Senior Living Communities Excels During Stage One of Resident-Centered Initiative

PR Log (Press Release) – Oct 19, 2009 – CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Shelly Lockhart knows her way around a kitchen.  But for the first time in her career as executive director of Watersong retirement community in Viera, Fla., she will have to put those skills to good use during office hours.

Lockhart is one of 10 executive directors who will add baking cookies to her to-do list as she continues to implement a new, person-centered initiative at Watersong.

The initiative is championed by Senior Living Communities, a Charlotte, N.C.-based owner and operator of retirement communities.  Although all 10 Senior Living Communities are in different stages of the process, they are expected to complete a check-list that includes significant operational changes by the end of the year.

The improvements are designed to help engage residents needing assisted living, skilled nursing or memory care in their surroundings and enhance their quality of life.  Residents will enjoy an array of changes from halls filled with the smells of freshly baked bread or homemade cookies, to new care plans designed around their own individual preferences.  

These plans, called I-care plans, include information from residents such as “I like my cup of coffee 30 minutes before breakfast,” or “I am a die-hard Atlanta Braves fan and love a cold Coke while I’m watching the game.”  The individually tailored care allows residents to set their own routine, which encourages independence, security and freedom of choice.  The new care plans also aid caregivers by shifting their perspective from the patient to the person, an important step in delivering effective, person-centered care.  

The initiative represents a significant financial investment on the part of Senior Living Communities, but Chief Operating Officer Mary Bowers feels the improvements are essential to the company’s success in the future.

“Our corporate mission is to help our members live longer, healthier and happier lives,” Bowers said.  “It’s impossible to do that when our residents feel like hospital patients.  The older, institutional retirement home model is obsolete, and it’s pretty easy to understand that treating your customers like family members makes good business sense.”

Although residents living in Senior Living Communities throughout the Southeast are the primary beneficiaries of a person-centered approach, employees will also benefit by strengthening their relationship with those they serve.  “Neighborhoods” will be created at each location to separate the large campuses into smaller, close-knit communities where residents are nurtured as individuals by their own dedicated staff of caregivers.  

RidgeCrest, based in Mount Airy, N.C., and Watersong, based in Viera, Fla., are currently utilizing neighborhoods in their retirement communities, and the remaining eight Senior Living Communities will do so in the near future.

Additional improvements include in-suite, secure medicine cabinets stocked with pre-packaged medication specific to each resident, and wellness programming that encourages independence and promotes self-esteem.  One such program, called “Waves,” combines the therapeutic benefits of warm water with low-impact aerobics to safely reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer’s and dementia in residents.  

With significant operational changes in effect at all 10 communities and many more slated for 2010, Senior Living Communities CEO Donald Thompson recognizes the importance of teamwork.

“Every member of our team, from our housekeepers to our executive directors, has to buy in to this person-centered approach, and we are very confident in their willingness to do so,” Thompson said.  “The momentum already created by our community of professionals is heart-warming, but we look forward to delivering bigger and better improvements for our residents in 2010.”