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Alyssa Huisenga is an activity director who puts together activity calendars and implements programs and special events for elders. She has an associate's degree and certification required to be an activity director. Her experience caring for her grandparents and volunteering in nursing homes sparked her interest in the field. A resident named Millie at the nursing home where she volunteered influenced her decision to pursue this career. Activities are important for elders to have purpose, entertainment, and occupation during the day to prevent boredom. Elderly care aims to help those who have lost independence stay healthy, mobile, and feel a sense of purpose. While technology is not a major part of activities currently, it may play a larger role over time. Some challenges include

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110 views

Interview

Alyssa Huisenga is an activity director who puts together activity calendars and implements programs and special events for elders. She has an associate's degree and certification required to be an activity director. Her experience caring for her grandparents and volunteering in nursing homes sparked her interest in the field. A resident named Millie at the nursing home where she volunteered influenced her decision to pursue this career. Activities are important for elders to have purpose, entertainment, and occupation during the day to prevent boredom. Elderly care aims to help those who have lost independence stay healthy, mobile, and feel a sense of purpose. While technology is not a major part of activities currently, it may play a larger role over time. Some challenges include

Uploaded by

api-457990663
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Interview with Alyssa Huisenga

What is your current position/title?


My job title is activity director. I put together the activity calendar and implement the
programs and special events.

What is your education background?


I have my associates degree in applied science to be an activity director. And then I
have my ADC; It’s Activity Director Certified. It’s what I have to keep up every two years to stay
certified as an activity director.

Do you have any special/experiences relating to the importance of elderly care?


My experience before working here was definitely with my grandparents, having really
close relationships with them. And when I was in high school, I was in a leadership class that I
spent three semesters at nursing homes and assisted livings and that's kind of what sparked my
interest in being an activity director. Since then, every day is an experience. They’re just like 55
grandparents that you have the opportunity to entertain them, to bring enrichment to their lives
and to become friends with them as well just to add quality and fun to their daily routines.

Why did you decide to do this job?


There was a lady named Millie. She lived at the nursing home that I was volunteering at.
She just kind of came into my heart and made me realize what I wanted to do. The activities
staff at the nursing home there helped me find the program and just told me how awesome I’d
be at it.

Why are activities for elders important?


Once they come into a nursing home some of them don't have a lot to look forward to
during the day. Of course it varies person to person but as far as activities, it provides a purpose
for them, it provides entertainment for them, it occupies many hours of the day so that they are
not bored, they are not just sitting around twiddling their thumbs or looking at 4 walls or
watching TV all day.

Why is elderly care important?


I would say that it's the same as taking care of kids. These people lose their
independence as they get older. Maybe physically. Might be mentally. So providing that care
that they need is important for them to stay healthy, to still stay mobile and to have purpose.
The care helps them have a purpose in life.
Has technology played a part in the activities?
It has. Not as much so in the nursing home world. Just because the people who are here
are not interested in it. We do have younger residents who will come in and have cellphones
and have tablets so it's really great for us to be able to help them utilize those things. We do use
our IPad for a lot of activities which is nice. I know that as time goes on that it would be very
convenient to add technology into it but right now I wouldn't say that it's the main part of my day.

What are some challenges in the elderly care industries?


Finding nurses. Behaviors. Dementia. I would consider sometimes a room of residents
could be the same as a High School classroom as far as just them being either opinionated or
not wanting to agree with each others. There's some days where they can get along perfectly
but there's other days when its like, WOW.

How do you help the elderly with loneliness?


One of the things that i tell my staff is for us to be their friend. I think that if you create
that relationship with these people that then they are going to be more interested in coming out
to an activity with you once they know you and want to spend time with you. So, mostly, if you
can get them out of their room, you are going to help them not be a lonely person at the nursing
home. Just get them out and interacting with others and participating in what we have going on
throughout the day.

Where do you see the elderly care industry in 10 years?


Flooded. I think that there's going to be not enough people to take care of the people
that we need to take care of who are elderly. The assisted lings and independent livings are
going to be very crowded. There's not going to be enough of them in some areas. Hopefully the
nursing homes will not have issues with having open beds and things. You know they will be
fuller. So i mean there's days, there's weeks, when we are a full house and then there's weeks
when we have so many people leave or people pass away. We’re kind of lower in our senses.

Some people say working in elderly care is difficult. Do you agree? Why or why not?
Absolutely. I would say that working with people, any job working with people can be
difficult because not everybody’s going to agree. I would say that one of the most reasons that
its difficult is learning how to work with dementia, having a 100% patience 100% of the time. Not
everybody likes the same things. There are some situationally difficult times.

Do the elders spend time outside of the home?


We are very fortunate to have a bus. We try to go out one time a week. Some of the
residents get sick of being cooped up. They like to see the outside world. Taking drives, eating
out, shopping. That’s the most important thing.

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