Diane

State Inspections: What Volunteers Need To Know

December 6, 2017 by Diane Leave a Comment

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nursing home surveys

I clearly remember my introduction to the state nursing home survey (inspection) back when I was a brand new nursing assistant:

Panicked whispers of “surveyors just walked in” spreading through the building like wildfire.
Poker-faced surveyors lurking in the hallways and writing mysterious notes on their clipboards.
Deer-in-the-headlights expressions on the faces of staff corned by surveyors and peppered with questions.
Nursing assistants scattering into residents’ rooms, hoping they wouldn’t be one of the unfortunate souls selected to be watched while bathing a resident.
Managers praying that they would be far, far away on vacation during the week the surveyors appeared.

Understanding The Dying Process

December 3, 2017 by Diane Leave a Comment

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understanding the dying process

Every year, several of our long-term residents pass away over the holidays. Have you noticed this happening at your nursing home, too? I wondered why so many elderly people die during the Christmas season, so I did a bit of research.

Several studies indicate that the most common time for adults to die of natural causes is over the 2 weeks surrounding Christmas and New Year’s Day. A few theories exist as to the reason, but nobody knows for sure why this happens.

As a volunteer, you may be called upon to spend time with a resident who is in the dying process. If you’ve never before seen a person who is dying, the symptoms can be unsettling. You’ll provide better support for the resident when you understand what’s happening during these normal end-of-life changes.

How To Raise Money By Wrapping Gifts

November 30, 2017 by Diane 2 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links, and I will be compensated (at no extra cost to you) when you make a purchase by clicking on my links.

wrapping gifts as a fundraiser I hope you had an opportunity to read my first two articles about fundraising over the holidays. In case you missed them, check out these links for information about singing Christmas cards and a Christmas cookie sale.

My third and final suggestion involves wrapping holiday gifts for a fee. Many people are so busy at this time of year that they’ll gladly pay someone to take this task off their hands.

Here’s how to raise money by wrapping gifts:

How To Host A Fun Christmas Cookie Sale

November 27, 2017 by Diane Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links, and I will be compensated (at no extra cost to you) when you make a purchase by clicking on my links.

Christmas cookie fundraiser

The holiday season brings lots of opportunities to raise money for special projects while having fun at the same time. Today I’ll tell you about a terrific way to host a Christmas cookie sale. We’ve done this several times at our nursing home. There’s usually a long line of people waiting for the doors to open to get the best choice of cookies!

Here’s how it’s done:

Recruit volunteers to bake and donate a few dozen of their favorite Christmas cookies. It’s also fun to get together at someone’s house for a baking party.

It’s Okay To Put Yourself First

November 23, 2017 by Diane Leave a Comment

This post contains affiliate links, and I will be compensated (at no extra cost to you) when you make a purchase by clicking on my links.

Earlier this month, I read an article by one of my favorite nurse bloggers, Elizabeth Scala. (You can find her at Nursing From Within.) She talked about how nursing school teaches us to put everybody else’s needs ahead of our own, and we carry this attitude into our nursing careers. Elizabeth stressed the importance of taking care of ourselves first. As she stated in her article, “Put yourself first and you will be able to give to others in a much bigger way.”

This struck a chord with me because I admit that I haven’t been taking very good care of myself over the past several months. There’s no one particular reason; I’ve simply been busy with other things. Taking care of myself hasn’t been a priority.

Diane

This post may contain affiliate links, and I will be compensated (at no extra cost to you) when you make a purchase by clicking on my links.

This post may contain affiliate links, and I will be compensated (at no extra cost to you) when you make a purchase by clicking on my links.

This post may contain affiliate links, and I will be compensated (at no extra cost to you) when you make a purchase by clicking on my links.

Here’s how to raise money by wrapping gifts:

This post may contain affiliate links, and I will be compensated (at no extra cost to you) when you make a purchase by clicking on my links.

Here’s how it’s done:

This post contains affiliate links, and I will be compensated (at no extra cost to you) when you make a purchase by clicking on my links.

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