Freya

I work in a long-term care facility where we have a significant amount of young adults. I work on a unit where my youngest resident is 43 and my oldest is 107. In talking with some of them, I realized that they yearn for a connection with people their age. Does anyone have any suggestions on program ideas targeted specifically with them in mind? I want to start a group specifically for our younger residents so they can feel a connection with their peers.

We planned a Caribbean night for our residents out of demand. We asked the kitchen to provide us with the ingredients needed to prepare the meals and the recreation staff prepared the food for the residents. We prepared curry chicken, peas and rice, stew chicken, and cabbage and served a dessert. Let me just say, there was no food left for the staff to have dinner. We decorated the room with a tropical theme and played reggae and calypso music to set the mood of being on the islands. Our residents raved about it for months. They even went as far as to try and get the dishes we cooked on the regular menu rotation.

You can do a drumming circle with exercise balls, drumsticks, maracas, and tambourines. I would suggest some upbeat music that would get them moving and grooving. You can also checkout YouTube for inspiration I hope this works for you.

A new activity has been posted by a Golden Carers member: 80's Slang

A new activity has been posted by a Golden Carers member: Back to the 80's

Thank you guys for all the great suggestions. We actually started by using on of the activities posted on this website and did a staycation to Mexico. We decorated the facility lobby and units, created an informational board about Mexico, served Mexican cuisine for dinner, an art therapy group making corn husk wreaths and flowers, invited a Mariachi band in to perform for the residents and handed out fans and sombreros, and had Zumba party. This was such a big hit and our residents were extremely happy.

We're planning a staycation to Hawaii in the upcoming months and were looking for Hula dancers to perform for our residents. Would anyone living in New York or New Jersey have any recommendations?

I currently work in an LTC facility as an activities therapist and work on a unit of 42 residents ages ranging from 42-106 some with memory deficits. A lot of my residents prefer to participate in self-directed leisure pursuits as a result of the pandemic and social distancing. Any ideas on how I can reintroduce group programs to residents? Any program ideas or suggestions to try?

If you would like to save paper you could also look into activity pro an electronic program for activities professionals.

A new activity has been posted by a Golden Carers member: The Anger Game