Sierra Ramos 
The need for respite care and adult day care options is growing because of the many hardworking caregivers in the United States. As senior living and care professionals, you know that for some caregivers, the idea of taking a break can be a difficult concept. However, it is necessary to show caregivers that there is nothing wrong with taking a break and when they need that break, adult day care or respite care can give them the assistance they need. In order for caregivers to use your services as a helping hand, they must know about your community and what it has to offer. Below are a few tips on how to market your respite care and/or adult day care.
When it comes to caregivers, let them know that respite care and adult day care are highly recommended ways to get a mental and physical break from the rigors of taking care of a loved one. Tell caregivers not to feel guilty about needing a break, as long as they are confident in the quality of the care provided. Target caregivers, since they are the ones who make the decisions on how to provide care during the day or when they are away for a period of time. Some places and ways to start targeting caregivers may include visiting churches, community centers and even local doctors’ offices. There, you can try to place brochures in their waiting rooms and put ads in community newsletters and bulletin boards. Here at New LifeStyles, we offer print and online advertising to target those caregivers in your city.
In order to convince people that your community is a good fit for them, they need to see it. Try hosting some open houses that can allow caregivers and potential residents to visit. Answer any questions that they may have and provide contact information, brochures and any other relevant information that will help seniors and their caregivers and loved ones make a decision.
Try to speak with local organizations about finding a good time for you to speak to a larger audience about your care program and what it has to offer for seniors. Make sure to state what type of community you are, what options you offer for caregivers and the differences and benefits that come with adult day care and respite care. Emphasize the fun activities you offer, including outings you may provide, exercise classes and/or educational courses. With all of that information, caregivers should rest easy knowing they are putting their loved one into an environment that will let them flourish, make friends and enjoy their time.
As for Internet resources, use your website to pull in those caregivers who are looking for information online. When creating content on your website, use keywords, such as “Respite Care in Dallas, TX,” to bring in potential clients from search engines. Try to also incorporate social media and blogging into your marketing plans by posting informative blogs and engaging information to educate caregivers and people who may not know what respite care and adult day care entails.
Adult day care and respite care can be very helpful resources to caregivers who need extra assistance, or just simply need a break. The strategies above can help you reach out to caregivers and let them know what you have to offer and how you can help their loved ones.
You probably knew the time would come one day when your parents would need you to care for them. However, you are still taking care of yourself and need to maintain your employment. If it is feasible at your job, then maybe you have considered changing your schedule a bit. Below are a few tips for asking your boss for a flexible schedule to help an aging parent or loved one.
Try to explain to your boss how things have changed in your life. Let him/her know the difficult position that you are in and tell your boss that you need your job, but also have the responsibility of caring for your aging parent. Try not to put a time limit on how long you will need to work this flexible schedule. You might be tempted to do that, in order to ease the tension and get him/her to say yes to the schedule. Making promises you can’t keep will lead to problems later, so it is better to be open and honest with your boss.
Just going in and asking for a “flexible schedule” leaves too many unanswered questions. Think about your needs, as well as the needs of the company. Do you have a schedule in mind that you would like to work? If you have been working at the company and with your specific boss for a good amount of time, then you can likely think of a schedule that will give you more time to be with your parent while not creating a hardship for the company. When you speak with your employer, don’t just ask for a new schedule, try to confidently explain how it will work out for you, as well as for their place of business.
Respite care is short term care for your loved one. Whether in a community or at home, care is provided on a temporary basis while a caretaker is on vacation or indisposed due to surgery or illness. It is a good idea to consider Respite care if you are too busy with work or other things. Respite care can be a life saver for caregivers needing a break from the physical and mental demands and the stress of care giving! Caregivers can rest knowing that their loved one is well taken care of.
Your parents’ love for you caused them to make many life adjustments to care for you. Think of this as an opportunity to show your appreciation.
Katrina Parker is the Corporate Director of Marketing at The Memory Center. She is responsible for overseeing the business development and marketing strategies for the memory care communities, which means she is responsible for the company’s marketing teams, business plans and advertising campaigns, social media and other types of marketing related to their website company and providers. Katrina has been in the senior care industry for over 20 years and serves on the Board of Directors for Hampton Roads Alzheimer’s Association. She got into this business when she was in college, where she studied business administration with an emphasis in healthcare management at St. Leo College and Old Dominion University.
“I volunteered for nursing homes when I was very young and they had me going to perform activities, deliver food and be a companion,” Katrina said. “I was also a candy striper and emergency room volunteer at local hospitals, thinking I was going to be a nurse. I saw so many people who felt left out and wanted to be needed and cared for, so I started volunteering and I just knew that was where I needed to be.”
The Memory Center has three memory care communities located in Atlanta, Georgia; Virginia Beach, Virginia and Richmond, Virginia. The Memory Center in Atlanta is currently under construction, but will be opening very soon. The owner of the company chose the location of Atlanta because it’s one of the fastest growing areas that has a need for memory care.
“We are looking to expand to other cities in the south for the future,” Katrina said. “We hope to expand to South Carolina, Tennessee and other cities in Georgia.”
The Memory Center is specially designed for the cognitively impaired. The community focuses on their design with the Town Center concept, which makes it interactive for their residents to be engaged and makes memorable visits for both the residents and their family members. Their custom designed community addresses the needs of those living with memory loss.
“Filled with natural light, our safe indoor and outdoor spaces allow for freedom of movement and independence, secured courtyards and walking trails,” Katrina said. “Our whole building is set up in a town-like setting and a home-like environment with icons of the geographic local area because we really want to bring back the meaning of life.”
The Memory Center believes that the challenging conditions of an aging brain are met with care and interactive communities designed around the individual. They are optimized to enhance the quality of life and an environment to thrive for their residents.
“We use iconic stimuli,” Katrina said. “At our Virginia Beach location, for example, we have a 20 ft. light house and several monuments that relate to Virginia Beach. At our Richmond location, our icons relate to the Richmond environment and the names of our neighborhoods and stores all relate to that city; the same with our Atlanta location.”
At the Memory Center, their residents can still go on in their life and live it through movement and freedom with its Memories and Motion program in a secure environment. Each Town Center includes iconic stimuli from the past with amenities including: a stately library, a general store where residents can purchase items, a theater where residents enjoy movies from the past and special events, a tavern where they maintain an ABC license so residents can enjoy daily Happy Hour when prescribed by a physician, a beach shack and/or bistro where residents celebrate holidays and enjoy a daily ice cream social, over 1,000 sq.ft. of secured outdoor space including courtyard and walking paths that wind through gardens with bird feeders and seating areas and a beauty salon for hair styling, manicures and pedicures.
The Memory Center’s Memories in Motion program is a comprehensive activities program that provides the residents with multiple activities every day of the week. The program features at least eight different activities daily along with small groups and events to participate in. “It is a therapeutic program for activities that’s grounded in Montessori-based principles, primarily in respect, dignity, independence and choice,” Katrina said.
Katrina said The Memory Center offers personalized services and the industry’s best staffing ratio of 4:1 and 24/7 nursing oversight.
“We have the best staffing ratio, probably the top in the U.S. and we also hire a medical director for the medical oversight, as well as RNs and LPNs,” Katrina said. “Our staff is trained in dementia care with a specialty in geriatrics. We also have a full-time activity team that helps ease the disease of dementia and helps to improve the residents’ quality of life by offering activities to do and keeping them engaged. We’re not keeping them in front of the TV all day, we have them engaged in dance, music, art, interactive games, poetry and pet therapy; just outings with things that are important to them.”
When it comes to the health of the residents, Katrina said that each person is in a different stage of their dementia or Alzheimer’s, so it is important to understand those behaviors and different stages and to help them through it. “For instance, we had a gentleman who loved trains because he was in the railroad industry so trains were a big deal to him,” Katrina said. “When he became agitated or anxious, we started bringing out trains for him and talked about trains, showed him pictures of trains and his whole demeanor changed for the better.”
Because not everyone specializes in memory care, Katrina said The Memory Center can help other communities, families and health care professionals transition individuals to their community. “We can help communities with that process because that’s all we do, that’s our specialty,” Katrina said. “The Memory Center is also a resource to family members because it can be a very emotional and a heartfelt transition, therefore we can guide them with the help they may need.”
Today marks the 24th Annual National Senior Health and Fitness Day! Every year on the last Wednesday in May, more than 100,000 older adults will participate in local health and wellness events at 1,000 locations across the country for the nation’s largest older adult health event. With the overall goal of the day to raise awareness about the importance of fitness for seniors, retirement communities, nursing homes, senior centers, hospitals and other local organizations host senior health related activities, such as exercise demonstrations, health information workshops and health screenings to educate seniors about health and fitness.
Below are some ways you can start planning for next year’s National Senior Health and Fitness Day, if you missed out this year or just want to get a head start.
Next year’s National Senior Health and Fitness Day will be on May 30, 2018, so mark your calendar and save the date!
Start brainstorming ideas for what type of event you will host for next year. Since the premise is to educate seniors about the importance of health and fitness, the opportunities are endless. Some examples of activities and events you could host include: fitness walks/races, yoga and Zumba classes, health screenings for blood pressure, blood sugar or other health conditions, food demonstrations showing seniors how to prepare healthy meals and health seminars with doctors and/or nurses. A great activity that The Manny Cantor Center held, a physical fitness center, was helping seniors exercise and stay active. The Galter LifeCenter Gym also celebrated National Senior Health and Fitness Day by hosting lectures, classes and screenings on fitness and health.
Once you know what type of event you will host, make sure you register on time. In order to officially be a part of the National Senior Health and Fitness Day, you must register your senior living and care community or local organization.
The 2017 National Senior Health and Fitness Day theme is “With Movement…There’s Improvement!” The event’s theme was submitted by Catherine Heggaton of Downers Grove, Illinois, from about 1,000 entries. Anyone age 50 or older is eligible to participate in the theme contest. The winning entrant receives a cash prize and their slogan printed on all of the National Senior Health and Fitness Day materials.
