An Easy Way to Turn Faux Florals into a Billable Therapy Session

Faux florals are such a pretty, low-maintenance way to beautify and liven a skilled nursing facility. And arranging them into bouquets can be a great way to involve Residents in the process.

As Thanksgiving approaches, making some beautiful autumn bouquets is a meaningful, fun, and therapeutically appropriate task to engage Residents in.

What You’ll Need.

faux florals in autumn colors (you can easily grab these from the Dollar Tree or grab sets like these from Amazon)**
plastic vases (something like these that look beautiful but won’t shatter easily like glass or ceramic)**
green floral foam (also found at Dollar Tree)

What You’ll Do.

Before the session, remove all tags and separate the florals into single stems for easy grabbing and access.
Work together with your Resident to cut the green floral foam to fit smoothly inside of the vase.
Arrange the florals in any way you like, pressing each stem firmly into the green floral foam.
Display your bouquet prominently in the facility or your Resident’s room.

How You’ll Document.

A task like this can accomplish several things.

A task like this can be easily utilized to address sequencing skills. “Utilized faux floral arranging to address step-by-step sequencing skills as they relate to ADL/IADL tasks. Resident required verbal cues 50% of the time to recall next step of task, with an additional verbal cue 25% of the time to advance to the next step of the task.”

I might also use this to address sustained attention to task. “Utilized faux floral arranging to address sustained attention to structured task in order to decrease unsafe/non-purposeful ambulation throughout the unit. Resident required mod verbal cues to maintain appropriate attention to task for 30 minutes. Engaged well in tabletop floral arranging.”

Sometimes this is more of an exercise. “Utilized floral arranging task while standing unsupported at tabletop to promote upright standing posture, standing balance, and reaching outside of base of support. Resident demonstrating a consistent balance grade of Fair+ throughout. Required min/mod assist to maintain safe standing posture.”

Sometimes this is simply a sensory-style session. “Utilized floral arranging task to provide sensory break for decreased emotional distress and agitation during traditionally difficult time of day (between 3 and 4pm).”

As with any activity, it’s all about the ‘why‘ behind the task. Why and how does this particular task address the functional, physical, and cognitive deficits that you and the Resident are working to resolve? Your answer to that question will be your means of documenting the task.

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