Residents look forward to their golden years as it’s the much-deserved reward that they have earned after years of hard work. However, a decline in health and age-related issues often make things complicated to the point that one has to make a difficult choice of living in a care home. As a caretaker, it is for you to ensure that the move into a care home is as smooth as possible and the resident sees care home as a positive action.
Here are a few tips to help residents feel that moving into a care home is a positive step:
1. Make them feel welcome: For many residents moving into a care home can be emotionally and physically difficult. To make this transition gentle, make sure your residents are made to feel welcomed. Welcoming new residents with banners or welcome cards can be quite inviting. Make the existing members meet the new residents. Encourage other residents to introduce themselves to the new member or give a tour of the care home.
2. Let the new resident take time: This can be done simply by not presuming that the resident needs help. Let the resident feel in control of the decision being taken regarding him or her. Let the resident be as independent as he/she wants to be. Be ready to lend an ear to the resident and be cautious that the emotions may run high, especially if the move to care home wasn’t planned.
3. Involve the family and relatives: Let the family and relatives of the new resident be part of the care home community activities. Encourage them to regularly visit the resident. Finding ways for family and relatives to play an active role in the care home can ease the transition. Encourage the resident to stay in touch with family and relatives. Regular phone calls and emails to friends and family can be therapeutic.
4. Find areas of interest: Invest some time with family and relatives of the new resident to find out what interests him or her. To foster socialisation and encourage a community-like feeling, get the new resident involved in group activities like gardening, singing, and yoga.
Improve operational efficiency with electronic MAR
Keeping a tab on medications of all residents, especially new ones, at care homes can be quite overwhelming. You, like several care homes in the UK, can streamline medication administration by integrating electronic MAR into their care management. eMAR automates the process of distributing, tracking, and re-ordering medications and eliminates manual tracking. Learn how eMAR can help your care home improve operational efficiency and quality of care at https://www.electronicmar.co.uk/emar/.
