3 TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR NURSING HOME VISITS
Welcome to a new year of the “Nursing Home News”. Around this time when many people are making
New Year’s resolutions, we’d like to offer you a few New Year’s tips to improve
your nursing home visits:
- Set a schedule – Time management experts will tell you that if
you don’t pick a specific time to accomplish a task, it risks never
getting done. Such it will be if
you say to yourself, “I’ll try to go visit Betty when I have some free
time.” Instead, say “Every Monday after work, I’ll go right to the nursing
home for one hour before going home.”
If you only have time to go once a month, pick a day such as “The
first Tuesday of the month”. Write
it on your calendar.
- Try to be relaxed – Even if you can’t stay long, pull up a
chair and sit down. This is very
important because it establishes that you are a visitor, not just one of
the many people (doctors, nurses, aides) that pass through the room each
day. Try not to look at your watch
constantly. Speak a little slower,
and maybe a little louder. When
it’s time for you to go, there’s no need to apologize, just ask if you can
continue the conversation next time.
- Don’t ‘judge’ your visits – You don’t need to bring anything
with you. You don’t need to have
anything particularly inspiring to talk about. Just show up. Remember that there are no
“uncomfortable silences” at the nursing home. Many of the residents have no one to
talk to all day – so your mere presence makes a difference. If you find it difficult to sit in
silence, bring a game, or bring the newspaper and discuss the headlines.
NURSING HOME UPCOMING EVENTS
Friday, January 4th, 2:30PM – “Reaction Reading” -- This event will
be held at Park
Meadows and is led by board member Vi Asmuth. Residents will
be invited to participate in a program that consists of choral reading of
poetry. The group reacts with active
participation, knowledge, opinions, feelings, and imagination. You are
welcome to come out to participate.
Monday, January 14th, 2:30 – 4PM -- Casino Time! – A monthly event at Parklands Nursing and Rehab -- At 2:30 there will
be a bingo game. Once we are finished with Bingo, we really up the
stakes and move on to Blackjack! The residents will be playing for “Bingo
Bucks” and prizes.
Saturday, January 26th, 9AM – 12PM – Strategic Planning
Session – The Friends Across the Ages Board of Directors, along with other
interested volunteers and supporters, will be conducting the first of two
strategic planning sessions to help guide the future path of our
organization. The last time we did a
similar strategic planning was five years ago, and it was very productive. If you’d like to be involved, please reply to
this email and let us know! It will be
held at Barr Systems.
Thursday, January 31st, 3-4PM -- Birthday celebration – Help us wish a happy
birthday to all residents of Parklands Nursing and
Rehab with birthdays in January. Meet us in the dining room where we
will have singing and cake. Volunteers are needed to help gather the
residents together, serve the cake, sing, clean up, etc. Do you play an
instrument or have some other talent? We are always looking for new
entertainment for the party – let us know!
MORE
INFORMATION
Remember, be sure to check above to find out the nursing home at which an
event will be held. Directions to all the nursing homes can be found at:
http://www.acrosstheages.org/directions.asp
All events are open to everyone (children are welcome at most events, please
inquire). If you've never been to a nursing home before, feel free to reply to
this email and let the coordinators (Steve and Allison Blay) know what events
you'll be attending, so they will be looking for you. You can also call them at
381-1117.
