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Tip of the week: Encourage residents to be active and healthy

Contemporary Long-Term Care Weekly, July 2, 2009

You are responsible for helping the people you take care of be as active, independent, and healthy as possible. Become a “cheerleader” for activity and exercise. You can encourage residents to participate in activities and exercise in the following ways:

• Find out what residents like to do. What hobbies does he or she enjoy? What kind of music or art do they like? Encourage continued involvement in these things as much as possible. If you need additional materials for these activities, work with your supervisor to obtain them.
• If a resident has given up a hobby he or she enjoyed due to poor vision or motor skills, see if there are adaptive devices that can help. A magnifying glass that attaches to a book or needlework frame can enable someone to see well enough to read or stitch.
• Bring residents with similar interests together. People who like plants would enjoy looking at each other’s flower or greenery and sharing knowledge, stories, and ideas about growing things.
• Help provide the things residents need to do an activity they have chosen. If they want to do a jigsaw puzzle, find a way to get them some puzzles that they can do. 

This is an excerpt from HCPro’s book, The CNA Training Solution, Second Edition.

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