I am curious if there are other Eden homes out there that have gone to the "I careplan"/resident centered careplans/or something similar? We are in the beginning stages of possibly switching to this kind of format. We have a few examples from some other homes that have switched to this format. I guess I'm looking for feed back from homes who have gone to something similar. Thanks!

Hello!

We are just at the beginning stages of I Care Plans as well. We started with Life Enhancement Care Plans and we will be branching out soon. Do you have the books "Changing the Culture of Care Planning" by Christine Krugh and Carmen Bowman or "Care Plans for Culture Change" by Newell, Rauscher and Virgil? They are great resources.

I have the elders or their family members help me write them. It's exciting to see the elders empowered to make decisions that we take for granted everyday. Best wishes on your journey!

Amy Vandiver
avandiver@grhs.net

Thanks for the response! We have the first book you referred to but not the second. I have read throught the first one and it was quite helpful. I have also visited with a few other homes and received some good resources. We have written a couple of "practice" narrative careplans that we plan to present to the surveyors. We are expecting the survey team in the next few weeks. We will have our current careplan and "practice careplan" side by side for them to work with and hopefully give us some feedback. Thanks again for the info...I'll have to look up the other book you referenced.

Hello,
Our Elders are in the process of adopting a cat for their facility.
Does anyone have a pet care plan that they find helpful?
Thanks, Leisa

Hi Leisa,

I've been putting together cat info for elder homes for a while. Here are few ideas and some links where you can find them. You many have to cut and paste the links. (By the way, I'm not affiliated with this company, just like their products.)

A self-cleaning litter box is more expensive initially but can save some headaches later about "whose job it is," since you don't have to empty it so often and there isn't much odor.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3261+1926+18190&pcatid=18190

Finding "cat furniture" that has as small a footprint as possible can be an issue. It's also important to avoid objects that could fall over or be tripped over. That's why I like the idea of a cat tree that is firmly secured both to the floor and the ceiling. This will give the cats their "own space." If the cats do spend significant time there, this will also cut down on cat hair on "people furniture."

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3261+10345+2889&pcatid=2889

There are benches designed to fit over litter boxes, hiding them entirely. This is esthetically better as well as a good safety precaution for confused residents.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3261+1926+14885&pcatid=14885

There are always one or two people who just don't like cats. Supplying them each with a small squirt bottle of water (can hang on a wheelchair or walker) will empower them to "protect" themselves if the cat gets too friendly. This is a common and non-harmful training method for cats. Of course this will only work if the folks aren't inclined to take pot-shots at the cat for no reason...

I'm always interested in anyone else's ideas for keeping pets in elder homes.

Good luck!
~ Linda Galvao

Thanks for your help Linda.
The spray bottles are a great idea.
Our two new cats have been well received.
Leisa