Minutes 09-16-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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residents that they willingly engaged in these activities far more than just 15-minutes each day. The individualized activities were especially soothing in the "sun-downing" part of the day. As a result of this project, many residents have displayed less anxiety and agitation, fewer hallucinations, and less wandering. This approach to activities planning can be implemented in a wide variety of long term care settings and should be replicated widely. Carol Woods Retirement Community: Pat Sprigg, CEO and Life Enrichment Coordinator Mallory Wilcox Carol Woods is a Continuous Care Retirement Community in Chapel Hill, home to approximately 400 older adults at various levels of functioning. The goal of this project was to create a resident-driven, meaningful activity that would engage residents at all levels of service and provide them with a sense of purpose through community outreach. Carol Woods' residents were invited to a series of ineetings to design a project that the whole community could do together. The residents decided on a "Corn Shuckin & Bean Snappin" project that could engage all members of the Carol Woods community and produce an outcome that would benefit the wider Orange County community. Carol Woods' residents did the corn shucking and bean snapping together; local farmers provided the produce; and clients of Club Nova and the Interfaith Council received the fresh vegetables. The event was considered a huge success. More people, at more levels of functioning, were involved than originally hoped. Residents with advanced dementia took part. It helped facilitate the use of skills thought to be lost or dormant. Residents who had known each other from previous years had a chance to reunite and work together on a common project. Carol Woods was so impressed with the level of resident engagement on this project that it has committed to plan a campus-wide event similar to this one on a quarterly basis. Carol Woods hopes that these types of activities will become the "norm" in the way that Carol Woods supports resident well- being. This project can be replicated in a variety of long-term care settings to provide meaningful activities that engage residents at multiple functional levels. Acorn Home Care Services: Owners Lorenzo and Mary Lynn Mejia Acorn Home Care Services, Inc. is a private home care agency operating within Orange County. Acorn undertook two projects this year - one to improve care directly through an individualized music and memory program and one to improve care indirectly through new management practices designed to support and reward direct care workers for good work. Regarding the first project, Acorn Home Care implemented a new, individualized music program with their clients who have dementia. As a result, family members have noted more social engagement, improved cognitive skills, better vocabulary, and less agitation. In the coming years, Acorn Home Services wants to offer this service to all their families caring for a loved one with dementia. To better support its paid caregivers so that they can provide quality care to clients, Acorn also implemented a new employee reward system. It offered merit bonuses for high quality care and good work practices and created a variety of non-monetary supports on an individualized basis. Since implementing these new management strategies, there has been excellent worker attendance, low turn-over rates, and improved employee satisfaction. Keeping good workers in place leads to better continuity of care, which is highly correlated with client satisfaction and quality of life in long-term care settings.