Welcome to Memory Care Support’s 
May 2020 newsletter!

Coming Back From COVID 
Senior Care Operators Can Be Stronger After COVID

Reacting to a COVID World

Assisted living communities scrambled to respond to the COVID19 virus that was tragically hitting areas around the country, especially affecting older adults with associated health problems. Because the residents living in assisted living have an average age of 86 years old and 4 chronic conditions, it was like watching a freight train bear down on your residents and staff.

Many senior housing operators took the early reports seriously and quickly began to adjust their best practices in everything from infection control to sourcing medical supplies to how to assess and move in new residents.

Putting Best Practices in Place

Leadership was key in keeping places operating at a level of stability and quality, even while the virus affected many residents and staff. And leadership wasn’t demonstrated just by people in the top positions – staff at all levels stepped forward to fill the void where needed, working long hours to keep residents safe and engaged.

Broaden Our Perspective

Operators, especially those of assisted living and memory care communities, can’t pretend they are separate from or not providing health care. When there are dozens of frail older adults living together under one roof, excellent systems for assessment, improving and supporting good health are a necessity, even more apparent after this current outbreak. And when a new resident moves in, there is the implicit promise that we are monitoring their health needs and keeping them safe. The presence of nurses on-site in assisted living and memory care communities has increased in the past few years, but it is time to get more serious about what we are doing to protect our residents and keep them healthy.
 

Opportunity Even in the Face of Disaster

As devastating as this COVID outbreak has been, it is an opportunity to gain something positive for the future. Let’s look back and learn how to improve our resident assessment and monitoring systems. What do we need to be prepared when there is the next health crises?...stronger leaders?...more staff training?...increased stockpile of equipment?...better communication with health care providers?...more transparency with families about our capabilities?

And year after year, reports indicate the need for improved hiring and retention of staff working in assisted living. A recent article in McKnight’s indicated a huge deficit of workers in the years to come. Do we ask ourselves why hiring and retention remain a continual problem for senior care?

Assisted Living cares for some of the frailest elders in our country. Let’s honor our team members who stayed with us to help keep our residents healthy and promise them more support, more training, more recognition, and a career path that will keep them engaged in caring for our residents for years to come.

Successful senior care operators will learn from COVID and strengthen their message and their systems, adapt and broaden their perspective. We are in the business of caring – let’s step forward and do it stronger! Survive and be better for it!

Have a great day!

If you work in Assisted Living and want
To make your dementia care program even better,
Or if you need assistance in
Planning care for a loved one,
E-mail or call me for a free consultation.

Anne Ellett, N.P., M.S.N.
AANC Certified Gerontological Nurse
Founder, Executive Director - Memory Care Support
www.MemoryCareSupport.com
AEllett@MemoryCareSupport.com
Ph. 949 933-6201