Activities as a Path for Culture Change – The Best Friends Approach David Troxel, MPH

1. Activities as a Path for Culture Change – The Best Friends ApproachDavid Troxel, MPH

2. Dr. Alzheimer

3. Auguste Deter • November 25, 1901, 51 years old • Problems with every day tasks • Jealousy, delusions • Memory • “I have lost myself”

4. Be a Best Friend

5. Being Person Centered

6. Dx at 59. Credits dementia meds with helping. Uses water soluble crayons and felt tipped markers for my paintings. “Rather than limiting my artwork, my Alzheimer’s seems to have unleashed a whole new area of creativity for me.” Emphasizes process rather than outcome. Ambitious, motivated. Daphne Gormley, Santa Barbara

7. Daphne continues. . . • “One of the benefits of my art for me is that it provides me a way of communicating without words. The colors I use are colors I find to be joyous. This is a way for me express my joy in painting and in my life. AD has really taught me to concentrate on the things I can do not on the things I can no longer do.”

10. Develop “the Knack” • Knack is the “art of doing difficult things with ease.” • Or, “clever tricks and strategies!” • Helps in unstructured moments.

11. Knack • Humor • Flexibility • Patience • Respect • Being in the moment • Creative activities

12. Moving Toward Quality Care

13. We Know how to Create a Quality Dementia Care Program Purposeful chores Creative activities Being outside Learning & growth Conversation Using the Life Story Laughter Exercise Animals Music

14. Skilled, Empathetic Staffwho Build Relationships

15. Supporting Staff • Knowing that we cannot treat staff badly and expect a badly treated staff to treat residents well. • Showing appreciation • Giving them the tools to succeed.

16. Programs that Embrace the Life Story

17. Tips • Bullet Cards • 1-100 Campaigns • Monthly focus • Shadow box beauty shows • Resident Jeopardy • Putting Life Story to work in activity creation. • Name tags

19. Person Centered Activities • Here are some principles of Activities from a Best Friends Approach

20. It’s not in what is done, it’s in the doing

21. Should be individualized and tap into past interests and skills

22. Should be adult in nature

23. Should recall a person’s work related life

24. Should stimulate the senses

25. Sometimes doing nothing is doing something

26. Tap into remaining physical skills.

27. Should be initiated by others.

28. Should be voluntary

29. Intergenerational activities work!

31. Personal care is an activity.

32. Activities can be short

33. Should fulfill religious & spiritual needs.

34. Activities are everywhere.

35. Remarkable programs create signature programs “Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without words, and never stops at all.” Emily Dickinson

36. Collage

37. Collage

38. Music Fills the Room

39. Exercise at Atria

40. Longwharf Theater

41. Signature activities Exercise Evenings & Weekends Ideas for your setting • Just for Men • Creating theme rooms – the beauty parlor or “Susie’s Salon?”

42. Visiting: Flower arranging Gift wrapping Mail order shopping Organizing Reminiscing Movie musicals “chit chat” Outdoor time. Make it Memorable!! Ideas for your setting

43. Recommendations • Create a Dementia Care Study Group/Team • Consider a monthly or quarterly focus. • Embrace Life Story work even for short stays • Innovate in activities • Adult Learning • Music • Exercise • Spirituality

44. Recommendations • Embrace creative and effective training • Monthly focus • Role plays • Mini 5 or 10 minute in-services • Follow up and model as a leadership team.

45. Activities you think won’t work sometimes do • Failure Free Activities??? • How many of us lead failure free lives? • From failure comes growth and planned activities that go in a different direction are sometimes the most fun.

46. Classroom ideas • Apples • The State of Indiana

47. Activities as a path toward Culture Change • Allow all staff to recast their work in light of activities • Embrace 30 second activities • Teach activities in your staff training programs • What’s the cook doing in the activity room?

48. 30 Second Rule Teaching staff (and families) that it only takes 30 seconds to be a little less task oriented and a little more person centered.

49. The Impact of Best Friends

50. www.bestfriendsapproach.com