Joseph Jasmon, a speaker at the marcus evans LTC & Senior Living CXO Summit Spring 2015, on why a personalized approach is needed when caring for residents with memory loss
NEW YORK, NY, Jan 26, 2015 - (ACN Newswire) - The one-size-fits-all approach does not work with Alzheimer's and dementia resident care, says Joseph Jasmon, Chief Operating Officer of The LaSalle Group, which operates 42 Autumn Leaves memory care communities in four states, including 12 currently under construction. "Often times, long-term care (LTC) facilities do not take the time to get to know their residents on an individual basis. We have to get away from the herding mentality to more personalized care. That is what is missing right now in the industry," he suggests.
A speaker at the marcus evans LTC & Senior Living CXO Summit Spring 2015, in Los Angeles, California, February 9-10, Jasmon talks about personalizing the care of memory loss residents and the role of technology in the LTC industry.
- With memory loss, Alzheimer's and dementia more common in recent years, how could LTC facilities better approach how these residents are cared for? What is "missing"?
Communities must take the time to get to know residents individually. It takes a lot of training and education to understand the nuances of the disease, and that should include a component on not just educating the caregivers but all staff on what makes each resident who he or she is. What are their backgrounds? What did they do prior to getting the disease? What hobbies did they enjoy? There is so much more about each resident's history that we do not know, so we rely on the family members to give us that insight.
- Why are personalized programs necessary? How should they be designed?
The most important part of personalized programs is letting people know that you care, understand their wants, needs and what is important to them. Why should this be any different because they have dementia? When we purchase a service, we want it to be personalized to our needs. Why should they not get the same care and experience?
As their care team, it is our job to provide opportunities and activities that are meaningful to each resident. This is not about checking a box or getting something done. Even if they will not remember the event in an hour, we try to create moments of happiness for our residents. Those positive feelings will last.
The program needs to be well thought-out and not created in a vacuum. The product must be tested out. When we were developing one of our programs, we conducted focus groups, studied market trends and took comments from all departments into consideration, after which we piloted a program in a few communities.
The programs that work best are those where residents feel involved and engaged.
- How could technology improve patient outcomes and quality of life?
Electronic medical records can minimize the chance of human errors, by bringing up the resident's picture with a memo for the medication for example. We try to create fail-safe processes utilizing technology.
We also use communication tools, such as Skype, for families that live out of town to interact with Mom or Dad. We are always looking for new ways to engage residents, to improve their quality of life and day-to-day experiences.
- Any final words of advice?
The industry needs to grow in the areas of technology and personalized care. Residents have so much more life to live and should not be shut inside. We should all feel honored for the opportunity to help them live the best quality of life that they can, for whatever days they have left with us.
About the LTC & Senior Living CXO Summit Spring 2015
The 8th Long-Term Care & Senior Living CXO Summit is the premium forum bringing senior level executives and solution providers together. The Summit offers an intimate environment for a focused discussion of key new drivers shaping the long-term care industry. Taking place at The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey, Los Angeles, California, February 9-10, 2015, the Summit includes presentations on improving efficiency and profit margins, reimbursement management and strategy, catering for the baby boomers and reducing readmissions.
For more information please send an email to press@marcusevanscy.com or visit the event website at www.longtermcaresummit.com/JosephJasmonInterview
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