Why maintaining independence is key to quality of life
Senior living offers the opportunity to create new experiences, build new relationships and expand knowledge for older individuals. Lively communities thrive by engaging their residents and helping them through periods of transition. These results come about through the intentional efforts of a community’s leadership team that creates a welcoming environment that fulfills the needs and meets the expectations of its residents.
Studies show that there is a strong connection between a person’s psychological well-being and quality of life as they age. Finding a sense of purpose is important for humans, and especially our senior population, as that can help them stay healthier longer.
While purposes vary from person to person, they can also change over time. Moving into assisted living can be overwhelming, but at Aleca, we provide our residents with many ways to help maintain or develop their independence. Relocating sometimes means a loss of connection to the comfort and the community people once knew, but Aleca provides many resources to help rebuild those connections in a new environment.
Upon entering one of our facilities, new residents will take part in a motivational interview with one of our intake professionals to help resolve uncertainty and uneasiness about moving into one of our communities. Motivational interviewing can help encourage people to reach beyond ambivalence to change their mindsets and make positive lifestyle changes. Research shows this form of counseling works well for individuals who are disinterested or unprepared for change. Perhaps most importantly, motivational interviews can help to identify how to best integrate new residents into our communities and make their transition to senior living more comfortable.
Once a resident has settled in, every nurse, caregiver, restaurant services personnel, housekeeping staff and activities director works to integrate them into their new community. All our senior living communities provide a wide range of calendar events, classes and activities, so residents can always look forward to new and enjoyable pastimes.
We take pride in having resident councils that enable residents to have a say in what goes on in their communities, from events and programming to the services we provide.
Moving into a senior living community sometimes means developing new connections, and we recognize this as a great opportunity. Whether residents are interested in joining a book club, taking part in ballroom dancing or staying in shape, Aleca provides a wide range of activities to keep residents engaged and connected to their new community. Clearbrook Inn and Country Meadows have an on-site beauty salon and manicure services, and provide transportation for shopping, community events and scheduled medical- and health-related appointments.
Residents maintain their independence and can continue living the life they want to live with an extra level of care and assistance. Residents, for example, have access to fine cuisines. Food is vital to overall health, so we provide our residents with appetizing meals that will make them feel at home. We cook with the palates of our residents in mind, and our chefs will create meals personalized to the ultimate wish of each person.
Our attentiveness to social and physiological factors is what can help seniors find their purpose in life. We believe that focusing on important elements—including having highly trained staff, beautiful locales, top-notch amenities and myriad activities—helps provide a welcoming and safe environment, allowing residents to flourish.
Dan is Vice President, Marketing of the Alumus family of companies. A Seattle native, he earned his BA in Humanities and Political Science at Evergreen State College. He started his career as a newspaper columnist, eventually transitioning into marketing and tech writing for Microsoft and several other startups. He later launched a successful creative agency focused on branding, digital marketing, and content production in Los Angeles, where he worked for several nursing and behavioral health clients, eventually becoming the National Marketing Director for one of them.
He has taught Vipassana mindfulness meditation and MBSR and spends whatever free time he has with his son snowboarding, hiking, and camping in the mountains.