But when Sally, not her real name, moved into West Lake Terrace she was depressed, anxious and bored. She consumed most of her day following staff around and repetitively asking questions about her care, says Angie Moase, clinical co-ordinator at the Bloomfield long-term care home.

“It’s very distressing,” says Angie.

“You can hear the anxiety and fear in her voice.”

Over the past year-and-a-half, a combination of brainstorming, teamwork and creative interventions have brought an element of peace into Sally’s life.

It began with a rummaging drawer. In the table next to her bedside, staff members filled a drawer with socks, undergarments, cards, makeup and other personal items. They suspected it may provide a distraction for Sally, giving her something to do other than wander. It’s continuing to work but employees recognized they had to do more for her, says Angie.

The team, comprised of about eight employees, continued to present ideas and suggestions for improving Sally’s quality of life at West Lake Terrace. Someone then suggested providing Sally with a purse containing her belongings and a makeup bag for blush and lipstick.

They also brought Sally a stand-up mirror and now regularly encourage her to pamper herself. “We knew she was a very immaculate lady who was fussy with her hair and makeup,” Angie notes.

They also engaged Sally in a walking program to expend her energy in a more positive way. In combination with an antidepressant medication, the interventions are working wonders for the resident, says Angie.

“They’re very, very decreased,” she says of Sally’s ventures to the nursing station. Instead of consistently asking staff questions about about every 10 minutes, she now usually visits the nurses’ station twice during a shift. “We have interventions we can go in and do for her.”

Supportive measures involves employing creative techniques to address resident agitation and decreases the reliance on psychotropic medication. Supportive measures have worked well in Sally’s case because of the variety of interventions and the dedication from numerous employees, notes the clinical co-ordinator.

“It’s just listening to your staff and taking simple ideas and telling them to go for it,” she says. “Staff has taken ownership of the feelings she might have been feeling.”