Caring for Residents at a Senior Assisted Living & Memory Care Facility: One Connection at a Time

Appropriate Interaction: The cottages at Aegis are the residents’ homes and each resident within those cottages comes from a unique background. As I perform care, I am essentially entering their home. Holding so much diversity, it was important for me to maintain and respect each resident’s values regardless of their experiences, backgrounds, emotions, personalities, or condition. For instance, as I was learning each resident’s preferences, one resident requested for assistance with her shower. Since I had completed all my responsibilities at the time, I offered my assistance. In order to promote independence, I listened and followed her directions carefully as she listed and continuously voiced her needs for every step. Although she took an entire hour and I could have rushed and done it for her, I created a comfortable, safe, and supportive experience as I valued her boundaries, wants, and needs.

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Empathy: While the COVID pandemic has affected us all in different ways, it had a heavy toll on the residents as well. The facility had to close off to family visits and group activities were paused for the safety of the residents and staff. While caring for one resident who was diagnosed with mild depression, I observed progressive changes to her behavior as a result of the COVID restrictions. Her body grew weaker and was no longer motivated to get up in the morning. I was able to connect with her on a deep level as I listened and shared our feelings about the circumstances. To help motivate her, I encouraged her to eat meals with her husband, move around, go on walks, and play the piano. Slowly, the circumstances due to COVID did not seem as bad anymore.

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Collaboration: Each care manager is responsible for approximately 14 residents. During the morning shift, my responsibilities were to help the residents wake up, get dressed, and serve breakfast and lunch along with the additional activities of daily living (ADLs) according to each resident’s care plan. Having so many residents to take care of and so many tasks to complete can be overwhelming, but with the highly responsive and supportive team, the heavy workload was shared and lightened. Active communication was the key to the tightknit team; there was always someone available to help. The entire care team worked together to create a safe and comfortable environment for the residents at Aegis.

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Advocating for a Point of View: The geriatric population is oftentimes forgotten about and is extremely vulnerable. One of my most important roles is to advocate for the residents. As a care manager, I am the one who has extensive daily contact with each resident. Every day, we have a staff meeting in which we provide updates about each resident’s conditions. Since the condition of each resident varies from being fully independent to completely bed bound, not everyone has the ability to be an advocate for themselves, their needs, and their concerns. Thus, I am now their advocate. I have earned their trust and have become their voice in creating a home for the residents.

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Positive Attitude: The facility is the resident’s home. Although I am assisting them with personal care, I am still an outsider entering the resident’s personal space. This can be frustrating and discomforting, but by putting a smile on and staying patient, residents are able to feel more at ease in which they can trust you and your judgement. This experience has taught me the importance of having good bedside manners. How I interact with residents, through my tone, diction, body language, and actions, has a major effect on the residents’ overall experience. Through patience, I can show compassion and communicate effectively. It allows me to problem solve and use different approaches to communicate with residents.

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Service: Old age is a sensitive phase; the geriatric population needs care and comfort to live a healthy life without worries and anxiety. The elderly needs supervision in which oftentimes the younger generation neglects and regard them as a burden. They long for care, love, and affection that we, as care managers, provide daily. At Aegis Living, we are able to understand their needs and concerns, be their emotional support, and provide the care and attention they need to live a healthy life. With families trusting us and knowing their family member is safe, there is one less stressor. They can instead have delightful visits, enjoying their time with family.

 

Scope of Competence: Prior to this experience, I had never worked in a healthcare setting. The closest experience I had to serving the elderly community was performing recitals at retirement homes. Each day of my training was incredibly educational and filled with new information. I learned not only rules and regulations, but also specific details catered to each resident’s preferences. As I transitioned to working independently, I was not afraid to ask for assistance or verification that I was completing tasks correctly for the safety of the residents. For instance, although the care plan for one particular resident indicates that she is only requires a one person to help transfer her, I had another care manager assist me to prevent any chances of her falling.

 

Responding to Change: Each day as a care manager is different, even within the same cottage, but with the tightknit and supportive care team, we are able to adapt well to changes that may come up throughout a shift. For instance, one resident had a massive spill in his room that required deep cleaning. He was moved from the Dogwood cottage to the Cedar cottage for a few days. At the time, I was still not as familiar with the residents in Dogwood, so I quickly had to learn his preferences and what was on his care plan. During his stay in Cedar, I was able to manage my existing responsibilities as well as cater to his needs.