LEAP for Senior Living
By Dawn Lehman, Theresa Sangram, and Paula Fenza
There is a growing transformation in the field of senior living. Aging services providers are increasingly focused on moving towards person-centered care, a culture that emphasizes resident choice and control. As senior living aspires to build on the principles of person-centered care, it is essential that staff learn and develop skills that foster healthy, positive relationships, both with residents and each other.
LEAP for Senior Living, a nationally recognized training program developed by Mather LifeWays Institute on Aging, targets Independent and Assisted Living communities, particularly Continuing Care Retirement Communities. Unique in its interdisciplinary approach, it focuses on key areas such as leadership, inter- and intra-departmental communication, team building, person-centered care, cultural diversity training, and aging issues through an intensive one-day train-the-trainer workshop. After the workshop, organizations also have the opportunity to participate in an ongoing evaluation of the program.
LEAP for Senior Living focuses on four major components to support a caring culture:
1. What is Aging?: The core of providing effective services is understanding the aging process. Key elements of this module include:
- Images of aging
- Myths and realities of aging
- The physical and psychosocial changes associated with normal aging
- Common health issues of older adults
- Strategies for encouraging health and wellness for older adults
Participants learn key facts about normal aging changes, which gives them greater understanding of how to best provide high quality service that meets the special needs of residents, thereby improving resident satisfaction.
2. Cultural Diversity in America: The cultural/ethnic diversity of America is changing rapidly as significant increases in minority populations project into the next 20 years. It is important that staff understand the impact of this diversity on their relationships both with residents and each other. This module emphasizes:
- Cultural/ethnic demographics of the older population in America
- The need for increased cultural sensitivity/cultural competence in the face of a changing America
- How to reduce the frustration that results from not understanding different cultural perspectives
Greater understanding of cultural/ethnic diversity leads to greater collaboration, decreased conflict, and reduced staff turnover.
3. Communication: Effective communication is key, both to providing quality customer service and to building effective work teams. This module will discuss:
- The precepts of effective verbal and non-verbal communication
- Communication across ethnic, generational, and occupational groups
Participants gain a greater understanding of how to communicate with one another in a productive way. Improved communication skills are crucial to staff morale, teamwork, and staff retention.
4. Teamwork/Team Building: Good leadership and the use of mentoring are key to building strong, effective teams which are essential to providing quality service to residents. This module focuses on:
- How to develop effective cross-functional teams
- How to improve understanding of responsibilities of coworkers both within and outside their departments
- How to improve the way employees work together to achieve results
- How coworkers can use their abilities more fully when they work together
When an organization operates as a whole, integrated system, job satisfaction and staff retention will increase, and the synergy will result in improved customer service.
Beginning with the one-day train-the-trainer workshop, the LEAP for Senior Living program will soon be offered as a webinar series and online course. For more information, contact Jayne Schaefer at jschaefer@matherlifeways.com or call (847) 492.6774.
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