Hi - I work for the QIO in Nebraska and the nursing homes we support are going to have a conference call in February. They would like to discuss innovative ways to involve everyone in the home in providing meaningful activities for the elders. I am looking for innovative ideas that can be shared with the homes and/or nursing homes that would be willing to participate in the call and share their stories. Any takers?

Denise Hyde

Hey Denise!
I know I'm a little late for the Feb conference thing, but I would like to offer a few odds and ends for whenever

I was out of town on Friday. On Monday there was a set of pics from an impromptu activity. Staff asked elders to pick something in their room that they wouldn't mind showing to everyone. They put up a display in the living room. Everyone passing by stopped to look and reminisce. The elder's names were on their treasures. I was excited to see that something had been spur of the moment, not on the calendar, and just for the fun of it. I think a big part of this is that our carepartners now know that they have permission, that they are encouraged to try new things and that they are excited to make the difference in elders' lives.

One Eden home in Iowa, Manilla Manor, has beacon of light projects. Every staff person makes a scrapbook page of how they spent time with an elder.

One big road block is "professional distance." PD is a sad commentary on our institutional model nursing homes. If we could eliminate PD, we could truly find what is meaningful to each elder.

Talk to ya later, Denise
Amy Vandiver