Good News Consulting Inc. ’s Post

In most dementia care communities, their residents do not have the opportunity to do simple “chores” like laundry, sweeping, taking out the trash, making your bed, setting the dinner table, watering the lawn and other similar tasks. This is because of two factors usually: 1. Either it’s faster for the staff to do it (convenience) ⏰ 2.) Or, they don’t think residents are capable (ignorance) 🤕 We see the efforts made every day by our team to incorporate and normalize the contribution of our residents to the upkeep of their own home. Think of all the benefits this provides from a dementia support perspective. We regularly see the heartwarming events of playing games with children, playing fetch with a dog, and hanging out with your friends in the salon. We coach and support families to learn more about dementia so their interactions with their loved ones are more successful. We work tirelessly to create informed and educated partners in our greater community so our residents have places they can go and continue to feel normal beyond the walls of Bella Groves. You may see and read these things and think “what’s the big deal?” Here’s the alternative we see in other facilities (yes, using that word specifically) that have a very institutionalized mindset. - Residents sitting in a TV room all day - inactivity and idleness - rushed housekeeping by staff - residents taken to/from meals - little to no interactions with children/pets - no time outside - staff talking about residents as if they can’t understand I visited another “memory care” place a few days ago. That’s exactly what I saw. One resident there told me, “we don’t do anything here. We sit here all day everyday.” But I’ll bet you they have a packed activity calendar in their tour packet. I bet their staff are given a head’s up when a sales appointment is about to happen. I bet their corporate offices say that “care is the MOST important thing we do.” I never utter those words on our team. The MOST important thing we will ever do is to SEE the people we serve as WHOLE people. One time, a guest who was visiting our place mistook one of our residents as a family member, “does your loved one live here?” Our resident said, “oh, no. I live here. Isn’t it lovely?” 😊 💜 > dementia [Bella Groves is in north San Antonio. Thank you for sharing our story!]