The Dirty Little Secret About Memory Care
Photo by Noelle Otto
The dirty little secret about memory care is despite a company's brand new building, beautiful website, and charming tours, the memory care industry lives and breaths on the actions of caregivers doing the right thing at 3 A.M. night after night.
Sometimes friends ask my advice about placing their mom or dad into a memory care community. My response is to encourage them to meet with at least two of the community's third shift caregivers, even if it means a late-night visit.
The critical moments of your loved one's care occur during bath time, mealtimes, and typically, in the middle of the night, if there's a problem. So, I urge you to meet the staff who will be assisting with medications, assisting with baths, and serving your loved one's food. Talk to them and ask how they like their jobs, how the process works, and how things could be improved.
On tours, prospective family members typically meet and spend time with the Marketing or Executive Director, and maybe are introduced to a caregiver or other staff members. If that isn't the case, your spidey-sense should be tingling. But meeting community management should be the "starting point" of your decision process.
Our business is dependent upon the caregivers showing up for their shifts and providing care to residents. It has been an honor to know many caregivers who are dependable, compassionate, and love to serve others. If you spend a few minutes talking to or observing one of these caregivers, it is quite evident they have a heart for caregiving.
Unfortunately, all too often, caregiver positions are filled with people who do not hold these qualities. The worry for any family is the third shift caregiver who is experiencing personal issues. It could be this caregiver has a full-time day job, and caring for your loved one is a second or third job, and they are far too sleep-deprived to bring their A-game.
Remember, Marketing and Executive Directors schedule tours and meetings to accommodate your schedule – and theirs. Your loved one's time with the caregivers will run 24 hours a day. When your loved one needs assistance at 3 A.M., who will be helping? Take the time to meet these individuals.
How would you respond if a hot lead wanted to come to visit your community at 3 A.M.? How would you feel if you found out a hot prospect had paid a late-night visit?
Vivant Senior Living empowers our team members with the tools, training, and support to provide exceptional care to our residents. Because of this focus, if a prospective family wants to tour one of our memory care homes at 3 A.M., we will gladly accommodate the request.
Contact us to learn about memory care options or to schedule a visit today.