Friday, August 3, 2007

Passport Program at Royal Palms a HUGE success!

Program Description:

We had realistic passports printed and have a page for residents’ names, etc. and twelve pages with the month on each page. Each month on my calendar you will see indicated events where they can have their passport stamped for that event. If they get 3 passport stamps for the month they can come to the Passport Party the last Wednesday of each month. This party has turned into a big event!! The theme of the party goes along with a map we created and placed the residents’ birth states (or countries) and target regions for the month. Thus that becomes the food for the party and entertainment as well. We honor the residents who reside the state/country/region we are honoring for that month. In November we will give some type of gift to the residents with the most stampings because some people come to everything. Yeah! We also have asked the residents to give us a bio about their home state and we are printing these in the form of a book to give them in December.

If you would like more information plesae contact: Dee Ragan (Activity Director) Royal Palms
Number: 727.585.8003 or email: dragan@thegoodmangroup.com

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Suggestion for a "Meaningful Activity"

The residents at Westchester Gardens Long Term Care Center, located in Florida, have found a way to give back to their community, while at the same time feel like they are participating in a MEANINGFUL activity!

The American Red Cross Presents, "Vial of Life." It is a program that provides medical information to emergency personnel when individuals can't.

Here's How it Works:
The Vial of Life is taped to the top shelf of the front right side of the the INSIDE of one's refrigerator. The vial contains important medical information that emergency personnel would need if they came into your home and you were unconcious or could not give it to them. When the emergency personnel come to an individual's home they look for the orange dot on the upper left hand corner of the OUTSIDE of the regrigerator identifying the indiviudual as a Vial of Life participant.

How is it "meaningful" for the residents?
The residents at Westchester Gardens assemble the vials for the American Red Cross which includes: putting the information sheet inside of the vial, putting the lid on the vial, and rubberbanning directions to the outside of the vial. Sounds easy enough... They are then brought, or shipped, to the American Red Cross and the residents hope that their efforts will assist someone in the community during a medical emergency or possibly save a life!

Contact the American Red Cross in your county for more information!

Maureen Cook (Activity Director)
Westchester Gardens

August-History of the Month's Orgin

Augustus for 'August'
After Julius's grandnephew Augustus defeated Marc Antony and Cleopatra, and became emperor of Rome, the Roman Senate decided that he too should have a month named after him. The month Sextillus (sex = six) was chosen for Augustus, and the senate justified its actions in the following resolution:
Whereas the Emperor Augustus Caesar, in the month of Sextillis . . . thrice entered the city in triumph . . . and in the same month Egypt was brought under the authority of the Roman people, and in the same month an end was put to the civil wars; and whereas for these reasons the said month is, and has been, most fortunate to this empire, it is hereby decreed by the senate that the said month shall be called Augustus.
Not only did the Senate name a month after Augustus, but it decided that since Julius's month, July, had 31 days, Augustus's month should equal it: under the Julian calendar, the months alternated evenly between 30 and 31 days (with the exception of February), which made August 30 days long. So, instead of August having a mere 30 days, it was lengthened to 31, preventing anyone from claiming that Emperor Augustus was saddled with an inferior month.
To accommodate this change two other calendrical adjustments were necessary:
The extra day needed to inflate the importance of August was taken from February, which originally had 29 days (30 in a leap year), and was now reduced to 28 days (29 in a leap year).
Since the months evenly alternated between 30 and 31 days, adding the extra day to August meant that July, August, and September would all have 31 days. So to avoid three long months in a row, the lengths of the last four months were switched around, giving us 30 days in September, April, June, and November.

NOW...see if your trivia group knows as much as you?? ha!!

From Manager to Leader..Words of Wisdom!

By: Leslie Kossoff
Ask anyone and they'll tell you. There's a difference between managers and leaders.

Ask them what that difference is and they may have a bit more difficulty. Suddenly the words become amorphous and undefined. Somehow leadership is an intangible - a charismatic component that some people have and others simply don't. That's why, according to the ubiquitous "they", it is such a rarity.

Wrong.

The difference between being a manager and being a leader is simple. Management is a career. Leadership is a calling.

You don't have to be tall, well-spoken and good looking to be a successful leader. You don't have to have that "special something" to fulfill the leadership role.

What you have to have is clearly defined convictions - and, more importantly, the courage of your convictions to see them manifest into reality.

Only when you understand your role as guide and steward based on your own most deeply held truths can you move from manager to leader.

Whether the group you oversee is called employees, associates, co-workers, teammates or anything else, what they are looking for is someone in whom they can place their trust. Someone they know is working for the greater good - for them and for the organization. They're looking for someone not only that they can - but that they want to - follow.

Because it is only when you have followers -people who have placed their trust in you - that you know you have moved into that leadership role. And the way you see it is that your organization is transcending all previous quality, productivity, innovation and revenue achievements. You're operating at such a high level of efficiency that you're giving budget back to the corporation - and you're still beating your goals.

You're achieving what you always dreamed could be achieved. And not only that, but it's actually easier than you thought.

Because you're a leader. Because the classic command and control management model - which, contrary to popular belief still applies even in our most progressive 21st century companies - is no longer in play. Sure, controls are in place. Sure, you're solving problems that arise.
But it's not just you alone. You have the people in whom you've put your trust - and who have happily and safely reciprocated - to help you create organizational success.