• Those greeting guests should arrive twenty minutes before the scheduled opening time.
• Prepare a pot of decaffeinated coffee.
• Warmly welcome the guests and their caregivers.
• As guests arrive have them hang their coats up in the hallway next to the church office. During church rummage sales the coat rack next to Elizabeth Street entrance to the gym should be used.
• Have caregiver sign-in their loved one.
  • Leave a phone number where caregiver may best be reached during that day.
  • Inform us of medications being taken and when their loved one is to take them.
  • Indicate current condition or needs of their loved one, especially new and unusual conditions.
    • Lacking sleep or generally drowsy
    • Already having a bad day
    • Just not feeling well
    • May soon need to use the rest room
    • Tendency to fall and needs additional help
    • Agitation or Restlessness
    • Sadness or Depression
    • Special care suggestions
  • Inform us if their loved one will be leaving early for a doctor's or other appointment.
  • Tell us if their loved one will be picked up by someone else and also leave their phone number.
• Be aware that Enrollment sheets are kept in the second drawer of the desk or in the black respite care notebook.
• Collect medications, marking them with the guest's name and the time they should be taken, and place them in a vertical slot of the rolltop desk.
• Offer guests something to drink.
  • Use decaffeinated coffee.
  • Some may like to have a cup of coffee right away and others like to wait.
  • There is a separate list of beverages for scheduled guests on the kitchen wall next to the coffee maker.
  • Encourage water or juice after two cups of coffee.

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• Begin serving after most scheduled guests have arrived so that most may eat together.
• Save some food for those guest who may not be able to arrive on time because of personal difficulties.
• Serve before the reading of the newspaper or other schedule activity.
• Minimize activity interruptions or distractions from late arriving guests and kitchen noise.

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• Also begin reading the newspaper after most scheduled guests have arrived.
• Poetry may be used as an introduction.
• One additional volunteer should assist the volunteer reading the news.
  • Remaining close enough to respond to guest needs
  • Help promote some dialogue
• Stop early enough to provide time for rest room use so that our guest will be comfortable during the next scheduled activity.

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• Even as early as during the news, there will be a few guests needing to get up and use the restrooms.
• Encourage guests to use the restroom before exercise, after exercise, and after lunch. This frequency will assist in keeping our guests clean, dry, and comfortable. It will also avoid embarrassment and unpleasantness for others.
• Walk with guest needing assistance.
• Stay aware of guests, even those not normally needing assistance, to prevent possible falls or to assist if a change of cloths is needed.
• Assist guests in caring for themselves - Sitting, changing pads, and washing up.
• Provide for their modesty and privacy as much as possible.
• Use rubber gloves if close contact is required.
  • In the ladies room in a bucket on the counter.
  • In the kitchen drawer near the coffee maker when you are in the men's rest room.
• Assist in keeping sanitary pads clean and dry.
  • Mostly used are the button style Depends pads that are in the drawer.
  • There are full pads in the cupboard near the library.

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• Encourage use of the restrooms before exercise to prevent interruptions and the lost benefit from exercise participation.
• Assist in seating guest to be ready just when the exercise leader arrives.

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• Lyn Heinamen from St.Luke's is scheduled to lead exercises starting at 11:00.
• A volunteer should always be near to assist guests or the exercise leader.
• During the exercises, volunteers should prepare for being with the clients after they have finishted exercises.

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• Preferably stay seated in the exercise area and
  • Discuss some trivia
  • Play a word game
  • Reminisce
• A chance for one on one conversation.
  • Get to know our guests
  • Tips for Enchancing Communications with people who have Alzheimer's disease
    (Passed along by the Alzheimer's Association so others are better able to reach out to the confused)
  • Rewarding for both guest and volunteer
  • Show the guests that they are important to us.
  • Gives the guest someone to talk to about their concerns.
• Keep track of everyone especially those who wander.
• Could move back to the skylight room for an activity but it is preferable to stay, minimizing moving everyone around.
• But some guests may wish to take a short walk even just around the gym.
• Encourage using the rest room before lunch.

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• The special diet and utensil needs of our guests are posted in the kitchen near the coffee maker.
• Call our guests to the table and begin serving food only when the tables are fully set with name plates, utensils, special settings, and water. And when guests and volunteers are all able to sit down together.
• As our guests move over to the lunch lunch table, assist those having difficulty walking, in reaching, or finding their places. Help those who are especially frail or use walkers and wheelchairs.
• Stay calm and do not rush during this most important time of the day. Make lunch a time for conversation, laughter and relaxation.
• Play soft music and provide a peaceful atmosphere.
• All guests and volunteers should be seated, pause to give thanks for their food, and eat together.
• Maintain a presence and converse with the guests.
• All volunteers should be attentive to one or two guests during lunch especially when many other people are present such as on a Wednesday during the Paul's Peers luncheon. Remember our special guests come first. When there is such a friendly crowd, guests could easily be momentarily lost or forgotten.
• Serve enough food so that volunteers don't have to leave the table to obtain second helpings for our guests.
• Assist guests as necessary but let them feed themselves as much as possible.
• Some guest may eat slower than normal but avoid rushing and frustrating them.
• Guests who eat faster are to be served last and volunteers should engage them in conversation to slow them down.
• Avoid encouraging second helpings - too much food - to those who may not remeber what they just ate.
• When guests additionally need something to drink just continue to serve water.
• After everyone has finished the main course, serve decaffeinated coffee with desert, again when all volunteers can sit down together with the guests.
• If feasible ready dessert ahead of time so that it may be easily served without many volunteers leaving the table during lunch.
• Lunch is to last about an hour. Any shorter and keeping track of our guest becomes difficult.

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• Guest are allowed to just relax after lunch.
• This time of the day is when guests most need to use the rest rooms.
• At least one voluteer should stay with the group of guests not using the rest rooms.
• This is also a time when guests may become restless and tend to wander.
• Track and contain wandering guests especially when the number of volunteers with the guests now diminishes as some volunteers clean-up after lunch and others assist guests in using the rest rooms.

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