Restorative care aide starts program to help relax residents
Extra time in bath proves beneficial to residents
Monday April 21, 2008 -- Deron Hamel
A program started by a restorative care aide at Maplewood that provides an extra bath for one resident each week is showing signs of success, say staff members at the Brighton long-term care home.

Rosanne Coleman came up with the idea for the program because she says residents often don’t get enough time to relax during bathing sessions. For time purposes, residents are usually bathed and immediately leave the tub afterwards.

As part of the Sensational Spa program — which is run after dinner at around 6:30 p.m. before residents go to bed — residents get to bathe for up to 45 minutes while listening to soft music and can have lotion applied to them after if they wish. While similar programs have existed at other OMNI homes, this is the first time Maplewood has run it.

While the program has been beneficial to all participating residents, one resident in particular has shown significant signs of improvement following her time in the program, says life enrichment co-ordinator Chris Charlebois.

Before participating in the program, the resident had not been doing well. The resident had not been sleeping properly and would talk incoherently.

But after her extra time in the bath, staff members saw her sleep and speech improve.

“She was totally relaxed and calm,” says Charlebois. “She had a great sleep. The next morning I came in and I noticed that she was (happier) and I didn’t know she was the resident who had had the bath.”

Coleman says she was amazed by the progress the resident showed during her bath time, noting the resident made a point of telling her that it was nice to be able to sit and relax and not be rushed.

In the month since the program began, the program is receiving positive feedback from residents, says Coleman.

“They love it,” she says. “They love the extra attention (and) conversation. It’s relaxing and helps them sleep better.”

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