They have been doing a great job but there are a lot of them, so many that I still don't know all their names and faces. I'm wondering if anyone has any great ideas to say thank you?
As a hospital worker I can tell you we LOVE food!! The problem is sometimes to know how much to take! A dozen doughnuts does not go far for 30 staff members, but 6 pizzas might do the trick.. I used to go to the dollar store and buy boxes of snacks like wrapped mini muffins, tiny boxes of candy.. whatever fits your budget and put it all in a basket.. not too pricey but goes a long way, And actually we all love fruit,, maybe a bag or two of clementines and a bunch of bananas? And if they have a pod type coffee maker, a big box of coffee pods is great! ( I get them at Ollies or a place like that) This is what I did for Mom and MIL and FIL when they were in AL or rehab. Don;t stress your budget,, just the thought counts alot!
About once per month I’d sent in six pizzas, salad and soda for the staff at my dads memory care/assisted living. I was an out of state caregiver so this was a good way for some Public Relations in between my visits. The staff would stop and thank dad all day long for the goodies. He had no idea what they were talking about but liked the nice attention.
A nice card made out to all the staff and several trays of goodies delivered during each shift is always appreciated.
I found that telling them face to face how much I appreciated what they were doing, not only for my dad but, everyone in the facility and how awesome they were really made a difference. I thanked them every time I saw them and I always asked them how they were doing. Their's tends to be a thankless job and nobody remembers that they are human beings dealing with the difficult task of caring for our elders.
You will get your dad special care by making his caregivers feel appreciated and special.
I made homemade goodies and they were a big hit. I did something with chocolate, something with fruit and something savory and prayed that I hit all tastes among the staff. Oh, get a mylar balloon to attach to the trays that says thank you or you are special, it shows all the staff that there are goodies for all. Dollar stores are awesome for this.
As someone who worked night shift at a place where employee appreciation meant hot catered lunches (delivered about 8 hours before I got there), please remember the second or third shift folks as well :)
My Mom's facility has 70 employees ( including housekeeping, food service, and others). I made a poster with pictures of Mom throughout her life with a heartfelt letter in the middle thanking them for all they do. Administrator placed it in the employee's lunch room along with the individual packaged chocolate macadamia nuts ( Mom loves Hawaii). I bought almost 200 of them and divided them into 3 boxes -one for each shift. I think the staff appreciated it, but with Covid-19 I never really knew. I only had phone conversations with a few members.
I gave the nurses and aides at my mom's NH gifts for Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day. Christmas they got nice handcare products, lotions, manicure kits, etc. On Valentines day they all got boxes of chocolates. Easter they got Visa gift cards so they could use them for whatever. On Christmas, i also gave all the departments ( housekeeping, laundry, PT, kitchen, and Admin staff boxes of fancy cookies. Nothing was very expensive, but I wanted them to know they were appreciated.
We bought whole 30+ person AL staff Chick-fil-a boxed lunches (sandwiches, chips, pickles, and cookies, plus gallons of lemonade, sweet and unsweetened tea. CFA helped me make good choice of what to buy, how many, etc. I paid for it and CFA did the rest! They bagged all 35 boxes up nicely and I drove up to get them. At that time it was around $250 for all and my mom loved bring part of funding and giving the gift. I delivered the boxes to the AL on a beautiful Friday at lunchtime, for the whole shift and office staff. The receptionist and I made a nice arrangement of the boxes and drinks on the AL cafe table. The staff were so thrilled when they learned they were being served lunch by mom and family and felt so loved and appreciated. Will do it again soon!
I filled a large serving tray, that had 2 inch sides, with all kinds of bought, packaged treats. Crackers. Cookies, candy, chips, hot chocolate, etc and left it in their break room (with the help of the manager) along with a thankyou note.
A letter to administration can do more for their morale than you could ever imagine. People can live off that praise for YEARS given that what they most get is criticism. Do write the administration. Tell them what you told us about not being able to get the names together well enough, but let them know how much you appreciate the good care, and how much you hope it is passed on to the caregivers. If you go to visit then some donuts, anything you can think of, and tell them what you tell us. I so agree with you that this is so needed; I so appreciated the good care of the ALF of my brother. I will NEVER forget it. I wrote and told them over and over, even made a kimono for one special person. But I could never tell them enough or give enough to tell them.
Either a catered meal or prepackaged snacks and beverages. Food is always a winner.
with covid, it couldn't be home made.
A box of Sees (or other) candy is always a good choice.
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I found that telling them face to face how much I appreciated what they were doing, not only for my dad but, everyone in the facility and how awesome they were really made a difference. I thanked them every time I saw them and I always asked them how they were doing. Their's tends to be a thankless job and nobody remembers that they are human beings dealing with the difficult task of caring for our elders.
You will get your dad special care by making his caregivers feel appreciated and special.
I made homemade goodies and they were a big hit. I did something with chocolate, something with fruit and something savory and prayed that I hit all tastes among the staff. Oh, get a mylar balloon to attach to the trays that says thank you or you are special, it shows all the staff that there are goodies for all. Dollar stores are awesome for this.
On Christmas, i also gave all the departments ( housekeeping, laundry, PT, kitchen, and Admin staff boxes of fancy cookies. Nothing was very expensive, but I wanted them to know they were appreciated.
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