More about National Activity Professional's week

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Your residents will love the Amazon Kindle Fire

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

The Dementia Caregiver's Little Book of Hope [Kindle Edition]

Don't Forget! National Activity Professionals Week. What are you doing?
2018 National Activity Professional Week

The National Association of Activity Professionals Celebrates

National Activity Professionals Week

January 21-27, 2018

The National Association of Activity Professionals

is proud to announce our theme:

People, Purpose, Passion

Activity professionals week: The importance of activities

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information


Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professionals,


Your residents will love the Amazon Kindle Fire




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

The Dementia Caregiver's Little Book of Hope [Kindle Edition]

NAAP


Why do we do the activities that we do? Is it just for fun? No, everything we do has a therapeutic purpose.
Did you know???? Games like horseshoes, floor basketball, ring toss, bowling, bean bag toss, etc. improve
eye-hand coordination, improve mobility, increase socialization, allow for competition, help control emotional
tensions by reducing stress, improve muscle tone, improve circulation, enhance leisure skills, improve gross
motor skills, etc.
Did you know???? Something as simple as a singalong or musical activity enhances memory recall, encourages
socialization, helps identify feelings such as warmth, happy, sad, relieves spiritual needs, relieves depression,
allows for expression and creativity, stimulates ears, vocal cords and facial muscles, etc.Did you know???? Crafts and art activities provide opportunities for self-expression and creativity, improve
coordination and flexibility, build confidence, enhance leisure skills, promote knowledge for new interests,
provide a sense of achievement, relieve tensions, improve fine motor skills, etc.
Did you know???? Activities such as trivia, spelling bees, reminiscent groups, Jeopardy, Family Feud,
hangman, etc. stimulates the intellect, improves memory recall, increases long term memory, invokes feelings
from the past, stimulates conversation, increases socialization, increases knowledge, improves self-esteem,
etc.
Did you know???? Entertainment activities provide auditory and visual sensory stimulation, help relieve
depression, promote socialization, help control emotional tensions, etc.
Did you know???? Bingo encourages socialization and interaction, increases concentration levels, increases
eye-hand coordination, allows for competition, etc.
Did you know???? Religious programs relieve spiritual needs, invoke feelings from the past, promote
community integration, elevate emotional well-being, reduce anxiety, provide for socialization, provide
opportunities for reminiscence, etc.
Therapeutic activities…the benefits are endless:
Heightens self-awareness, sharpens cognitive skills, reduces heart and lung risks, increases short and long
term memory, decreases confusion, improves skills for coping, reduces stress, enhances self-control,
promotes adjustment to disability, enhances communication skills, increases life and leisure satisfaction,
prevents secondary health problems, prevents decline in health status, reduces long term hospital stays,
increases physical conditioning, expands support networks, learns acceptable behaviors, enhances
independent living skills, increases self-reliance, improves cardiovascular functioning, maintains productivity,
increases strength and endurance, expands range of motion, enhances decision making skills, and the list goes
on!
National Activity Professionals Week is January 21-27, 2018

department's job to plan celebrations, but in this case the activity professionals are the honorees, and
someone else should plan the celebration.
NAP Week was created by the National Association of Activity Professionals (NAAP) to provide a format
for facilities to honor and recognize the dedicated activity professionals who contribute significantly to the
residents’ quality of life. As activity professionals, we should use this week to provide education to the
interdisciplinary team, volunteers, and families about the role we play in the residents’ lives. This can be
done through in-services, speaking to the Family Council, designing fun activities for the interdisciplinary
team to participate in, hosting an activity-based "fair" similar to a health fair, etc.
One way to promote cooperation among the interdisciplinary team is to take this opportunity to have the
activity professionals distribute Hershey's "hugs and kisses" to everyone assisting with the activity
program and/or helping the residents pursue their leisure interests. Have your staff keep track of everyone
receiving the "hugs and kisses" and then make certificates for each helper, acknowledging them as an
"official member" of the activity team. Distribute the certificates at the end of the week during a special
social honoring the activity professionals.
Be sure to make this week special for yourself and your staff. You deserve it!January is:
Celebration of Life Month: With the New Year comes a "clean slate" – a new beginning, a new life for all

Activity Director Certification Requirements

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities

Get your subscription to Activity Director Today's e magazine

eHow
Activity directors and their staff provide residents of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, adult daycare centers and alike with meaningful activities. Federal law mandates that directors must be certified. The National Council of Certified Activity Professionals (NCCAP) is recognized by Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as an organization that certifies activity professionals who work specifically with the elderly. NCCAP certification assures administrators of nursing homes and surveyors from CMS that a director has met the professional standards. There are several different ways to achieve certification.
Option 1
A bachelor's degree (must include English and other specific courses that are explained at the NCCAP website) is the educational criteria necessary for the option 1 track. In addition, you must have 4,000 hours of activity experience (may be as an assistant or provisional director) within the past five years. Besides this, you must have 30 hours of continuing education. The continuing education must include workshops, seminars, and in-services about human development, aging, spirituality, sociology, leadership, psychology leisure activities, computer use, regulations and a wide variety of other topics that relate to nursing homes, aging and activities. You must take the Modular Education Program for Activity Professionals (MEPAP).This can be done online or in person at a cost of about $1,200.
Option 2
To qualify as an ADC with the second option, you must...read all of Activity Director Certification Requirements

Happy Activity Professionals Week

Activities directors, caregivers, and healthcare professionals,here is some great information

Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,

Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be

Here are more interesting dementia brain boosting activities

Here is a dementia music activity

For the next week I am going to focus on activities.
First of all, it is National Activity Professionals Week.
Second activities improve the quality of life of those with Alzheimer’s disease, related dementias, those with physical disabilities, those with developmental disabilities, all those living in long term care and actually for anyone.

Here are

Top Ten Reasons For Residents to Attend Activities

click here to read what they are

Local activity director celebrates National Activity Professionals Week

Saturday, January 24, 2009
By Nancy Malcom - Nevada Daily Mail
The week was started by the The National Association of Activity Professionals, the only national group that represents activity professionals in geriatric settings exclusively.

The NAAP is recognized as the voice of the activity profession on national issues concerning long-term care facilities, retirement living, assisted living, adult day services, and senior citizen centers.

This week was created to give honor and recognition to those dedicated individuals who contribute so significantly to a resident's quality of life. Although many might think playing bingo, cards or chasing balloons all day seems more like play than work, any activity director would quickly disagree and explain that their real "job" is making the work seem like a game.

Activity directors have to offer activities that include physical exercise, mental stimulation and more than a few smiles, grins and belly laughs.
Click here to read more as wellas activity suggestions


For more dementia information,click here

For Alzheimer's and dementia activities, click here

National Activity Professionals Week

Alzheimer's Activities Expert

How did things go for you during National Activity Professionals Week?

Our residents really enjoyed the activities I planned
You can see them by clicking here

However the administrator and other managers were oblivious as to the significance of the week.

I guess sometimes Activities Directors and the Activities Department get ignored especially if you run a quality program that the Department of Public Health finds adequete or better

Anyway onto more activities for the end of January and February

For dementia information, click here

Activity’s call is one most extraordinary

Dementia Expert

More reasons why Activity Professionals and others providing ACTIVITIES are so important.

First we try to figure out
What it is a resident’s truly about-
Involving the body, the mind, and the soul
We fill the assessment, develop a goal
We look at the person
and not the dis-ease
We don’t want to label
we want to perceive
In the calm of the storm
one can usually see
what a person can manifest.........read the whole post

For Alzheimer's and dementia activities, click here

An Activity Poem

Dementia Expert

Activities Directors:

Here is a great poem about Activities.

Activity’s purpose is not to kill time,

but to make time live,

not to keep a person occupied,

but to keep him refreshed,

not to offer..... click here

For Alzheimer's and dementia activities, click here

Activities, Martin Luther King Day and Dementia

Dementia Expert

Even folks with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias will remember Martin Luther King Jr.

It is an excellent opportunity for you the caregiver, Activities Director, or other help care professional, to engage these dementia folks in a reminiscing activity about Martin Luther King Day and the importance of judging persons by their character.

Here is some great information
Celebrating Martin Luther King JR Day

Do not forget it is National Activity Professionals Week

For more Alzheimer's and dementia activities, click here

Happy Activity Professionals Week

Dementia Expert

For the next week I am going to focus on activities.
First of all, it is National Activity Professionals Week.
Second activities improve the quality of life of those with Alzheimer’s disease, related dementias, those with physical disabilities, those with developmental disabilities, all those living in long term care and actually for anyone.

Here are

Top Ten Reasons For Residents to Attend Activities

click here to read what they are

Do you need caregiver training?
then click here

For more activities ideas, click here

Are activities important for those with dementia?

Dementia Expert

Activities directors, other healthcare professionals and caregivers if you have been following this blog, you know that activities are extremely important for those with Alzheimer’s disease,related dementias, and all others residing at long term care facilities. In fact you know activities are important for all people in general when it comes to staving off memory loss and preventing us from getting Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. At least activities will delay the onset of these diseases and will slow down the progression of dementia.

Many experts say that.....read the whole post

For relavent Alzheimer's and dementia activities, click here