What Can Self-Care for Personal Care Home Residents Look Like?
Personal care facilities are fantastic resources for seniors and other qualifying residents who require regular assistance throughout the day. While personal care homes are often mistaken for nursing homes, they are different in that residents of personal care homes do not require the greater levels of assistance and care that nursing home residents require.
Nursing home patients typically suffer from a range of physical or mental impairments that require them to have continuous assistance with nearly every task. Nursing home residents are more medically fragile and limited in their abilities.
Personal care home residents also require assistance throughout the day, but they typically do not suffer the same physical or mental impairments as nursing home residents. Those in a personal care home are usually healthy enough to complete some tasks on their own or maintain some level of independence.
In order to qualify for residency in a personal care home, a senior or impaired individual will likely require assistance with any of the following:
- Housekeeping and laundry
- Cooking and eating
- Medication management
- Shopping
- Toileting
- Dressing
- Bathing and personal hygiene care
While each resident in a personal care home is unique in their abilities and limitations, many can still practice certain levels of self-care, which is essential to help ease the aging process.
Why Is Self-Care Important for Aging Seniors?
It’s hard to get older. It’s even harder to struggle to complete tasks that used to be so easy. Even slight mobility limitations or mental decline can cause feelings of sadness, anxiety, and depression, three things that make the process of aging more challenging to face.
When residents are able to practice some level of self-care, it can help boost moods, restore mental health, lift spirits, and improve quality of life.
How to Promote and Improve Self-Care Among Personal Care Residents
As mentioned, every resident in a personal care home is unique and faces their own physical or mental challenges. While some residents will be able to accomplish some self-care activities or suggestions successfully, some residents will need to focus on different activities or suggestions.
Some gentle ways to promote self-care among personal care home residents include:
Encourage Journaling
Writing down our thoughts, feelings, worries, questions, and more does a world of good at any age.
Journaling has been proven to:
- Relieve stress
- Improve moods
- Improve sleep
- Increase cognitive function
And more!
For residents who are still able to write with a pen and paper, encourage them to take time to journal every day or even once a week.
Encourage Participation in a New Activity
We are all creatures of habit to some extent. As a result, people tend to gravitate toward social groups and activities that they are familiar with and know they enjoy. Even when things feel monotonous and boring, people are still susceptible to participating in activities they have participated in time and time again.
Encouraging residents to try a new activity they are not used to can help them overcome their routine, experience something new, and learn a thing or two in the process. It’s totally normal for a resident not to like the new activity once it’s all said and done, but they may greatly enjoy themselves and want to try the activity again. They may also make new connections with other residents in the process.
Encourage Meditation or Thoughtful Alone Time
Getting older can be lonely and isolating. But being in a personal care home with other residents and aides is a wonderful way to help lessen the loneliness that can accompany aging. However, some alone time is still beneficial for mental and spiritual wellness.
Meditation or simply thoughtful alone time allows residents time to recharge, think deeply, improve their mental headspace, and more.
Encourage Movement
Depending on a resident’s mobility limitations or capabilities, it may be possible to encourage some level of movement throughout the day. Whether the personal care home offers chair exercises, gentle dance classes, walking groups, gardening opportunities, stretching classes, or something else entirely, it can be beneficial to encourage residents who are physically able to participate in movement classes and get their bodies moving more often to boost their physical and mental health.
The Health of Your Personal Care Home Residents Matters to Angus Lake Healthcare.
Our pharmacists and staff care about the physical and mental well-being of all residents in our partner personal care homes and other partner facilities. That’s why we offer dedicated pharmacy services that include prescription filling, compliance packaging, patient education, medication inspections, reviews, vaccinations, and so much more. Whether you operate an assisted living facility, personal care home, group home, or any other program or facility, you can count on our team to provide comprehensive pharmaceutical care for your residents and staff.
To learn more about our capabilities and the services we can provide you, schedule a consultation with Angus Lake Healthcare today: 478-233-1828.
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