Helpful Tips

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. 

Recently, I was chatting with a woman who volunteers at a local nursing home. She expressed frustration and spoke of possibly checking out other facilities.

This woman explained that she’s eager to make a difference in the lives of the residents. But whenever she goes to the nursing home to volunteer at her assigned time, the staff rarely have anything for her to do.

This made me feel discouraged. You see, I’ve worked in a few different nursing homes during my career, and I know the needs are great. Moreover, volunteers can help meet so many of these needs—for both the residents and the staff.

[Read more…] about 50 Things To Do As A Nursing Home Volunteer

My posts 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. 

I’ll begin this article with a personal story.

Many years ago, at age 16, I started working at my very first job as a nursing assistant in a nursing home. During one particular evening shift, I was working with two other nursing assistants who were a few years older than me.

As I walked down the hallway, I saw them talking with a resident who was diagnosed with what they then called “senile dementia”. One caregiver pointed out that the resident’s bald head was covered with wrinkles.

They giggled and call him “Pruney Top”. The teasing continued for a few minutes even though the resident was becoming annoyed.

This incident still haunts me to this day. Why? Because it represents emotional abuse, and I did nothing to stop it.

[Read more…] about What To Do If You Suspect Abuse

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. 

 

At this time of year, food adds so much enjoyment to our holidays. I’m already dreaming of our traditional family Thanksgiving dinner: ham, mashed potatoes, corn, dinner rolls, pumpkin pie, and all the rest of the trimmings.

Because of this, it’s hard to see our memory care residents show little or no interest in food, especially over the holidays. Today I’ll share 8 tips to help you encourage your residents to eat.

• Provide a pleasant environment

As you prepare to begin a meal, stop for a moment and survey the atmosphere in the dining room. Remember that residents living with dementia may become easily distracted. Background noise such as TV, loud voices, inappropriate music, or noisy equipment quickly leads to poor food intake.

[Read more…] about 8 Tips To Encourage Residents To Eat

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. 

Several weeks ago I asked my newsletter subscribers for suggestions as to topics they would like to see covered on my blog. One reader requested more information on how to provide meaningful music activities for residents.

Unfortunately, music is not one of my strong points. So I was thrilled when JoAnn Jordan accepted my invitation to write a guest post. JoAnn is a board-certified music therapist. For 15 years she served as an activity director. She then formed Music Sparks, a business that has provided contract music therapy services for over 15 years.

JoAnn encourages others to create their own programs through presentations and a book. You can find her resources and blog posts on the MusicSparks website.

[Read more…] about 4 Questions To Ask Before You Share Your Music

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. 

Perhaps you forgot to pass along an important message. What if you messed up your schedule and missed an assignment. Maybe you accidentally dropped a possession belonging to a resident and broke it.

Everyone makes mistakes, including volunteers. Fortunately for us, our mistakes usually aren’t a matter of life and death. As volunteers, we probably won’t get fired.

Even so, our mistakes might cause inconvenience, financial loss, or hard feelings. So, what should you do if you make a mistake while volunteering at the nursing home?

[Read more…] about What To Do When You Make A Mistake