Resident Outings – Series
I have made many mistakes taking the Residents on outings. One of the first things I learned is I need a list. My list started quite small and grew with each outing I took. I am giving you the list I have compiled over a 30-year career. I am quite sure there are things that could be added to this list. I actually had this list typed on my work computer and would print it out a copy for every major outing I was doing, especially those that took me a little farther from the facility for greater periods of time. Facility packets that contain pertinent information for each resident I was taking. This packet usually contained copies of insurance cards, code status, emergency contact information, MARS, TARS and allergies. I also had a “bag” of supplies. My bag contained – gloves, trash bags, straws, urinal, depends, extra clothing, wipes, special diets, sunblock, jackets, hats, umbrellas, pen and paper, money, credit card, list of phone numbers(however now we just put them in our phones), padding for chairs, first aid kit, extra oxygen tanks, key for the oxygen tanks, extra wheel-chairs, gait belt, oxygen holder or bag for back of wheel/chair and medication if the nurses were sending it with me or if they were going with me. This list was complied from things that happened on outings. There were things I wished I had had with me and then the next time I went, I had them.
If we were going to a museum, ball game or zoo, I would take a plastic bag for each resident whether they needed it or not so that everyone had the same thing, and no one would be singled out. I would label each bag with the resident’s name. I would put extra supplies in the bag such as extra clothing, depends, pads, water or anything that would or could be needed for that resident while out of the facility. Staff usually helped me put these bags together the night before. One of the things I stressed is if a resident might need extra clothing to please put the same color pants on them in the morning that were in the bag. This way if there was a need to change clothes no one would realize that their clothes were changed. One other thing I have done is get facility shirts for everyone to wear. This way we were all in the same color shirts and it would be easy to spot someone if they got away from the group. My first experience with this was a huge failure. If you are going to a ball game DO NOT wear shirts that are the team colors. I took the residents to a Cincinnati Reds game for the first time, and I had been told to make sure everyone was in the same color, so it would be easy to keep track of everyone. Great idea I thought, so I bought everyone red facility shirts. It just so happens that the Cincinnati Reds have red as one of their colors. I obviously knew nothing about sports. The next year we had bright pink shirts.
No matter how much planning you do, it cannot prepare you for every situation that will happen. In the next article, I will share some of the different situations or issues I’ve dealt with on outings and how we handled them. My hope is that you may be able to benefit from the situations I’ve found myself in.
Tammy Point NAAP Leadership Team
