As a community manager you may have scratched your head a few times wondering, what can I order or create as a give-away post tour to make my community stand out and really meet a need or desire for the older adult? The intent is to absolutely find a way to show that we care and enjoyed meeting you and your family today. Unfortunately, the options that are affordable and individualized are limited. Our best intentions can end up falling short despite best efforts.

It seems every conversation we have with an operator in Senior Living, one common request emerges…

WE NEED/WANT TO CREATE SIGNATURE PROGRAMS FOR RESIDENT ENGAGEMENT. WE WANT TO USE THESE TO DIFFERENTIATE OURSELVES IN THE LOCAL MARKET. 

Being two people that have been in charge of creating signature, trademark and branded programs in communities and organizations, it is not as easy as it sounds. Too often we get a great idea and follow others lead to create a best in class, complex and what we think will be involved, yet easy to execute because we have written out all the rules, directions, policies, procedures, and even instructed the day and time of day to run these programs. 

It just does not work as well as expected or envisioned

I have always known that community requires participation, but after hearing Jill Vitale-Aussem talk at Evolve Tuesday it became obvious it community is only the starting point, not the end goal. For too long we have viewed residents as customers and consumers, attempting to meet all their needs and requests while they sit back waiting and watching for resolution. How does this promote purpose and empowerment? Two industry words we throw around on websites and collateral not fully understanding what they really mean. When we are able to recognize residents at a community as citizens, an integral part of problem solving, innovation, order, best practices and future goals, that is when we create an environment of purposeful living and empowerment. We depend upon the citizens to use their skills and talents. Community evolves to citizenship when a collection of everyone’s best assets displayed at the right moments in time

I am quite certain this is the unspoken mantra at LE3.

If we look around at the world of business and careers it really is fascinating. In an attempt to become successful, climb professional ladders, scale companies, influence others, drive efficiency, invent and innovate, we are all left with one common denominator.

Broken humans trying to make a living and the world a better place one job at a time.

As LE3 Solutions continues to track and update all things around engagement that impacts residents and their families, there is one new shift in verbiage to note. Resident engagement is where we started and was the focus of this map, and our business. However, as we get further into the space, we recognize how much bigger the conversation needs to be on and around engagement. Our vernacular has shifted and we know that engagement truly is community wide, not just resident facing. How people spend their day doing things that are meaningful and enjoyable is absolutely community wide, noting community extends far beyond the walls. Resident engagement spills over into the external community via accessibility and opportunity.

Science has revealed to us that routine and habit-forming processes are instrumental for people with various types of dementia to safely [PA1] navigate their day.  Why is this approach effective and worth noting? Simply put, there is growing evidence that assistive digital technology, when combined with behavioral approaches, can be useful interventions that help individuals who need additional cognitive assistance, including the many forms of dementia.

Thankfully, there are new tools and resources that support both caregivers and people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease related dementias (AD/ADRD) with routine and habit-forming processes. MapHabit is a suite of solutions that can do just that. Designed for individuals and their support partners, MapHabit helps improve quality of life for both by providing an effective tool to reinforce routine habits and help individuals complete daily routines like bathing, eating, taking medications, and engaging with family members.

MapHabit’s approach is research based on procedural memory and the spared habit-forming portions of our brains. As Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias progress in stages, MapHabit saw the potential of the “Neostriatum”, the portion of the brain that retains habit memory. With proper process documentation and consistent delivery of care, there is a significant reduction in the stress that support partners and family members experience when challenging situations come up.

Belonging matters.  Accountability matters.  At the end of the day, the main reason people “show up” for a workout of any sort in a group setting is to socialize and feel a part of something.  Back to the top, exercise and pushing your body to physical and mental limits is not enjoyable. It hurts. It’s uncomfortable. It’s hard work and  takes commitment. You do not see benefits overnight. All of these barriers push back against someone being present time and time again. But the joy, pride and fuel to continue is seen by the results and outcomes.  To achieve outcomes and results to sustain your quest, you need another reason to be present. 

What Does High Tech, High Touch Even Mean?

So I did what every respectable human would do…I Googled it! Books, hands on science programs, better customer service and such. I found this title - High Tech Vs. High Touch: Balancing Technology and People by Tim Dimoff. Article Link. The title drew me in. I admitted to myself at my desk…Why have I been saying something that I do not really know what it means? Do tech people think I am an idiot? Do residents think I am an idiot? Do I think I am an idiot? Maybe.

As someone who continually states the phrase “have you asked the residents or people you are serving?” I cringed inside a bit.

Nope. Guilty #2 - I have never asked a resident what “high tech vs high touch” means to them. Do they care? Have they ever heard the phrase? Is it even relevant in the operating and service model when they are planning their next move or home? Is “high tech” a service and amenity or a way to reduce human interaction? Do introverts like high tech and extroverts like high touch? I could go on, but the point is, what “high tech” stuff do residents want? Not what we think we need as companies or what other competition is doing?

I have always been a fan of looking up a definition in the dictionary. Maybe because my favorite thing about elementary was writing book reports using the old school Encyclopedia Britannica set! Words have literal, and assumed meanings. I believe the connotation (an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning) of a word is critically important to look at, especially when we rely on that word, or set of words, to represent an overarching philosophy or model. Insert Activities!

When we think of opportunities for well-being, purpose, engagement, vitality, longevity, community and a ton of other words that we hope to be individual outcomes to offerings, there is a definite mismatch to the traditional sense and nomenclature of the word “activities.” This battle against “activities” no longer strikes my uncomfortable chord that needs to appease the masses. Instead, it confirms the same disruptive innovation that Bob Kramer spoke about. It confirms we are progressing and innovating. I think people are ready for the change. Is the change a word? No. It is more than that, but I think it is a good place start.

Ready, Aim, Print…

It is July 10…the deadline for the August calendar is now. Ready, Aim, Fire… to the printer it goes. Fingers crossed nothing changes, because, well we just committed to 31 days of programming all the while knowing something always changes. The actual truth. Everything always changes. Yet we rinse and repeat this nerve wracking cycle month after month. It is just the way it is. The way it has been. The way we continue to operate. The mandate from regulatory bodies. The design we have re-invented now to a digital format, but still a prisoner to planning a month well in advance.

There is zero wrong with planning in advance. Preparing in advance in noble. In order to be organized in any facet of life it requires planning and preparation. As someone who misses the planning more than not, I get the disruption it can cause and the lack of clarity it provides others when you fail to plan accordingly.

But who really plans out every hour of their next month weeks in advance? It is like writing your first draft of an important letter or memo in permanent marker. Similar to filling out passport forms and you get one chance before you start over. By version #5 you may find success and correctly input all the right information in the right color ink with 0 mistakes.

Of course there are new companies to highlight, but also old companies doing new things; evolving, pivoting, innovating, growing and collaborating. I must admit, finding the right bucket or title for solutions and problem solvers (thank Rich Viola and HealthTac for the reference) is one of the greatest challenges. This Q3 release has a new approach to labeling. Another thanks to Jody Holtzman who gave me the the idea of “aspirational” categories. What is the solution trying to do, what is their goal, or the quantifiable outcome? When you look at the categories and buckets as a blank canvas, your mind open up a little bit.

All of us are well aware that senior living, regardless of level of care, needs a big makeover. A reimagining. An overhaul.  Some say we need to blow it up and start over.  Some say it has run its course and the generations to come have zero interest of ever leaving their home.  There is absolutely validity backed by consumer research that supports that mindset, but I have had a lot of conversations with people in senior living and many of them never planned on leaving their home.  I am not sure this is a generation thing as much as a human control thing.

I cannot stop thinking about Jane. Jane was a resident who lived in Rockwall, Texas with 20 other women in the Memory Care area. The year was 2016 and at that time I was overseeing all of resident engagement for 100+ skilled nursing, assisted living and memory care communities. I thought I was important, smart and knew a lot. One of my favorite things to do was teach and train staff. I was hosting a training in the secure area behind closed glass doors, but anyone who has worked in the space knows closed glass doors in memory support are only one thing…an invitation for visitors!

Jane sat herself down at our training table curious to hear what we were talking about. The staff asked her to nicely leave the room, explaining we were doing a staff only training. I was fine letting her stay. I gave her a handout. I did not know if this was the right approach, but it seemed the least disruptive and in my mind I thought she would just hear words and not comprehend what we were saying. For the 3 minutes Jane was in the room we discussed the Dementia Umbrella.

Happy First Birthday to LE3 Solutions (formerly know as Life Elevated 3, circa 2017). That is the backstory. A company that came to life because of corporate death(s).  Four to be exact. Kelly is in the two-timer club as well.  It feels like our rite of passage, our learning ground, training camp(s) and required pre-requisite to fully understand all sides of the space:  residents, families, staff, vendors, innovators, owners and operators. 

Building community by establishing and growing relationships is the foundation of all successful resident engagement programs. The addition of staff being intricately woven into the community and relationships is even more effective and rewarding for all involved.

Here are 6 free to do’s you can incorporate today regardless of budget, physical layout, staffing structure or technology on hand.

Each time we re-publish the market map, there are always some interesting players to watch. This month we want to recognize solutions that are making good things happen.

Listen as Sara and Kelly talk about the revolution of all engagement in senior living

White Flag Flying! Surrendering! Admitting Insanity!

We all know bingo has singlehandedly become the epitome of stereotypes when you think about what older people do inside the walls of a retirement community. Most of us in this profession at one point or another have attempted to eradicate bingo. Substituting it with something more hip, or at least replace the perception that we are handing out well-worn cards and spinning balls in a hopper hours on end.

Early on in activity programming we fell victim to going coocoo with heart cutouts, roses, carnations, cute cards, Hershey kisses, red and pink streamers and overall idealizing the day of the 14th as if everyone who has lived past 65 had a love story to celebrate. In full transparency, I had a stereotypical viewpoint assuming my grandparents love story of 66 years of marriage was the norm.

In the beginning the “love” approach did not seem narrow-minded or unreasonable. Twelve years later, Kelly and I cringe when we observe the time and energy spent decorating, crafting, planning and focusing entirely on one “day of love” the entire 28(or 29) days of the month.