Manitoulin Lodge residents warm-up before breakfast
Fun programming ensures mandatory exercise minutes are met
Wednesday November 24, 2010 -- Ryan Rogers
Over summer Manitoulin Lodge had a concern that the home was not reaching its exercise minutes objectives on a consistent basis, so team members came up with creative programming ideas to meet this need.

Taking advice from health-care aides to learn what activities and times the residents respond well to, physiotherapy assistant and restorative care assistant Robyn Yaschuk has developed two extra programs to ensure that their exercise minutes are met each day.

With 16 years’ experience as a personal support worker (PSW), coupled with her abilities in the physiotherapy and restorative-care departments, Yaschuk programmed a quick five-minute session before breakfast.

The residents flex, rotate and extend their arms and legs for exercise before breakfast is served.

In the afternoon at 3:45 there’s a walking program where about 30 participants listen to music and walk or dance through the Jarlette Health Services-owned home.

“The Locomotion seems to be the big thing, it gets everybody going, it really motivates them,” says Yaschuk.

“It’s a benefit for the resident because they’re getting extra exercise,” says Yaschuk.

She says the programs are very successful. “The residents just love them and wait for them.”

She says she’s confident that the model for the programs is simple enough that it could be applied to other areas if the need arose.

Another great advantage for the routine exercise programs is the accuracy of reporting the exercise minutes in a day.

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