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When you’re looking at nursing homes check
to see if there is a large volunteer base and ask to speak to some of
them. Nursing homes that have a large,
loyal base of volunteers tend to be homes that provide a higher level of care
for the residents. Volunteers lighten
the load of the front line workers as they spend quality time with the
residents. You can find volunteers engaging
residents in activities or helping to feed them or walk them to the dining
room, helping with outings or just sitting and visiting with an individual
resident.
Volunteers also raise funds to buy
equipment like a new televisions for Common Rooms or paying to have the piano
tuned. If there are coffee shops or tuck
shops on the premises, they are probably staffed by volunteers. Special holidays or birthdays require help from
the volunteers to make things successful.
It’s the added touches that the volunteers provide that can turn an
institution into a home for the residents.
As you look at different nursing homes,
look at the activity schedules and ask if there are volunteers involved. Most nursing homes that have a rich variety
of activities have them because they have a broad base of volunteers that are
able to provide an assortment of offerings for the residents. More importantly, they also provide
continuity of activities – residents can rely on the fact that if it’s Tuesday,
Maggie is coming in to play the piano and have a sing-song in the afternoon or
Fridays mean Joshua will drop by with his dog.
If the residents are happy, the staff have
an easier job of looking after them. If
the residents are busy, not just sitting in their rooms or in their chairs,
then the staff know that they can do all the behind-the-scenes work that needs
to be done to keep the home running smoothly.
The emotional and mental well-being of the residents is being looked
after, to a large extent, by the volunteers.
So, check out the maintenance of the home,
check to see how they handle different situations but don’t forget to ask about
the volunteer program at each home you visit.
You want to know that the volunteers have served at the home for a long
time and that there are a lot of volunteers that the staff can call upon and
rely upon. They are an invaluable
resource for any nursing home that aims to provide not just a room for your
loved-one to live but a place that can become their home.
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