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Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professionals,
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is an article
that should interest you
by Sarah Matthews
Many people think a nursing home is a nasty, soul-less place where residents either lie in bed or sit endlessly in a rocking chair, waiting out their days until the inevitable happens. The reality – at least in a good nursing home – is far from that. Many people enter a nursing facility when they have lots of life in them yet, and look forward to years of fun and companionship, with daily activities to keep both their bodies and brains active
In fact, studies have shown that regular stimulating activities help half a decline in depression among nursing home residents, staving off dementia and keeping their spirits as well as their bodies alive. Activities are vital to keeping up residents’ mental and physical wellbeing, and even staff and visiting family and friends can take part – willingly – in the activities a good nursing home provides.
If you are looking to find a nursing home for a loved one who’s still capable of loving life, it’s important that you discover what types of activities are on offer – and how often they are available. In fact, nursing homes that take Medicare or Medicaid patients have to have a designated activities director to get the proper funding. But how well they carry out their job is something you will have to assess yourself…
“I think the residents I talk to who tell me there is nothing for them to do but sleep, eat and read the paper are looking for purpose to get up every morning,” writes Vicki30CNA on the allnurses.com website. “They do not look forward to the next day as they all run together. And our residents that are not as able get little to no stimulation besides toileting and shower. A few fold bibs every AM and see it as their ‘job’, but that job takes them a half hour. Then what, they tell me. I hate to see their last years months days so empty and without purpose. “
If you want to avoid this from happening to someone you love, read on. A wide variety of activities should be on offer at every nursing home, so make sure this is the case when considering a nursing home. Some residents may enjoy going out for lunch several times a week, shopping or visiting the local art gallery or cinema. Others will prefer on-site activities that stimulate their hearts and minds.
It might be a good idea to have a chat with the nursing home activities director to see what’s available. Here is just a handful of activities that a good nursing home should willingly provide…
Self-Starting Activities
Great as they require little preparation and can be planned by the residents themselves. They include:
Gardening. Depending on residents’ scope of mobility and interest, gardening can be as rigorous or as gentle as they want it to be. If there is a real garden that’s fantastic, if not then hanging baskets, small pots of herbs and indoor cactus or orchid collections can still keep the interest going.
Arts and crafts. Even older residents enjoy making something – especially when they feel it’s going to a good cause. Knitting blankets, making baby clothes or entering art or photographic contests can keep people busy and help them make a contribution to society at the same time.
Games. You might think bingo is the most popular nursing home game – and you’re right. But there’s more to competitive games than just bingo. How about bridge, mah-jong, canasta or chess – the sky’s the limit. One-on-one games are great for encouraging closer relationships among residents, and group games are also good for fostering a sense of community.
Musical-based activities. Don’t limit the fun to sing-alongs – you may even have professional musicians among the residents, or you may discover some hidden talents…
Volunteer-led Activities
Nail care, Bible study, hair salon day – all you need is a volunteer with a skill – and the time to make a difference in someone’s life…
School groups. It may sound cliched, but young people have a lot to learn from oldsters. This can take the form of Granny teaching little Albertine to knit, or visiting a school once a week and reading to the little ones. Many schools, in fact, encourage people from the outside – assuming they have been police-checked – to help kids who need a little bit extra with one-to-one reading or math exercises.
Local community groups. People who have a special talent often enjoy visiting nursing homes on a regular basis and sharing their skills. This can be giving residents massages or reflexology sessions, teaching them a special aspect about gardening, or giving a talk about growing orchids.
Scout groups. Often, scout troops visit nursing homes – gathering together to do something fun such as bake chocolate-chop cookies or build a birdhouse. The two groups can learn from each other and make use of each other’s skills and talents.
Local charities. People from charities often give their time to older people, whether that means preparing outings or having a Pet Therapy day when the local vet or employees from the animal shelter bring animals to visit.
Nursing Home-Led Activities
Themed events, such as birthdays or religious celebrations. Some creative residents get together with staff to plan events such as Hawaiian nights, Chinese New Year celebrations or Halloween or Thanksgiving festivities. Friends and family can be invited to join in – perhaps even residents of neighboring nursing homes as well.
Outdoor activities such as barbecues, picnics or a stroll through a park or garden center. In some cases volunteers may be called on to help residents with mobility issues.
A bit of culture. Going to the theatre, opera, museum or cinema can take some planning, but its worth it. Again, volunteer helpers and drivers may be necessary.
Alternative therapies. Everyone can benefit – as long as they’re not too invasive. Massage, yoga or Tai Chi can help residents have fun, get fit and relax.
Keeping people as happy and healthy as possible for as long as possible. both physically and mentally, should be the goal of every nursing home. Activities should be varied and interesting, suited to the different abilities, needs and interests of the residents. They should be not only fun but worthwhile, enabling residents to form new relationships, develop new skills, and keep up their fitness levels.
“We have a ’senior prom’ in May, where the local single Marines escort our residents (wheelchairs and all) for dancing and food, writes CoachCathy on the allnurses.com site. “We have gowns and suits donated by the local thrift stores. Local hair parlors come and do the hair and nails. Everyone has a blast.
“And we had a Winter wonderland theme last December – we made snowmen with diaper boxes painted white – and had a snowman decorating contest. The residents had an indoor snowball fight (with cotton balls). It was so much fun!”
Activities directors and other healthcare professionals here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professionals.Benevolant Society
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two
Follow alzheimersideas on twitter
Marguerite Manteau-Rao
The journey of dementia is never easy, and it can be made many times worse if family members do not have the internal tools to take care of themselves and their loved ones. Here, based on years of experience in successfully navigating the dementia care landscape, are 13 tips that may save you a lot of grief as a care partner (caregiver) of someone with dementia.
1. Start your day with a few minutes of sitting mindfulness practice, and end the same way.
Mindfulness practice, even for a few minutes a day, can reduce stress. It is also a good way to start your day from a calm, centered place, which is what your loved one needs most from you. If you're not sure how to practice, simply find a quiet place, close your eyes, sit in an alert yet relaxed posture, take a few minutes to check in with yourself and then turn your attention to your breath. Let your body breathe, and simply watch the in and out flow of your breath. You will notice thoughts and sounds coming and going. That is a normal part of the experience. When that happens, simply return to observing the breath. Sit like this for a few minutes.
2. Incorporate mindfulness into your routines: walking, doing chores, caring for loved one, etc.
The same way you were observing your breath while sitting, you can also pay attention to the sensations of your feet on the ground while walking. You can practice while walking alone or with your loved one -- the slower the better. While washing your hands, you can become aware of the sensations of the water running over your hands. While assisting your loved one with dinner, you can focus on the experience of filling up the spoon, bringing it to the person's mouth and their experience of eating. Remember, it is about being present for the experience in the moment, all of it and regardless of what it is. You may do this as often as you want throughout the day.
3. Practice recognizing and being with your emotions, including difficult ones.
When caring for someone with dementia, you are bound to experience many -- and sometimes difficult -- emotions: grief, anger, boredom, tiredness, fear, anxiety, frustration. A very powerful and simple practice is to simply acknowledge the emotion and its physical manifestations in your body. Where am I feeling it? How does it feel? What are the sensations? Also, recognize whether it is pleasant or unpleasant and feel the whole extent of the pleasantness or the unpleasantness. And when you need a break, focus your attention on the breath and watch it come and go. Lastly, identify the thoughts that come with the emotion and see where you are getting caught. Are there changes you can make in the outside world, or do you need to change your attitude?
4. Practice loving kindness for yourself, and also for your loved one.
When the fear or the anger get to be too much, mitigate with some kind energy of your own. Think about someone, something or a place that is very dear to you. Feel the love and kindness emanating from your heart and send it to yourself. While you may not "believe" in it at first, trust that it will make its way through to you eventually. You are working on rewiring your brain, and it takes time! Quietly say something like this to yourself: "May I be at peace, may I be at ease," and repeat a few times, wishing you well. You may then send that same kind energy to your loved one, this time repeating the words, "May you be at peace, may you be at ease," wishing him or her well. This is a simple yet very powerful practice if you do it often.
5. Share your mindfulness practice with at least one other care partner.
When led into a sitting mindfulness practice for the first time, caregivers almost always report feeling incredibly at peace and say they wish they could start their days in that way. Then comes the question of: Why not? That's the thing about mindfulness -- simple in principle, yet very difficult to practice and sustain on one's own. Unless you find at least one other person to practice with or who encourages you to practice every day, chances are you will not keep up with it. It could be another family member, the paid caregiver who is helping you or people in your local caregivers support group.
Activities directors and other healthcare professionals here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals.Benevolant Society
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here is a way for nurses administrators, social workers and other health care professionals to get an easyceu or two
Follow alzheimersideas on twitter
Marguerite Manteau-Rao
6. Put your emotions out, either in writing, collages or other expressive art forms.When emotions run strong, and you don't know what to do anymore, one practice is to put your emotions out through simple, expressive art techniques. No need for fancy supplies. You can journal, you can write poetry. You can do self-collages, tearing images that grab you in old magazines and placing them on a sheet of paper, without giving too much thought to it. You are turning off your rational brain and letting your heart speak through words or found images. The point is not to be a poet or an artist -- it is about you literally "expressing" what is inside of you.
7. Share your joys and struggles with other care partners like you.
There are plenty of support groups out there, where you can find emotional relief in the telling of your story and the sharing of your joys and your struggles. You need to guard against the temptation of isolation, however. As a family caregiver, you are at high risk of depression and consequently are more likely to be tempted into retreating and not reaching out to others for emotional support. A good rule of thumb is this: The less you want to socialize, the more you need it for your own sanity and also the well-being of your loved one.
8. Get others to help you.
If it takes a village to raise as child, it takes a whole care team to provide good care to a loved one with dementia. It is not humanly possible for a single person to do this, particularly as the years unfold and your loved one requires more and more assistance cognitively, emotionally and physically. If you are someone who has always prided herself in being self-sufficient, you will have to shift your attitude. Getting the help you and your loved one need is a sign of psychological strength. There are many who are there to help you: geriatricians, neurologists, geriatric care managers, nurses, home health agencies, other family members, physical therapists, psychotherapists, financial planners, volunteers, etc.
9. Get enough sleep, eat well and exercise.
As important as your emotional health is keeping your body strong and healthy. With the stress from dementia caregiving, one may be tempted to eat not enough or too much, or stop exercising altogether. Worries about your loved one wandering or accumulated nervous fatigue from a long day of care may dampen one's ability to sleep. Associated with these lifestyle changes are recent statistics from the Alzheimer's Association showing that caregivers are at a substantial increased risk for hypertension and cardiovascular disease. You need to remember that your physical health comes first. Make it a point of having only healthy foods in the home and of walking as much as possible.
10. Validate the person's reality.
The person's experience of the world and their relation to it has changed, and there is nothing he or she can do about it. You, on the other hand, have it in you to make some adjustments. Not doing so will only cause more suffering for your loved one and more trouble for you, since your loved one will have to act out his or her suffering in one way or another. Yes, you may be attached to the idea of your loved one as your husband, but if he insists on calling you his daughter, go with the flow and remember that for him, you have fallen into the more general "love" category. The fine distinctions we usually make between various roles no longer apply.
11. Still see the person as a whole person, and behave accordingly.
Beware of falling into the trap of positioning the person as incompetent, as a child or someone who is no longer there. Holding these ideas will act as a self-fulfilling prophecy and influence your behavior in such a way as to cause the person to behave more and more as if there is no one there. Rather, operate from the premise that the person is still very much there, no matter what it may look like from the outside. Do not expect anything and welcome the surprises when they come, as they often times do with persons with dementia. A smile, a word, a sentence, singing an old song, dancing -- you never know.
12. Meet the person's five universal emotional needs.
Regardless of their cognitive, emotional, physical state, human beings all have five universal emotional needs: 1.) to be needed and useful, 2.) to have the opportunity to care, 3.) to love and be loved, 4.) to have self-esteem boosted, 5.) to have the power to choose. When caring for your loved one, make sure that each of these needs is being met. Failure to do so will negatively impact his or her well-being and will lead to either shutting down or agitation. For someone who no longer speaks or moves, honoring that person's need to be needed may mean telling them how sitting next to them brings you a sense of peace.
13. View the person's difficult behaviors as expressions of unmet needs.
Adopt the point of view that any behaviors, particularly difficult ones, are the person's attempt to communicate distress, using the limited means of communication at their disposal. They are not being difficult, they are simply telling you that something needs to be attended to urgently. Too much noise or not enough, a brief that needs to be changed, being thirsty, not being "seen" for the person they are, pain somewhere in the body, temperature that's too hot or too cold, a sense of personal space that's being invaded, words that don't come out as intended ... so many possible reasons to get upset that may not be obvious to you. You need to become a detective and figure things out. But before you do, take your loved one's distress seriously, not personally.
And remember, this is not just for you alone to practice. Instead, get the whole care team to join you, and together become more mindful and understanding. It will be good for you, and it will be good for your loved one.
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