Wellbeing services counties are experimenting with new types of collaboration in organizing remote day activities for people with disabilities
Western Uusimaa, North Karelia, and Southwest Finland welfare areas are experimenting with a new type of cooperation in organizing remote day activities for disabled persons. The cross-welfare area remote group activities complement the remote services already offered in the welfare areas.
Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County, North Karelia Wellbeing Services County – Siun sote, and Southwest Finland Wellbeing Services County are piloting a new type of collaboration in organizing remote daytime activities for persons with disabilities. The wellbeing services counties will launch a trial in February for remote group activities that cross wellbeing services county borders, complementing the remote services already offered by the counties.
Remote services are group-based daytime activities conducted via digital devices. These services are not tied to a specific location and are suitable for all customers interested in digital services. The aim of the new activity is to offer customers more comprehensive content.
– The trial will gather experiences on how inter-county collaboration can be utilized in remote activities for disability services. With multiple wellbeing services counties involved, we can offer our customers more diverse remote group and course content, explains service planner Tarja Huotari from Siun sote.
– We have all successfully promoted virtual daytime activities in our respective areas. We can learn from each other’s proven methods and ways to create quality content that supports customer participation, adds instructor Samuli Niemi from Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County.
The trial will start with a wellbeing-themed remote group, involving about ten customers from each wellbeing services county. The wellbeing group will address themes related to promoting wellbeing, such as nutrition, exercise, mental wellbeing, and safety skills. The group will also explore how music, dance, and animals can support wellbeing. The group will include informational segments on wellbeing themes and joint discussions on the topics.
The participating wellbeing services counties will alternate in leading the remote group. The first session will focus on introductions, with instructors from all counties present. Similarly, the final session will be a joint effort by all instructors. After the course, feedback will be collected from customers and instructors to further develop the activities.
– The trial demonstrates how wellbeing services counties can jointly develop services that work across county borders. It is important that customers can participate in activities according to their interests. By listening to the experiences of both customers and professionals from the trial, we can develop remote activities and take the first step towards a broader remote service model, states development expert Jenni Peltonen from Southwest Finland Wellbeing Services County.
Shared expertise for the benefit of customers
Niemi explains that in Western Uusimaa, remote daytime activities for disability services have been organized for the second year, now every Monday.
– Our activity sessions can be attended as part of a customer group from any of our activity centers or independently from home if desired. There are often about a hundred participants at a time. In this pilot, we are trying an individual-centered model with a small, fixed customer group.
Professionals from LUVN will lead the remote meetings in the pilot, addressing participation and digital participation, tai chi exercises, and the connection between farm activities and animal activities to wellbeing. LUVN’s customers will, in turn, receive guidance from other wellbeing services counties on safety skills, sexual rights, responsibilities and duties, and nutrition.
– This way, we can provide our customers with expertise that we do not have available and share our own expertise with others, Niemi explains.
Niemi works in the Digital Service Operations Unit of LUVN’s Disability Services, which, in addition to remote daytime activities, also produces the Ella app for mobile devices. Ella is an activity bank that offers a variety of enjoyable activities and information for both professionals and customers. Some of the remote daytime activity sessions are also recorded and available for viewing through Ella.
More information
• Samuli Niemi, Instructor, tel. 040 304 7055, samuli.niemi@luvn.fi