Message
from the President--Celebrate!
Kathy
Hughes, ADC
With
the advent of the CMS "New" Interpretive Guidelines
for Activities, the upcoming 25th Annual NAAP Conference
and NCCAP's celebration of it's 20th Anniversary this
is truly the year to celebrate being an Activities Professional.
We have made steps in the direction of a growth in a
profession that is barely 30 years young. As one of
the youngest careers available in health care we have
evolved into a profession that contributes to the lives
of the elderly in all settings and in the world.
The
"New" Guidelines recognize the impact of activities
on the lives of all the residents in skilled nursing
facilities, points the survey process toward the Quality
of Life for individuals as well as Quality of Care.
These guidelines bring both to an equal footing in the
survey process. It can be overwhelming, but with an
objective eye towards all that we accomplish on a given
day, we can see that our contributions are a valuable
resource in the continuum of a resident's life. We already
are responsible to meet the needs and interests of each
resident who we provide the ways and means to celebrate
their skills or learn new ways of becoming involved
in their lives.
We
congratulate NAAP for it's upcoming 25th Conference
to be held in Columbus, Ohio on April 18-21, 2007. We
hope that you are all making plans to attend the conference
to celebrate a milestone in the history of the Activities
profession. For 25 years NAAP has been able to provide
quality continuing education opportunities for activity
professionals of all levels and interests. They have
given us all the opportunity to network with each other,
create avenues for state associations to grow and for
NCCAP members to learn the newest trends in the activities
profession. The vendors who have supported the activities
profession con-tinue to provide cutting edge products
designed to meet the needs and interests of our residents.
The traditions of the NAAP conferences have assisted
all of us to grow and become a profession that contributes
to an industry that will continue to serve individuals
for years to come.
The
first NAAP Conference was held at the Carousel Inn in
Cincinnati Ohio. Those that participated were excited
about the future of the activities profession with all
the possibilities ahead of them. Many are still contributing
to our growth and continue to support the conferences.
Make a point of meeting those who have given endless
energy to continued evolution to your careers at the
upcoming conference. They are individuals who remember
the hours of conversation about how the profession can
contribute to the quality of one's life. They are the
people who saw all the opportunities and wanted to assure
those coming after them that they too could become activity
professionals. We would like to thank them for their
vision and contributions to our profession.
NCCAP
celebrates their 20th Anniversary this year. With the
vision of NAAP, NCCAP has become the only credentialing
organization that recognizes individuals who specifically
work with the elderly in the long term care continuum.
Our members represent those who have obtained the knowledge
of the profession and keep up their skills to better
themselves and those that they serve.
We
celebrate the opportunities for activity professionals
to grow within their profession. We offer thousands
of activity professionals the credentials that show
the long term care continuum that we can provide the
quality services to all of our consumers.
NCCAP
continues to evolve along with the profession. We have
re-engineered the MEPAP courses to reflect the "state
of the art" educational opportunities for those
choosing to become certified. We would like to thank
all of those whose vision and endless hours of work
created the course that meets the educational needs
of the activities
profession. We continue to look ahead to assist individuals
in their certification journey.
We provide opportunities for profession growth and the
growth of the individual professional.
This
is a year of celebration that we invite everyone to
participate along with us. During our daily challenges
take a moment to remember that our past and our future
are both opportunities waiting for you to seize. There
are many individuals who have served the profession
and continue to make the activities profession the greatest
career. We know that there will be many challenges ahead,
but we also know that those who have contributed to
our growth and those who are willing to contribute to
our growth will see them as opportunities to move into
the future with enthusiasm and creativity.
Kathy
Hughes is looking forward to attending her 25th NAAP
conference. Although she hasn't memorized the years
that they have taken place, she does have a memory for
each and every one of them. She has been privileged
to meet and network with all those who had the vision
and the creativity to continue the growth of the activities
profession. NN
|
