Encouraging residents in meaningful activities key to supportive measures
Wednesday November 14, 2007 -- Deron Hamel
Some supportive measures are such a part of daily life in a long-term care home that quite often they’re not even thought of as being supportive measures, says Jane Hughes.

Hughes, supportive measures specialist and environmental services manager at Village Green, cites a few ways the Selby long-term care home has engaged residents in activities related to their lives before they joined the long-term care community.

“It really is something that we have been doing for quite a long time,” says Hughes. “All along we’ve kind of been doing supportive measures, we just didn’t have a name for it.”

The purpose of these activities is not only to maintain self-confidence and provide meaningful activities for residents, but in many cases they help curb the workload for busy staff members.

A lady, who recently moved into Village Green, used to work in the housekeeping and laundry department at a long-term care home. Having enjoyed her work, the resident now goes to the laundry room during the day and chats with staff members from the home’s housekeeping department while she helps them fold laundry.

Another resident, a man who used to work for Bell Canada, has become the home’s telephone repairman. Staff members often bring in their telephones and he takes them apart, fixes them and puts them back together.

Resident Gordon Merkley, a retired minister with the United Church of Canada, can be counted on to offer spiritual guidance to residents. He also regularly participates in Sunday services at the home.

Aside from keeping residents happy and helping out a home’s staff members, these meaningful activities also help sustain cognitive and motor skills.

“For example, the gentleman who fixes phones, he certainly has to have dexterity in his hands,” says Hughes.

Supportive measures which provide these types of meaningful activities for residents are often lauded by family members, Hughes points out.

“Everybody is very glad to see their relative here doing something (they enjoy), so it makes (family members) feel good.”