’m not around.
Dr. El: You’re obviously passionate about your work. What do you like most about being Director of Volunteer Services?
ES: I have a very abundant life, and I feel it’s important to share my good fortune with others. It gives me great joy to help the residents, who are so appreciative of the smallest things. I might sing someone a song, or push a someone in a wheelchair to religious services, and you’d think I’d given them the world.
Posted by Dr. El - February 3, 2010 - Something Good About Nursing Homes
I recently heard about a nursing home that held a fundraiser to benefit survivors of the earthquake in Haiti. The home, with many Haitian residents and staff members, wanted a way to express their sadness and show support for their friends, coworkers, and the people of Haiti.
Residents baked cookies in their “Bakers’ Club” to donate to the sale. Staff members baked and bought food to contribute. For the raffle, the “Quilting Club” offered a beautiful quilt created over several months by numerous residents. A staff member contributed hand-beaded jewelry, and a community-donated framed photograph was also raffled off.
The amount of money raised was significant, but even more important was the opportunity for residents and staff to work together as a nursing home community for a greater cause.
Posted by Dr. El - November 23, 2009 - Resident care, Something Good About Nursing Homes
I’ve read Leslie Curtin’s story three times and it still makes me cry. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
We had a man admitted status post CVA (after a stroke). He was never going to recover to the point where his wife could take him home since he was a 2 person assist to do anything and couldn’t really bear weight well. They were a lovely couple…had been married for 40 something years and clearly still adored each other. Every winter at this facility we had the Snowflake Ball. The residents would dress in gowns and suits…hair done, makeup on, be escorted to the ‘ball room’, listen to live music, have a special meal, and dance.
This man’s wife came in a beautiful gown. She watched some of the other residents dancing and said “I wish I could have just one more dance with my husband.” The social worker and I were standing there with her. We just looked at each other and without really discussing it, stood the man up so he could ‘dance’ with his wife. She was crying, he was crying, we were crying. It was such a little thing for us to do but it made such a huge difference for them.
I think things like this happen every day in facilities around the country but no one hears about them because they aren’t glamorous or exciting.
You can use my name or not as you see fit. As I tell my staff on a regular basis:
It’s not about you…it’s not about me. It’s about the people we take care of every day.
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 27, 2009 - Something Good About Nursing Homes
I’d like to thank Kathleen Carroll for sending in this beautiful story about how the nursing home staff eased the pain of saying good-bye for both her and her grandmother:
I think my grandmother had a good experience at a nursing home. I’m grateful for the care, patience, respect, and warmth she and I received while she was there. (On a side note, I was a volunteer at the same nursing home when I was in high school. I would visit people simply to give them company.)
She entered the home a few weeks before she passed away. She received attentive medical care around the clock to help ease her pain. The attendants seemed to be sweet to her as well. Her room was clean and brightly decorated so it was warm. She was provided with spiritual services that suited her. I was allowed to stay with her beyond the night visiting hours, as I visited after work which required an hour and half train ride out of the city.
She passed away in my presence after hours. An attendant was with us as well. After she passed, they were respectful of us both. I’m really grateful she received the around the clock care in a warm, compassionate, competent home. And that I was allowed to be with her during her passing. It would have been almost impossible to leave her if I felt differently about the nursing home.
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 25, 2009 - Something Good About Nursing Homes
“And in the top story of the day,” I teased my friend’s mother, who was fretting about us living in ‘dangerous’ New York City, “five million people went to work and came home with absolutely no problem!”
When I read about nursing homes in the news, it’s likely to be a disturbing report on nursing home abuse or neglect that makes me understand why people are terrified they will one day have to live in one. There’s no tourist information board advertising the shows and activities available to the residents. Rarely is there discussion of the kindnesses done by people who were once strangers, or mention of the friendships and sense of community that develop in long term care. If all I knew about nursing homes was what I read in the news, I’d be terrified too.
Because of my work, however, I know that for every report of an abusive aide, there are far more aides who carefully assist their charges to look their best, and are the first to notice changes that need attention. For every story about negligence, there are many more nurses healing wounds and keeping a close watch on your loved ones. Every day I see the nursing home staff taking pride in making the residents happy and comfortable.
Those are the stories I’d like to hear. If you have a positive nursing home anecdote, please send it to me by clicking on the “Contact Me” envelope, which will open up an email window. I’d like to feature some of these anecdotes in future blog posts. Your email address will not be posted, and let me know if you’d like to be anonymous. You can also share your experience, anonymously or not, by adding to the Comments section at the bottom of this post.
Let’s create a more balanced picture of nursing home life.
Posted by Dr. El - May 28, 2009 - Resident education/Support groups, Something Good About Nursing Homes
“I told my daughter not to be so gloomy-doomy all the time. I’ll be all right.” — A recently-placed 89-year old woman
I laugh with the residents all the time. We laugh at their jokes and we laugh at the crazy things that happen in life and in a nursing home. Once I was working with Mary, a genteel woman who’d had a series of roommates, each with their own peculiarities. Her first roommate was a 100-year old lady with the mouth of a truck driver, then the promised quiet new roommate had a husband in attendance almost 24/7 whether or not his wife was in the room, and finally she had a lady who couldn’t hear a thing. Over the months, her tales took on a Candide-like quality. When she told me she’d been roused from sleep when her latest roommate had rolled her wheelchair toward the bathroom close to the foot of Mary’s bed, put her hand to the new hearing aid in her ear, and said loudly, “Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3, 4,” I burst out laughing, and Mary did too. “This would be great material for a stand-up comic,” I told her, “only it would have to be a nursing home resident, preferably in a wheelchair, so it would be a sit-down comic.” I’m still waiting for a resident with enough chutzpah to make the rounds of the nursing home entertainment circuit.
There are lots of opportunities for fun in a nursing home, from the formal activities scheduled by the recreation department, to sharing a laugh with some friends on the floor, to going out on a day pass with family.
Once one of my coworkers was a therapeutic recreation director who was in a wheelchair himself. He took the residents watertubing. Yes, watertubing. The adventurers transferred from their wheelchairs to a seat on top of a large rubber tube. One end of a rope was attached to the tube, and the other end was attached to a boat, which took off with the floating resident flying along behind it. I have never seen a more revved up group of residents returning from a trip.
Not too long ago, I learned of a company, Draisin, that makes tandem bicycles for people in wheelchairs. I showed the photo of one of the bikes to some residents, and almost half of my small sample (N=11) said they’d be willing to go for a ride if they had the opportunity. Not quite watertubing, but still a lot of fun.
WalkerWonder is a company that makes decorative walker bags and accessories for people to enliven their medical walkers. [Update: WalkerWonder appears to have closed, but check out HDSMedallion‘s beautiful carry-all bags for mobility devices.]
A man in the building where I live exchanged his dull wheelchair wheels for ones that flash colorful lights as they spin. I think it will take only one person in each nursing home for that to catch on.
I’ll end this post with a true nursing home joke: One day after a psychotherapy session, I was trying to wheel one of my patients to her table in the dining room, but another resident, a gentleman in his 90s, was in the way.
“Excuse me,” I said to him, but realizing he couldn’t hear me, I leaned forward and asked in a very loud voice, “Which Ear Is Your Good Ear, Mr. Schwartz?”
He looked at me and said enthusiastically, “Any year I’m alive!”
Posted by Dr. El - April 13, 2009 - Business Strategies, Customer service, Resident education/Support groups, Something Good About Nursing Homes, Technology
At the Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation (CNR) in Brooklyn, New York, Recreation Director Brenda Torres, has established computer stations with Internet connection in all the “neighborhoods,” as they call their units, and has several groups currently being run by the residents themselves. I believe both of these steps are essential for the emotional health of residents, but as they are all too rare in nursing homes, I asked Brenda if she’d share with us how she managed these accomplishments. She graciously agreed, and what follows is my interview with one of the most talented, dynamic, and creative people in the field. You can visit her at technohealer.com for more information about her work.
How long have you been a recreation therapist and why did you choose to work in nursing homes? I’ve been in Recreation over 19 years. I was a psych major and had been gifted in the arts and when I started working in adult day care, I was able to use my art and my psych background, as well as an exercise component. I work with both young and old folks through the intergenerational program at CNR. I don’t focus on age, I focus on abilities.
You’re a big advocate of the use of technology with the residents. What do you see as the benefits and how did you go about getting the administrative support and financial backing for this? Walking through the nursing home halls, I noticed there were a lot of bed-bound residents, and I wished there was a way to get the activities to the residents because they couldn’t get out to them. I had a vision of having a mobile computer unit, so I started Googling it. At the time, they only had a unit that was used for hospital paperwork, so I started to research adaptive devices. At about this time, you and I started talking about a particular young resident and how he would benefit from Internet access. Using your testimony about the need, and other paperwork such as photos of the computer unit and information about the cost, I put out a request for funding. Two and a half years later, the funding came through the CNR community advisory board, which had collected the money through community fundraisers. Now CNR has a mobile unit, which we call R2D2, that brings games and activities as well as Internet access to bed-bound residents, in addition to multiple computer stations throughout the nursing home.
Some of your residents run their own groups. Do you think this has been beneficial for the residents and group leaders? Currently I have a poetry group, a bible group, a collage art group, and a crochet group run by the residents. The President of the Resident Council is in charge of games. Another resident is in charge of R2D2’s “wife” Techno, whom we were able to purchase through additional funding, and other residents come to her to gain use of it. One of the main benefits of having the residents run their own groups is empowerment. It gives them self-worth, a sense of being part of a community, and it gives them purpose. Being empowered prolongs their life and makes them feel needed. Traditionally in a nursing home, people tend to feel like they don’t have a life, that they’re just there until the end, but it’s not true. These are individuals who are survivors, they planted the soil for the new leaders. If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t have Obama. They are the blueprints to our society.
How would you suggest a resident who wanted to start a group within their facility go about doing this? [I thought the residents were coming to Brenda to ask if they could run a group, but I learned it was Brenda who was approaching and encouraging the residents.] Before you start a group, look at the needs and skills of the residents and assess the skills of the potential leader. The challenge is how to address a possible leader. I share with them the notion that leisure should not be work, it should be a fulfillment of purpose. It can take time to nurture a potential leader. Display their gifts, show them they still have the ability, invite them to teach others. Help them to visually see the group. We have to take away the barriers, using visual guided imagery. It can be a process taking up to a year, highlighting abilities, and providing reassurance.
What kind of practical support do you offer them in terms of set-up, supplies, etc? We do help with supplies and bringing the residents to the group. A staff member stays with the group as needed, puts up fliers for recruitment, reminders of the group, etc. It can start out at 100% support and eventually over time it moves to 30% support.
Are there any changes you would like to see in long term care in general, from your perspective as a recreation therapist? Yes, many. There has to be change in all long term, because life is changing. The changes have to match our lives, like technology and aging baby boomers. We have to make society paint a picture of long term care in the future, because then it will be more acceptable to be in a nursing home and they will be ready for people like you and me. All the work I am doing is part of building my own home for the future.
In addition to meeting the needs of residents, enhancing community relations, and increasing the visibility of and referrals to the nursing home, Volunteer Coordinators provide a huge bang for the buck. 
