An opinion piece on ideas for a “different type of assisted living facility” recently caught my eye. Besides getting an e-mail alert about it, a colleague posted the piece on my Facebook page, knowing that in my former life I served as an activities director. I had to check it out.
Jan Sykes submitted the piece to The Miami County Republic and shared her activity ideas for elderly men in assisted living facilities, which her father called “glorified prisons.” She begins with the questions:
“Why are the activity directors at assisted living centers often young women? How would they know what retired, outdoor-loving widowers enjoy doing?”
She has a point: I know a lot of activity directors who are young women. I was one of those young women when I graduated college. However, during my years on the senior living circuit, I certainly met my share of older women and occasionally young men serving in that role.
I think her next question is a bit unfair. I often asked the men what they would like to do to ensure that I had a well-rounded schedule. And there are probably many young women who have some good ideas based on the activities their grandfathers enjoyed.
I respect Ms. Sykes’ opinion and agree that the activities calendar for many senior living facilities are often lacking in meaningful programs or outings that appeal to outdoor-loving older men. And she provides excellent suggestions, like an outing to the shooting range or fishing at a nearby creek. Some of her suggestions are a bit extreme: she recommends providing space to rehabilitate animals or arranging visits to the local jail so the men can teach prisoners their former trades. Overall, she makes a powerful statement about the state of assisted living facilities and the need for purpose-filled activities therein, specifically for those men who have lost their wives:
“…we warehouse our elderly outdoor men, thinking a few trinkets and beads will amuse them. It is dignity robbing and demeaning. Stretching exercises at 10 a.m., bingo at 2 p.m.”
Again, I agree with Ms. Sykes on some level – I don’t know too many baby boomers who are looking forward to long days beginning with 10 a.m. stretching exercises and ending with 2 p.m. bingo. I applaud her willingness to help open a new facility that will implement her ideas. But, as a former activities director, I must defend this very special cadre of senior living employees. Stretching at 10 a.m. and bingo at 2 p.m. is not necessarily the activity director’s dream schedule. Many activities directors or recreation therapists would love to pack their days with much, much more, and many of them devote hours and hours of overtime to do just that. But it’s not an easy task.
I likened it to teaching in a one-room schoolhouse – you have residents who may range in age from 25 to 105, and they all have different abilities, interests, and skills. In my case, I was responsible for planning and executing activities for the 85+ residents in the assisted living unit and planning and executing activities for the 15+ residents in the dementia unit. It was a challenge to keep a full schedule and meet the needs of every resident.
Family members would offer input – “Mom always loved playing cards” or “Dad used to tinker with old watches.” Yet finding time to do one-on-one activities was nearly impossible in a day’s work. I always left work feeling exhausted, while at the same time, feeling like I just hadn’t done enough.
Senior living facilities usually have a limited number of activities staff: in most cases, there is one director, and maybe an occasional part-time assistant who works evenings and weekends. Rec therapists across the country rely heavily on volunteers, and we all know how precarious scheduling can be when you must rely on volunteers.
Any number of external challenges confront the activity director on a daily, sometimes minute-by-minute basis too. Outdated computers can hinder the design of an activities calendar, limited resources might mean that you have to use the same trivia book you’ve been using for years. On a night when half the waitstaff calls out, you might have to help serve dinner. It’s a catch-all position in many ways.
No matter what the day brings, the activities director is always on the go. And you must keep a positive and upbeat attitude even when your exercise group is dozing off, or when you have to repeat the Bingo number 10 times, or when the performer you scheduled months in advance is a no-show and you have a room full of people looking to you for what’s next.
I do thank Ms. Sykes for sharing her ideas and I hope she can find a facility to support their implementation. My opinion? The majority of activity directors work their tails off to make everyone happy. And, at the end of the day, while there may have been a few outdoor-loving men who would have preferred a golfing excursion, a few Bingo fanatics who hit the quarters jackpot are feeling pretty good.
- Michelle Seitzer
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Michelle Seitzer says,
Thanks for your comment, Shiro. I wish you the very best as you transition to this new role! Build on your experience in the unit as you move into the position; I think just by knowing the group you’re working with already. The best place for resources? I would ask the residents and their family members/friends – create activities based on their interests, hobbies, skills, and passions, and keep things simple.
on 18 August 2011 / 12:02 AM
Michelle Seitzer says,
Also, check out this recent post I did on Best Practices for Activities Programming in Dementia Care Units: http://bit.ly/ou5Mjq. Thanks for stopping by the blog!
on 18 August 2011 / 12:09 AM
J Wright says,
after having parents in an assisted living center for almost 5 years I just took on the job of activity director in the same center. Yes, it is exhausting but very fullfilling when you know you have made their day a little better.
They haven’t always been these little old forgetful people, some have had very interesting lives and I love hearing about them
on 15 November 2011 / 2:49 PM
Michelle Seitzer says,
Thanks for sharing your story here! What a wonderful way to give back by taking this position at the same assisted living community where your parents resided. You’re absolutely right; listening to their stories is probably the best part of the job, if you ask me!
on 15 November 2011 / 2:53 PM
Ricky Standard says,
Hi
My name is Ricky Standard and I am a musician here in the Savannah area. For the last 2 years I have been performing at Retirement and Assited Living homes here in
Savannah. I play music oriented towards Seniors including songs from the 40′s, 50′s, 60′s. I can do instrumental music suitable for dinner hour or more upbeat tunes for listening or in some cases dancing.
I also have experience performing for Alzheimer patients.
I have references upon request
My fees are $65 per hour I’m available for 1 or 2 hour performances.
If you have an interest in my services, Please contact me at
(912) 659-2391 or email me at
on 29 January 2012 / 5:44 PM
Lyn says,
Hi! I really enjoyed your blog, I just recently started working as an activities director in a assisted living that also have memory care and I’m “sorta” starting from scratch and it is true that as much as we want to put more hours in the calendar…more “big happenings”, it’s hard, I’m only working 4 hours M-F, trying to put an a whole month of activities for assisted and memory care and trying to figure out who’s going to lead the activity when I’m not there is very challeging, volunteer is really a big deal and it’s even harder trying to build a volunteer which I’m doing now…phone calls after phone calls, so it doesn’t really matter how much great ideas we have but if we don’t the funds and the “staff” to excute it we just go with our Plan b, c , d…whatever that maybe. I am also “young” but with thorough activity assestment we are still able to creat activities that are “tenant/resident” centered.
on 17 February 2012 / 3:01 PM
Michelle Seitzer says,
Hi Lyn!
Glad you enjoyed the blog! Congrats on your new position.
The challenges you are facing (limited resources, limited hours, limited staff/volunteer coverage) are common among activity directors. These things are what make the job quite difficult, because you want to provide enjoyable, meaningful activities to span the days/weeks/months, but there is only so much one person can do and finding good volunteers is no easy task. My best to you! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out anytime.
on 17 February 2012 / 4:51 PM
Kursti Woolard says,
Hi Michelle, I enjoyed your post. I am a volunteer at an Assisted Living in Virginia Beach, I teach a bible study every week, its an informal group participating style study. We read books from the bible and discuss life applications and their experiences and sometimes I read a best seller Christian themed book outloud to them and discuss the chapters, we just finished “Heaven is for Real” They really enjoyed it. I am self employed as a Retirement advisor so I can take time the volunteer. I have volunteered for two years at this home and I have discovered that I really like working with the seniors in this setting, It is very meaningful to me. I am exploring starting a business where I offer a simalar service to area Homes, but I dont know if the nursing homes would be willing to pay for this services I wish I could afford to volunteer 8hours a day but I have to have an income, your post mentioned limited funds for activities, I really love being with the seniors and would like to do it full time. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you
on 23 February 2012 / 8:46 PM
Michelle Seitzer says,
Hi Kursti,
Glad you enjoyed it! How wonderful that you volunteer your time with the residents. I’m sure they enjoy spending time with you and reading/hearing/discussing the books and the Bible. Working with seniors is very rewarding and meaningful. It can also be very challenging when you work there full-time. Perhaps you could increase your volunteer hours for a time to see if you feel that this is something you could do full-time for the long-term? Generally, these types of jobs don’t pay much in terms of income, but as you know, it is very fulfilling, which is valuable in a different way. I wish you all the best in whatever you decide!
on 24 February 2012 / 7:57 PM
Sherry Miller says,
So often these homes are just custodial.Seniors need communication, feelings of purpose, ways to socialize, and mental stimulation. I brought in two
magicians and had a catered affair for mom’s 90th birthday and the residents who attended are still talking about it. It was a wonderful distraction from the mental and physical hurdles they have to endure!
on 06 March 2012 / 9:44 PM
Michelle Seitzer says,
I completely agree, Sherry. What a lovely thing you did for your Mom — and I’m sure her friends loved it too!
on 07 March 2012 / 12:48 PM
Valerie says,
Hi Michelle!
I really enjoyed reading your piece. I appreciated your neutral, yet educated responses to both sides of the argument.
I was wondering though, if you had any suggestions for activities to do with seniors. I work in a residential assisted living home with only 3 ladies that are capable of doing activities. However, we are very limited on the kinds of activities and I know these ladies are getting bored. We have two sing along videos that we alternate every day. After that, we usually play Bingo, color, play cards, or do an exercise video.
They cannot partake in anything that requires standing, such as dancing or upright exercise either. We have tried asking them what they like to do, but we never get a concrete response… except of course, for the lady that says “nothing.”
I am completely at a loss and when I search for ideas on the web, most of the ideas are too physical for our residents. Please help!
on 26 April 2012 / 11:00 PM
Michelle Seitzer says,
Hi Valerie!
Thanks so much for those kind words. I’m glad you enjoyed the piece and found it neutral in viewpoint and helpful too.
I totally understand what you’re going through in terms of feeling limited in/bored with the same old activities (Bingo, playing cards, etc.). I agree that many of the resources on the web are “too physical” as you said. I offered a number of ideas within previous comments posted below the article…did you peruse them? I’ll share a link with you too:
http://www.seniorsforliving.com/blog/2009/09/10/creating-a-dementia-friendly-home-meaningful-activities/
http://www.crisisprevention.com/Blogs/Dementia-Care-Blog–Facilitating-Best-Abilities-an/March-2012/Think-Outside-the-(Calendar)-Box–How-to-Engage-Se
http://blog.alz.org/change-and-adapt-but-don’t-stop-how-to-provide-meaningful-activities-for-those-with-alzheimer’s-and-related-dementias/
http://www.seniorsforliving.com/blog/2012/04/09/why-assisted-living-residents-want-to-work/
http://www.crisisprevention.com/Blogs/Dementia-Care-Blog–Facilitating-Best-Abilities-an/August-2011/Best-Practices-for-Activities-Programming-in-Demen
Though several of these are related to those with dementia, I think the activity ideas are still quite universal.
Hope this helps!
on 30 April 2012 / 5:22 PM