Recharging Retirees in Retirement Communities

One of the common problems with being an activities director in a retirement community is the lack of storage for all of our goodies! I am lucky in the fact that I do have a large closet that I keep my theme party, special events, and holiday decorations (besides Christmas). Christmas is in another separate storage area. If you do not have a storage area, maybe now, with the housing market being slow, is a good time to discuss this with your administrator. Once you have a storage area, what is the best way to make the most out of it? Here area a few pointers that I use:      Buy clear plastic bins that are large enough to hold a specific subject's items. I try to pick up one or two when I find them on sale. Keep in mind the largest item and buy accordingly. You may also find that when residents leave their home that there are storage pieces that you may be able to use Use clean and dry boxes from your kitchen and housekeeping departments Label the box well.  I use a si

I saw this link for an article regarding the job title and perception of activities directors in long term care on the UK Geractive Facebook page . The article is titled  Let's Change 'Activity Director' to 'Chief Experience Officer' and although it was written almost a year ago, still holds a lot of truth and value. The article is from McKnight's which is a long-term care and assisted living newspaper. After reading the article, take the poll at the top of my blog and let everyone know what real activities directors think about it. Then, check back and see how your opinion compared to others who respond by clicking the link that says poll results at the bottom of the poll! What title should be given to activities directors? Public Opinion Poll Results

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and at my retirement community we as staff and residents walk in the local Susan G Komen "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer" Walk. It has become an annual event that is spearheaded by our Fitness Director and raises money for this worthy cause. It also shows the community at large that the residents and staff within the retirement community where we work and live cares! I was searching the web to find some other ideas that would help raise awareness and funds for this cause. If you go on-line, there are a lot of ideas. Some bigger, some smaller. Some are practical for our population and some are not. You can get lost in reading them all. It is fantastic that they are so available. Below are a few thoughts that I believe are the best choices for you, as activities director to review and include on your calendar for October.  Have a Doctor or Nurse come in and give your female residents free breast exams and show th

Residents as stars of the show, great food in a country club environment makes for a wonderful afternoon in my retirement community. Once a year, I host a fashion show in my auditorium. It is a "free" program to put together and the interest to attend is always high. Here is my action plan for success. 6 - 8 weeks ahead: Contact a local boutique and ask if they will host a fashion show at your community. Models provided by the store or by the community? If they are to be residents, how many and what sizes? Determine if  model's fittings will take place at the store in advance or in the community the day of the show. Will resident models get any discount the day of the show? What kind of microphone is best for the Master of Ceremonies providing the show? Podium or lectern ? Sale of clothes after the show and the requirements for that? Lunch before, during or after the style show? When will the staff from the boutique arrive on show day? When should the m

I love when a resident comes to me and says that they want to provide a program to those they live within our retirement community. The positives usually outweigh the negatives in these kind of programs. I have residents in my CCRC who have presented the following: ·          "Getting to Know" you shows with fellow residents. Here they interview a resident and develop a program to showcase their story so that it fits into an one hour format on our stage ·          Teach backgammon , Bunco , etc and then continue to meet on a regular basis ·          Recognize that it is a special day or month in the year and host a program to recognize it. For example, September was National Sewing Month, and there was a gathering to discuss the resident's past and present successes and also determine if there is an interest for future gatherings. ·          Host a poetry reading program that features a resident presenting his or her favorites ·          Arts and Cr

A new university football stadium opened recently and it is about 15 minutes from my retirement community. I've taken my residents to college basketball games and to professional baseball games in the past, and I know there is an interest for such outings with my sports minded residents. I contacted the group representative at the university and selected out tickets based upon a few important facts; that the bus drop off location should be close to our seats and that there would be limited steps to our seats.  I explained that this was a group of senior adults and that it was very important for their safety and piece of mind. The rep seemed to understand and our transaction was completed. What follows are the details of a stressful outing and the lessons that I learned. When I got to the stadium, I told the driver to go to Gate 5 as I was instructed. When we got there, the staff told us that we needed to go to Gate 6 instead. Right away, I started worrying if it was go