Prior to the global pandemic, a 2016 CDC report^[1] indicated that assisted living residents receive just 20 minutes of engagement per day (outside of assistance with ADLs and IADLs) and long-term care residents receive only 11 minutes of engagement. As the senior living industry emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic and begins to rebuild, it is time to rethink resident engagement strategies across the board so that residents receive consistent, preference-based engagement across all care settings.

Activity and life enrichment professionals still lack access to affordable education and tools to help them optimize resident engagement, especially as it relates to older adults living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Without a budget to hire high-level resident engagement experts to provide specialized education to all team members, small and mid-size operators cannot compete with large operators that often have a VP-level resident engagement and/or memory care expert on staff.

To achieve this, communities need to set benchmarks, use trends analysis and provide open access to the latest data on best practices for resident engagement in senior living. This type of approach is a business driver, not only because it improves the health and well-being of residents but also because it builds a culture of empowerment through education. This kind of culture can decrease staff turnover and increase staff satisfaction which in turn means that families of existing residents will recommend the community to others, making resident engagement a top occupancy driver in this post-COVID world.

Linked Senior is excited to launch the first of its kind Resident Engagement Institute so that prescription of social engagement can become the standard for senior living resident engagement. The Institute will be led by Jennifer Stelter, Psy.D., CDP, CADDCT, CCTP, Chief Engagement Officer at Linked Senior and will offer participants immediate access to quality education, individualized consulting services, quarterly publications about best practices in resident engagement, statistics, and assistance with product development and improvement. As part of the Institute, clients will also work directly with Resident Engagement Specialists and “Faculty” members who are widely known in the industry as ‘resident engagement influencers.’

The Institute will empower senior living activity and life enrichment care partners with education, tools and support to elevate resident engagement for all Elders. It will provide care partners the opportunity to engage and consult directly with experts and offer education and tools to help them measure satisfaction and well-being of their residents so that they can optimize meaningful engagement for all residents no matter their current preferences or care needs. You can learn more here: http://rei.linkedsenior.com/

^[1]

CDC. Long-Term Care Providers and Services Users in the United States. Data from the National Study of Long-Term Care Providers, 2013-2014. February 2016.