nursing homes

Ways to Improve Quality of Life in Nursing Homes

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The task of caring for seniors in nursing homes is no small feat. While rewarding, the job can be quite challenging. As a provider of care, it’s important to strike a balance between caring and being a professional. This often involves changes in how duties are carried out, and it doesn’t have to involve significant investment in training and acquiring equipment.

 

 

It is the goal of every person at our facility to improve the quality of life of the seniors in our care. Here are ways to do that:

 

 

Always treat patients with courtesy and respect

 

The practice of extending courtesy and respect shouldn’t just stay within the realm of family and friends. This practice should be carried into the caring of senior patients in nursing homes. In other words, they may initially be strangers to you, but they still deserve to be treated with kindness.

 

 

While it’s true that the elderly can be grumpy, and you might find yourself being frustrated with the treatment you’re receiving. Even in such trying cases, it’s important to still treat patients with kindness. Even an action as simple as speaking to them in a polite tone goes a long way.

 

 

Act with confidence

 

Residents can make judgments about your abilities by the way you act. They base how they respond to you on their assessments. Taking this into account, it’s important to show that you’re confident in doing your job. If they see that you know what you are doing, they are more likely to respond favorably to what you ask of them.

 

 

Make sure to practice hygiene and sanitation

 

The last thing you want is for a senior patient to mistrust you. They know they are fragile and can’t help being distrustful of those who don’t seem to care about health and sanitation. As such, it’s important that you do your part in assuring them that you adhere to good hygiene and sanitation practices. For instance, you can cover your cough to show to them that you care about not contaminating them.

 

 

Take note of your activities with senior patients

 

You become the point person of your superiors, as well as the patient’s family members, and even the patient’s doctor with regards to the their well-being. It’s important that you be able to answer any pertinent questions they might have about the patient. To ensure that you remember, write down everything that you did with that patient. Doing so gives medical professionals a picture of what your patient is able to do and how they can further help them.

 

 

While Fallbrook is an assisted living facility and not a nursing home, we understand the levels of care that seniors need. Senior patients are people with feelings, and it’s important to ensure they have a good quality of life while living in nursing homes. Yes, the task may be challenging but the knowledge of having made someone’s life better is quite rewarding.

 

 

Fallbrook Assisted Living is proud to offer its services to Fremont, NE and surrounding areas and cities: Arlington, Cedar Bluffs, Ames Nickerson, Fontanelle, Arlington, Leshara, Colon, and Hooper

assisted living

Helping to Improve Memory in Assisted Living

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An assisted living (AL) facility separates itself from a nursing home by giving residents freedom to go about their daily lives. However, many of its elderly seem to exhibit the same issues found in those under nursing care, including the frequent need to be reminded about taking medication. Thus, memory assisted living is important.

 

 

Memory decline is one of the major reasons AL residents are moved to nursing homes where they will receive constant medical care and personal assistance. At the same time, there is also a demand from residents themselves and their family to allow them to “age in place.”

 

 

What can assisted living facilities do knowing that residents fear being moved because of decreasing cognitive ability?

 

 

Addressing the fear of memory loss

 

Many older adults fear losing their ability to remember. Several studies support this fear, citing memory decline as one of the top complaints with regards to aging. This fear is not unfounded since there is a common belief that memory declines as a person ages. What AL facilities can do to help is find ways to address the fear of memory loss.

 

 

In an effort to improve, memory assisted living facilities can conduct memory training programs. However, studies have shown that such a program is most effective in the high functioning elderly. Meaning, frail elders who are at risk for cognitive decline don’t stand to benefit from memory intervention programs.

 

 

Where AL facilities can focus on is improving everyday memory, which includes being able to remember faces and names, recent and past events, information and facts, and directions – just to name a few. Since studies show that older adults use external memory strategies (making lists or notes), AL facilities can also turn their attention towards using internal memory strategies like association.

 

Improving memory in the elderly

 

To improve memory assisted living communities can teach cognitive-behavioral skills to their elderly residents. In particular, older adults are taught how to use mnemonic techniques to improve their memory. The techniques make use of both external and internal memory strategies to help residents be better at remembering.

 

 

Some level of freedom is a benefit afforded to assisted living residents, and just how much of it is provided greatly depends on the memory capabilities of a person. For instance, someone who constantly forgets names raises red flags about their memory ability. To continue living in an AL facility, older adults should be able to demonstrate that they can remember. Remembering here involves important information, not just trivial ones.

 

 

AL communities should also not stop at just teaching older adults cognitive-behaviorial skills. They also need to make sure residents are able to apply the techniques they learned. A simple test could be to see whether or not an elderly person can remember to complete an action without any assistance.

 

 

Memory is definitely tricky, but sometimes the key to improving it is to shift traditional beliefs about declining memory. Many older adults believe that memory decline comes with age, but assisted living facilities can show them that isn’t always the case; with memory care a person can still be in good shape even in old age.

 

 

Fallbrook Assisted Living is proud to offer its services to Fremont, NE and surrounding areas and cities: Arlington, Cedar Bluffs, Ames Nickerson, Fontanelle, Arlington, Leshara, Colon, and Hooper