5-Alive Sensory Room – 2013
For our Best Practice, 5-ALIVE, we created a sensory room for our residents. Sensory stimulation has been shown to decrease agitation and restlessness in those with dementia, and is also beneficial to those residents suffering from boredom, depression and withdrawal by invigorating their senses. Sensory stimulation can be anything that stimulates any one or more of our five senses. Besides being a calm, yet fun and energizing room, there are also several other advantages we have seen from the development of our room. We feel as though this sensory room translates as improved quality of life for our residents.
Diabetic Delights
Our facility initiated the “Diabetic Delights” program which is a liberalized diabetic diet that enables our nurses to adjust the resident’s medications. In doing this, our residents are able to enjoy foods they like to eat.
Olive Oil Program
As people age, a common occurrence is thinning of the skin which causes an increase in skin tears and skin breakdown. This program is designed to improve skin suppleness. We first identify whether a resident is at risk, and then we start on the protocol. This protocol consists of making sure residents are well hydrated, ensure that lotion is routinely applied and some even take olive oil orally.
I Hope You Dance - 2010
Fitness, both mental and physical, often begins with the person’s state of mind. This statement motivated us to begin a fun and exciting journey into our Best Practice, “I Hope You Dance.” We decided to embark on a program of ballroom and wheelchair dancing. Besides being fun, there are also several positive health benefits of dancing. Providing benefits that are out of the ordinary always presents a challenge. At our facility we like to put the challenge to the test, and this unique dance program proved the amazing liveliness, capabilities and dedication of our remarkable residents and staff!
Weight Loss Protocol
Our goal for the weight loss protocol is for the resident to regain or revert to their baseline weight. This protocol consists of a basic plan of action that we start on our residents that are showing weight loss. Some of the action items are: dietary supplements and reinforcements, medications, lab works, therapy referrals and to monitor weights and meals.
Team Up for Quality
We feel it is extremely important for our staff to know our residents. Team Up for Quality is a program our facility implemented where the majority of employees take care of the same residents day after day. This has proven to not only be a benefit to our staff, but to our residents as well. Seeing the same faces day in and day out helps our residents to feel more at home and comfortable with the staff who are taking care of them.