Nurturing Community at the Assisted Living Retirement Community
Assisted Living Today magazine
September 2003
This spring, several residents in our assisted living retirement community got down on their hands and knees to work the soil out front of their residence in Louisville, Colo. They were joined by horticulture experts from the Butterfly Pavilion, a uniquely wonderful non-profit butterfly conservatory located near Denver. Their mission: to plant a variety of perennials that will attract butterflies to the residence for years to come.
For the residents - some experienced amateur botanists - this was something entirely new. For many of the residents, like all gardeners, there was power and reward in being a caregiver in this project, which stretches their knowledge and connection to the community since once completed, the garden will be a source of interest and pride to visitors and family.
In every setting, personal growth is an important element of positive aging. In assisted living retirement communities, it becomes even more critical to engage residents in exciting and new projects that connect them with the community and offer them opportunities for personal growth. It’s healthy for the residents and it’s healthy for the assisted living center itself.
An assisted living community should consider nurturing community on three levels - inviting the surrounding community to the center, providing chances for the residents to venture into the community, and fostering an active internal community.
Much community building is the result of skilled executive directors, community relations staff and activity directors, but credit should be given to residents who offer ideas and support for programs and activities that enhance life at the assisted living center as well.
Welcoming the local community
Inviting the public into the facility on appropriate occasions generates a connection with the local community. Holiday events such as Easter egg hunts, St. Patrick’s Day dances, or Halloween activities for local children bring the local community much closer to your residents - in particular those less ambulatory - and educates the public as to what the assisted living center is about.
If you have the space, more formal educational seminars are wise. We recently presented a women’s health lecture series, memory clinic, and estate planning sessions open to residents and the public. All were well received and attended and helped establish the campus as a receptive venue for discussion of topical community issues.
This is where a good activities director (ours is called Director of Fun and Learning) and community relations manager can earn their weight in gold. Both should be dialed into the local community pillars - the schools, churches, political bodies and their leaders. It’s important to keep them in mind and invite them in on important milestone dates or during the holiday season.
Visits by students can be fulfilling for residents and help maintain intergenerational links. A group of middle-schoolers visits our center each week to share time with residents doing crafts, while local high school students visit each spring to coordinate a “senior” prom. These connections benefit both old and young.
Don’t overlook volunteer groups and local arts and musical performers that are also key to maintaining contact with the community and building an assisted living community with positive energy. We make it a point to have one or two events weekly in our community great room, allowing for families and friends to visit for a nightly or daytime musical performance, theatrical presentation, educational slide presentation or discussion. While these performers visit to entertain and educate, many are adult children of aging parents who may inquire about your community in the future.
The public won’t find out about these public performances by chance. In fact, it takes time and energy to get the news out via media advisories or press releases to local newspaper calendar listings or radio public service announcements. By letting the public and extended families know of these fun events through listings in the local newspapers, interest in the events is generated, awareness in the assisted living center is raised, and the community is welcomed to meet mingle with residents on a regular basis.
One of the side benefits to welcoming the public and performers are the connections that develop. As many of us know, our centers are filled with accomplished seniors who have a lot of wisdom, knowledge and energy to share.
At the same time, it is important not to “over invite” the community at large for visits - privacy and a sense of place and quiet expected in one’s home matters at least as much for older adults as it does for the rest of the citizenry.
Connecting with the local community
Educating the public about who you are and what you do for seniors is essential. Assisted living centers are typically low-impact (few drivers, no impact on schools, very low impact on fire and police services, etc.) to the community yet important contributors to the richness of the local culture and economy.
Most assisted living centers will have some form of community transportation to access local shopping, arts performances, and other community events. Do you use the transportation and make scheduled times to help get residents who would like to out of the retirement community periodically? If not, do. While your facility may have wonderful internal activities, many more independent residents will want time away from the campus.
In fact, residents may enjoy visiting a local elementary school to read with children, go on tours of local historical sites. In our region, many want to go to the Federal Denver Mint, the Denver Performing Arts Complex for a performance, regional shopping malls, train rides to take in Colorado’s beautiful scenery, or “field trips” to nearby national parks. These opportunities to go off campus help maintain self-sufficiency, confidence and independence.
Many local community residents come to our facility each election cycle as our center volunteered to be a local polling station for the community. Residents chip in to assist on these polling days, reinforcing civic responsibilities as well as connecting with the many voters that drop by to cast ballots.
Some of your residents may be former local political figures. Their desire to participate in the civic process usually doesn’t go away. Several seniors from Balfour recently went to a local city council meeting to voice their opinion in favor of a senior housing issue. The seniors remain engaged and the city gains an experienced viewpoint - a win-win for both.
Finally, it’s important for your key staff to develop partnerships with members of the community you serve and operate. Our management is involved with the Colorado Association of Homes and Services for the Aging - both AAHSA and ALFA’s state affiliate - through presentations or committee assignments. Management of our memory care facility has been an active presenter at the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, another important association in this region of the country. Every center across the nation has some strategic associations or organizations that it must connect with or participate in to become involved and gain interest in your center.
Nurturing an internal community
The feeling of the building and campus is vital to building an energetic and vibrant internal community. An experienced and creative facilities manager is a valuable asset as a person who not only keeps everything functioning properly but also adding the extra touch during holidays or special events that creates “buzz” among visitors and residents alike.
The feeling of the building can often be generated by the attitude of residents you encounter in the lobbies, halls and common areas. Are residents engaged? Talking? Laughing? Sharing? One way to keep this life in the center is to engage residents as active participants in the direction of the activities and policies. Residents can have jobs in the center as well, increasing the “connectiveness” of residents within the community. In fact, we have one resident who delivers mail and reads it to those with vision problems while another resident leads a regular aerobics class.
Many assisted living communities talk about gathering feedback, but what is actually done with this information? If you are not closing the loop on this feedback cycle and using this information, you are missing a golden opportunity and shutting down future input. Our executive director implemented a resident council which directs fundraising events on the campus and what celebrations we will do and at what level. Respecting the will of residents builds loyalty and enhances the overall community environment.
In a previous life, I was involved with politics and served as a member of two Colorado governor’s health care advisory teams. While that phase of my career has receded, my passion for politics has not. Neither has it for many of our residents. As a result, we share political discussions every other week, with the discussions ranging from policies related to senior care being generated from the White House to Gloria Steinem to what to do with the prairie dogs as Colorado grows - a very hot and colorful topic of local interest.
These discussions last about 45 to 60 minutes, leave me and the residents satisfied and charged, with discussions continuing among residents over lunch or dinner.
One of my favorite times of the week is the Friday “happy hour” ritual in our great room. Ice cream socials are great, but sometimes seniors want a drink and all the memories of socialization that conjures up from past happy hours at their clubs, neighborhood gatherings, and workplace. The atmosphere is alive, fun, and active as staff and I bartend and socialize with residents. It’s a fitting end to week in preparation for the weekend. Any assisted living center should be able to plan and execute a regular social gathering for residents, a great time to build internal community.
Later this summer, Balfour’s residents will welcome friends and family for a tour of the butterfly garden they planned, planted and nurtured with guidance from the Butterfly Pavilion experts. It will be an exciting time for them to show off their new area of interest and expertise. Like the garden that attracts the beautiful butterflies, an assisted living community must plan, plant and nurture a community on many levels to keep residents engaged, prospective residents interested, and the public clear on your purpose and contribution to the community.
Michael K. Schonbrun is president of Balfour Senior Care, owner and operator of Balfour Retirement Community, a CCRC, and Balfour Cherrywood Village, a memory care residence. Both are located in Louisville, Colo.
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