Intercom Bingo

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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

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Intercom Bingo
submitted by Penkay

Intercom Bingo cards are sold for $1.00 each through the activity department. Residents, Staff & Family Members may purchase as many as they desire. (The activity staff may not purchase any)

Each bingo sheet has a number on it. When someone purchases a bingo sheet/card write that number and the name of person who is buying the card on a sheet of paper. This paper is kept in the activity office. (This will help in case reference is needed for any reason, lost, misplaced cards & it helps keep track of the number of cards sold).

Intercom Bingo is played Monday through Friday. Bingo numbers are called one a day. Mon - Fri. Example: Monday I announce B10 Tuesday it maybe O63, Wed I19 etc.. The game can on for 2 or 3 weeks sometimes only a 1 week & a day or 2.

At the end of your morning announcements (which includes the day, date & year) announce the intercom bingo number. You get the intercom bingo number by using one of the large print calling cards. The number is then posted on a bulletin board. These numbers stay up on the board until the end of the game.

When you have a winner, verfiy the card against the numbers on the bulletin board, then announce over the PA System that you we have a intercom bingo winner. Write the winners name on the winning card & post it on the bulletin board. I do not give the winner the money until 2 days later. The reason for the 2 day wait is in case there is a second winner, who may be off, works a later shift or for whatever reason is out of the facilty for a couple of days.

The money you collected for the cards is divided between the winner & the Resident Council funds. (The Resident Council fund is money being raised for a large priced item they have voted on to purchase for the facility/activties like a Snow Cone Machine) Example of how the money is split: Total number of cards sold will be the dollar amount collected $40.00 the winner gets $20 & the resident council funds get $20. In the case of 2 winners the pot is split by 3.

I have found residents & staff listen to the morning annoucements much closer by doing this activity. You will see residents that normally don't interact with others or leave their room will come to the bulletin board to check the numbers called against their cards & will often stay out for a while.

How to Improve the Care in Facilities for Alzheimer's

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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

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read all of....How to Improve the Care in Facilities for Alzheimer's

The National Association of Activity Professionals

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The National Association of Activity Professionals (NAAP) was founded in 1982, and is the only national organization that exclusively represents Activity Professionals working primarily in geriatric settings. NAAP provides opportunities for professional development and personal growth through national and regional conferences that offer a variety of topics and numerous hours of education. NAAP has established partnerships with allied organizations, governing bodies, consumer groups, regulatory agencies, and provider groups. They continuously work toward uniform Standards of Practice for all Activity Professionals working with elders. For more information, contact the NAAP Office at (865) 429-0717, e-mail thenaap@aol.com, or visit www.thenaap.com.

Is your activity program ready for survey? (part 2)

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 Thanksgiving activity

Diane Mackbee

* Whether there is observation or documentation of specialized programs for bed- or room-bound residents. You must provide for all residents at your facility and not just those who can actually make it to the activity room. Surveyors are focusing more and more on room-bound residents and what you are doing for them. Are you providing sensory enhancement and stimulation? Music and relaxation? Mentally stimulating activities, such as word puzzles, cards, books on tape, videos? How about independent crafts? Pet therapy? Chaplain visits?

* Whether facility staff invites and helps residents to the activities. All staff should constantly encourage, invite, and escort residents who are interested to the activities (and, thanks to the new Interpretive Guidelines, it is the facility's responsibility to escort people to activities and not just activity staff). Those who can come on their own are becoming fewer in number, and those who need encouragement and assistance are on the rise. Of course, people have the right to refuse, but be sure that they are truly refusing.

* Whether staffing levels are sufficient to meet resident needs and interests. The activity department must be staffed appropriately and with enough manpower to provide the types of programs residents need and deserve. You should also develop a volunteer program to supplement the activity staff.

* Whether activity staff are the only ones involved in activities. It is up to every staff member and not just the activity department to help see that residents are getting the assistance they need to become involved in the activity program. An encouraging word from a housekeeper, CNA, or administrator is sometimes all they need to become involved

What are you doing to make sure that your activity program is the best it can be? Are you an advocate for your residents and does your administrator back what you do? If not, you need to sit down and re-evaluate your program and become a stronger voice for each person in your facility. The Activity Professional should be treated as a true professional with the expertise to manage an activity department that meets every resident's needs.

Diane Mockbee, BS, ADC, is certified by the National Certification Council of Activity Professionals and is President of the National Association of Activity Professionals (NAAP), with 1,400 members, as well as a member of the Arizona Association of Activity Professionals. She is employed by Palm Valley Rehabilitation and Care Center in Goodyear, Arizona and is the Activity Consultant at Ridgecrest Healthcare Center in Phoenix. For more information, phone (623) 536-9911, ext. 212. To send your comments to the author and editors, e-mail mockbee0108@nursinghomesmagazine.com.

.Is your activity program ready for survey?

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 Thanksgiving activity

Diane Mockbee

Surveyors are looking more closely at activity programs to ensure that they are adequately serving the needs of the nursing facility residents. Since the new guidelines for F-tags 248 and 249 were implemented on June 1, 2006, many facilities and activity departments are being hit hard because of nonqualified directors running programs and poor staffing ratios to handle the ever-changing needs of today's residents.

We are all facing many challenges and changes, including tougher and more punitive state and federal surveys. The residents we serve are making greater demands due to the huge array of needs each one has, compared to 10 years ago. The baby boomers are arriving and they want more, need more, and expect more. Families, too, are more informed when they are looking for placement for their family members

The nursing facilities that will continue to flourish are the ones that strive to meet all of their residents' needs. This means reaching beyond the basics. It's more than feeding, dispensing medications, and providing good activities of daily living (ADL) care. It means tackling the problems of socialization, spiritual life, and friendships, and that we continue to provide for each resident emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and physically.

During new employee orientation at my facility, Palm Valley Rehabilitation and Care Center in Goodyear, Arizona, I always share the importance of each department working together. I also discuss the fact that OBRA has ensured us recognition as a true profession and that we are vital to the ongoing existence of each resident because of the quality of life we bring them. Quality of care and quality of life should be looked upon as equals. If quality of care were to outweigh quality of life, you would have well-cared for residents, but depression, isolation, and behaviors would run rampant because they would feel that they have no real reason to live. Balancing the scale results in happy, well-adjusted people who receive good care and want to live life to its fullest.

Let's look at your program and the survey process. If you are just turning on the television, showing videos, and having bingo one night a week, your program will not meet your residents' needs, nor will the surveyors brush lightly past your programs. Why? If that is all you do or if you only offer two activities per day, the program does not constitute a satisfactory activity program.

Surveyors are looking at the activity program more and more, and they have certain "red flags." If they see happy, satisfied, and busy residents with lots going on, chances are they will leave you alone. If, however, there are long stretches of nothing going on and you and your staff are "out of sight," the surveyors will probably begin to dig and delve into your program, your space, your charting, and your paperwork. Some key areas of evaluation include:

* Whether the activity area is too small or too noisy. You need to make sure your areas are adequate in size to meet the needs and requirements of your population and that your activities are not constantly interrupted by out-side noise, incidents, or staff activity (running vacuums, shift change, etc.)

* Whether long periods of time go by with no activities scheduled. No one expects you to do activities 2 4/7, but each day's calendar should include a variety of activities that residents can choose from--and some should be available during the morning, afternoon, and evening time periods, seven days a week.

* Whether supplies are sufficient to meet residents' needs. Facilities should make sure that there is enough money in the activity budget to give the staff the tools they need to develop a creative and exciting program.

* Whether residents appear bored, sleep through activities, or do not attend. Activities should be designed to meet residents' interests and abilities. Often, facilities or staff blame low attendance on residents "not being interested," but this can't be used as an excuse anymore. If the residents are not interested, then the facility is not providing a program that meets their needs. If they are sleeping through the program, they are probably not stimulated adequately and are in the wrong activity.

* Whether activities actually insult the dignity or intelligence of residents. Activities should be designed to meet residents' interests and abilities. Often, residents can be found sitting around a television watching children's programming or kiddie videos--or worse, violent talk shows. Providers should be offering classic movies, the news, or other programming the residents would enjoy. However, watch what is shown on a dementia unit. Real news can be very disturbing to people with dementia, and videos and music are more likely to appeal to them.

* Whether the facility routinely cancels activities or does not follow its schedule. Not only must you create an exciting, interesting calendar, you must actually stick to it. While some circumstances are unavoidable, you should strive to follow the calendar. Just because you don't feel like doing something (e.g., bowling) doesn't mean your residents don't want to.

MEDPEDIA PROJECT EXPANDS PLATFORM TO INCLUDE Q&A, NEWS & ANALYSIS AND ALERTS (PART 2)

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 Thanksgiving activity

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MEDPEDIA PROJECT EXPANDS PLATFORM TO INCLUDE Q&A, NEWS & ANALYSIS AND ALERTS

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 Thanksgiving activity

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