Good staff key to involving men in activities: Charlebois
Thursday August 2, 2007 -- Deron Hamel
Ask Chris Charlebois what it takes to endear male residents in long-term care homes to programs and she’ll tell you it’s all about having a top-notch staff.
“If your staff is eager and outgoing, then it tends to bring more residents to your programs,” says Charlebois, life enrichment co-ordinator at Maplewood in Brighton. “I find that if you’re enthusiastic and you’re friendly and like to have a good laugh, you shouldn’t have trouble getting them there.
“You have to make (programs) interesting,” she adds.
So what do gentlemen residents — who are the minority in long-term-care homes — enjoy most when it comes to programming?
“They really like anything to do with food, so when we have ice cream socials or strawberry or corn-cob socials — anything like that — we tend to get more men,” explains Charlebois.
Pub nights and outings are also fan favourites with male residents, Charlebois points out.
Men also have a tendency to enjoy activities which are more competitive, she says. Carpet bowling and mock-gambling activities usually have a larger-than-normal male turnout at Maplewood.
Male residents typically like programs which take them outside the home.
“I have lots of men who really like to go on outings,” says Charlebois. “If it’s going out for lunch or out for coffee and doughnuts, they’re usually in.”
Charlebois notes that homes which have male activity staff members are at a marked advantage when it comes to getting the guys out to programs.
“The men enjoy having a male staff, because they can relate a little bit better,” she says. “It also helps if you can have a male volunteer that can help you think of programs that would attract men.”
If there were more male volunteers, says Charlebois, there could be more programs aimed at men.
“Things like woodworking, I’m not talented at, and I don’t have staff members who are, so if you don’t have the resources, you can’t really run the program,” she says.
Anyone interested in volunteering at an OMNI home can call the home office at (705) 748-6631 for more information.
