By JoEllen Bleavins, R.N., Senior Vice President of Management
Care is about keeping people independent for as long as possible. It is not about making people more dependent.
That was among the points emphasized by speaker Clint Maun at the Life Services Network Senior Living Conference that I attended last week. Clint is nationally recognized for his innovative leadership in healthcare consulting, speaking and research.
Assisted living commun
ities, he noted, should not be focusing on doing as much as they possibly can do for residents. Rather, the focus should be on residents doing as much as they possibly can on their own.
Of course, we should be providing residents with all of the assistance they need to maintain their independence for as long as possible. But, we should also be looking at ways to encourage and enable residents to do things on their own.
This may mean . . .
- Helping a resident walk to and from the dining room rather than pushing the resident to and from the dining room in a wheelchair.
- Partnering with organizations such as the Arthritis Association to help residents live with and do as much as they can with arthritis.
- Modifying exercise programs to encourage as many residents as possible to participate at their capability level.
- Only buttoning a blouse or shirt for a resident if the resident cannot handle the task.
- Only providing as much assistance with bathing as is absolutely necessary and not washing those parts of the body that the resident can reach.
Our focus at the assisted living communities that we manage is on providing older adults with a combination of safety, security, love, compassion and dignity. We strongly believe in helping each resident to be as independent as possible and for as long as possible.
All affordable assisted living communities managed by BMA Management, Ltd. are certified and surveyed by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. All assisted living communities are licensed and surveyed by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
“BMA Management, Ltd. is the leading provider of assisted living in Illinois
and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
