When someone transitions to a nursing home, or any other senior community, they and their family entrust future care to that staff. After so long living autonomously, this is a significant change for an individual. When they make this change, they are often in a vulnerable state, which means that they need those involved in assisted living support to be consistent and caring. Following are three tips that will help give residents a high quality of life.
Simplify Communication
It’s not uncommon for emergencies to occur in a care home, or similar environment. Your facility must establish emergency protocols and ensure staff can communicate easily with one another. One way to do this is by using a simple communication system. A two-way radio network is a particularly streamlined option. Some two-way radio distributors, apart from just the quick push to talk features, can even educate your team on how to use features that check in on your staff when they work alone, plus many other helpful features, like emergency buttons and more.
Promote Residents’ Activity
When many people summon an image of a senior home into their mind, they think of seniors lounging around a lobby or hallways and either dozing, playing a card game, or watching television. This is not good for anyone! Instead of one or 2 set activities each day, consider implementing sustained programming throughout the day that combines many different facets of life. For those who enjoy games, help organize board and card games with stretch breaks between games. This helps residents keep their brains & bodies fresh. If you have residents who enjoy watching television, structure in a time for people to come together and watch something together, and then discuss it. This allows for good social engagement. Squeeze in different kinds of exercise sessions too, like using commercial time for chair aerobics. Consistent but flexible programming prevents boredom and improves care.
Improve Oversight
To maintain accountability, make sure you offer a consistent staff oversight procedure. Communicate with your team about what you expect from them and how you will assess them, and then begin said oversight. Make sure expectations are clear, including unannounced checks on the quality of care. Be as systematic as possible to objectively measure care quality yourself, before anyone else does.
These three tips can help your senior care home thrive, even in uncertain times.