If you have a family member in a senior care facility, you know exactly the challenges they have been facing in the last year.
Perhaps, you’ve been struggling with how to gain peace of mind about your loved one’s safety, happiness, and health.
It’s easy to understand.
This last year has been filled with unprecedented events and circumstances. For many people with family and friends in senior living communities, it’s been an intense journey.
It’s time to call it quits on old-school facilities that are not engaging the residents. If you’ve been concerned about creating a better resident experience and optimal senior care, you are not alone.
Many facilities are finding that new assisted living software enables them to engage individuals and stay focused on holistic health. With up-to-date data, it’s entirely possible to take preventative action and dramatically improve resident care. With greater understanding, comes reduced risk.
Resident data includes input and updates on social, behavioral, physical, and medical status. Using these data points, senior living providers can assess, prevent, manage, and be proactive. This creates a distinct advantage for communities and enables caregivers to customize activities, and take preventative and proactive actions.
If you have a loved one in a care facility or senior residence, you can participate in helping them stay active, engaged, and having a sense of purpose.
Let’s explore 5 ways you can be part of the solution for making aging a rewarding time of life.
Celebrate Sustainability
Many senior residents are keenly aware of the climate crisis and advocate for sustainability. A great way to share this passion is to make time to celebrate Earth Day.
Here in Houston, we’ve got a wealth of activities for earth-lovers. From visiting Urban Harvest or taking a virtual tour at Houston’s Museum of Natural Science, this is a great occasion to celebrate our planet together.
Engage In Caring
Whether you swap a plant at Urban Harvest, get one at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, or shop at your local nursery, plants are great gifts. Pick up living plants for your loved ones.
Caring for plants is one of the easiest ways to help your loved one find purpose. From fresh herbs, flowers, to succulents, caring for a plant is a great way to get engaged.
Look for plants that are easy to maintain and require minimal watering. Keep an eye on picking plants that will work for your loved one’s health, and are suited to their location.
Strengthen Purpose
Having a sense of purpose is vital for health and well-being. If you have children, help your kids talk with their grandparents. Encourage kids to have close conversations both in-person and remotely. Experiment with virtual visits, paintings, and storytelling.
Explore different activities and opportunities to share interests. Many grandparents are eager to share skills, interests, and talents with their grandchildren. Think about activities that can be done virtually, as long as health restrictions recommend social distancing.
Many grandparents have a natural talent or hobby they are eager to share with younger ones. Whether it’s painting, drawing, knitting, or building, many activities can be shared in person and virtually.
Ask your loved ones what they would like to share with your children. You’ll build a greater sense of meaning for everyone involved.
Encourage Peace of Mind
In this last year, we’ve made a lot of adjustments. Social distancing has been a big change in most senior facilities, as facilities adopt CDC-recommended protocols. Many facilities have adjusted visitation policies, restricted interaction, and encouraged virtual activities to meet safety guidelines.
Everyone is looking for how to achieve peace of mind. This is why newer technology is so popular. Technology now exists to monitor fall detection, wandering detection, or identify if a resident is separated from an essential medical device.
By using the latest technology, you and your loved ones can achieve a new dimension of peace of mind.
Streamline Ease
No one likes to struggle with passwords, programming, and technology functions. You can streamline ease with up-to-date technology and entertainment packages.
Many people struggle with technology because it’s not organized and set up for ease. Explore all the ways you can help create a sense of ease for your loved ones. Perhaps Wifi could be faster, streaming and video conferencing easier. Help your loved ones enjoy entertainment, access, and connection.
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for ways to boost your loved one’s happiness and health, now you have a starting point. Just use these 5 tips to get started, and then add your own to keep ongoing.
