Established by the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) more than 20 years ago, National Assisted Living Week (NALW) is a time for us to honor all the work and care these communities and their staff provide. At Ardent Hospice & Palliative Care, we’re constantly working with assisted living communities, and at any given time, have at least one patient in our care living at one of these homes.
Assisted living communities are crucial to senior care because they provide so much support to the elderly and their families. At Ardent, we greatly appreciate the job these caregivers provide and we do all that we can to support and recognize their work.
This year’s NALW theme—Capture the Moment—hits a note for our hospice community as well. It’s how we choose to implement our care on a daily basis; we work with assisted living residences to support families, and encourage patients to live their dreams, seize the day, and take a step back to reflect on all the beautiful moments in their lives.
What Makes Assisted Living Communities an Important Extension of Ardent’s Team
We work with assisted living facilities very closely and they play a large part in the care we provide to many of our patients. Whether we have a patient whose family can no longer give them the care they need at home, or a family who needs a caregiving respite, the assisted living communities in our network step in to welcome our patients and provide that extra level of support.
When patients are staying in a home, they receive a comfortable living space; healthy, diet-approved meals; and high-quality care in between our visits. Quite often, the caregivers at these facilities get to know our patient and their family so well, they’re able to enact our care plan perfectly, but in times when their staff or med-techs have questions, they know we’re just a phone call away and can give them specific answers or recommendations for each patient on our services. In fact, we talk to the different assisted living facilities we work with on a daily basis; they’re either calling us with questions, our nurses are calling to check on patients, we’re setting up meetings, or reviewing reports. We become very close with each center, because we’re all committed to exacting a high level of care to every patient we tend to.
What’s more, we work with these facilities to help our patients live out their final days to the fullest and turn moments into memories. We’re able to bring families together through theme-days, paint therapy, and other group activities, so they can spend quality time with each other and create memories that will last generations.
How We’re Celebrating Our Assisted Living Communities
There is no denying the importance of assisted living communities to our ability to provide our patients with the best service and care possible. So to thank them for everything they do, we’re celebrating NALW and recognizing their hard work in four specific ways.
“Thank You” Breakfasts
Throughout the week, our team will be visiting each of the assisted living communities we work with and hosting a breakfast to say thanks to all their caregivers and staff.
In-Service Training
If any of our facilities need specific training this week—such as managing wounds, what to do in certain emergency situations, or filling out POLST forms—we’ll send out our staff members to help them out. While we offer these in-service trainings year-round, whenever the communities need it, we plan on going the extra mile this week by providing snacks and making them fun and interactive.
Paint Therapy
Our team will be hosting paint therapy at a few of our assisted living locations. It’s an activity for residents and their families, but also respite for the staff, since our team will be watching over residents for an hour or so.
Event Support
Many of the assisted living communities get in on the festivities themselves by hosting fun events for their residents and staffs. All week, our Ardent team will be attending their carnivals, fundraisers, and other events, and helping out in any way we can.
To find out more about how we work with assisted living communities or to volunteer with Ardent and help us give back, visit us online or call us at (559) 408-5945.
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