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The other day I stumbled upon a series of articles about Best Practices awards presented by the Alabama Nursing Home Association. It was fascinating to read about the creative programs nursing homes are developing to enrich the lives of their residents.
I chose a few of my favorite submissions from the past several years to share with you today. I’ll also include links to each nursing home’s website. This will enable you to contact them if you wish to learn more about their innovative programs.
Rooster Club
We all know it’s a challenge to find activities that are interesting and meaningful for men who live in our nursing homes. Generations of Red Bay took on this challenge by organizing a Rooster Club.
Each month, men living in the community come to the nursing home for a men’s breakfast. They serve the meal family-style on tables decorated in a rooster theme.
The Rooster club provides an opportunity for residents to socialize and keep up on the latest news. It also supports men in the community who once had family members at the nursing home. By getting together for breakfast once a month, they can stay in touch with friends at the nursing home.
We Can Do It
Hanceville Nursing and Rehab Center came up with their We Can Do It program to encourage individual residents to share special interests and talents with other residents. Staff gather supplies and set up the room, but otherwise, residents plan and lead these activities. Past resident-led activities have included photography, painting, jewelry-making, prayer, and cooking.
The We Can Do It program enables residents to experience more unique and meaningful activities. It also gives residents a sense of accomplishment and purpose.
Keeping Us Posted
When people enter a nursing home, they often lose touch with community activities important to them in the past. Andalusia Manor addressed this problem by creating Keeping Us Posted.
The program begins by sending letters to community organizations. They’re invited to come to the nursing home and provide special activities for the residents. For example, past offerings included a fried ice cream social, a Southern-style tea party, canvas painting, and BINGO.
Another aspect of Keeping Us Posted involves letting residents know about activities and services available in the local community. The nursing home can then help residents arrange to attend those activities.
Walk & Roll For A Cure
Each year, two friendly rivals in Bessemer, Alabama join together to honor the memory of a former activities director who died of breast cancer. Terrace Oaks and Oak Trace sponsor the Walk & Roll For A Cure to raise money for breast cancer research.
Residents, staff, and the entire community are invited to take part. In addition to participants walking the route, others “roll” the route in wheelchairs. The event also includes a cookout, visits from local celebrities, a DJ, and vendors who provide informational booths.
Flip This Room
When Thomasville Health Care & Rehab Center decided several of their resident rooms needed an update, they came up with a novel approach. Modeled after the hit TV show “Flip This House”, the nursing home created “Flip This Room”.
Teams comprising employees, family members, and vendors redecorated the rooms. A panel of community leaders judged each room and awarded prizes. As a result, participants agreed that the newly decorated rooms felt more homelike and inviting.
Several other states also honor nursing homes with Best Practices awards. If your facility received this honor, please let me know. I would love to highlight more of these unique programs in future months!
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