Activities in Dementia Special Care Units

(A) A DSCU shall provide a minimum of eight hours of documented therapeutic activities programming per day, of which at least six hours shall be scheduled activities, seven days per week. (B) Therapeutic activities shall be planned throughout the day and evening and incorporate the possible need for therapeutic programming during night hours based upon the needs of individual residents. (C) Therapeutic activities shall be individualized and designed to improve or maintain residents’ self-awareness and level of functioning and shall be reasonablysuited to the needs and interests of residents. Therapeutic activities shall be provided on an individual and group basis. (D) DSCU personnel shall seek ways to engage residents in therapeutic activities. (E) The DSCU shall provide, maintain, and store basic supplies and equipment for therapeutic activities. (F) A DSCU shall provide sufficient space for therapeutic activities contained within the DSCU. The space shall conform to the physical plant requirements listed in 105 CMR 150.029. (G) Therapeutic activities shall be: (1) Structured and planned to promote or help sustain the physical and emotional well-being of each resident and maximize functional independence; (2) Based on an assessment of each resident’s past and current interests and gross motor, self-care, social, sensory, cognitive, and memory skills; (3) Meaningful, purposeful and cognitively stimulating; (4) Designed to enhance or maintain memory, to the extent practical; Designed to provide opportunities for physical, social and emotional outlets and self-expression; and (6) Implemented in accordance with current standards of practice for treatment of residents with dementia and appropriate to the resident’s stage of disease.