Congrats! You’ve gained another resident. After implementing marketing and sales strategies and great customer service, that potential resident is now your resident. But what’s next? After everything is 
completed and the resident has moved in, there can still be some uncertainty about moving into a new senior living community as well unanswered questions from not only the senior but their family as well. To combat this, senior living communities should implement new resident orientation when moving in new residents.
New resident orientation should be a program to help seniors become comfortable in your living community. In some cases when a resident moves in to your community this is their first time ever moving into any form of senior living. It is very likely they may have questions about how everything works around your community. Questions can vary from, how to turn the thermostat down, where the cafeteria is or how to get involved in recreational classes. It is your job as the senior living community to provide answers to these questions. A way to help seniors not only feel more comfortable, but their families as well would be to implement the first 100 hours and 100 days rule.
The first 100 hours rule is simple. For the first 100 hours or (3-4 days) of a residents stay, the community will be in constant contact with the resident to make sure that they are settling in comfortably. From making phone calls, or setting up visits to the residents unit, your associates need to be heavily focused on answering any questions or concerns that the resident may have. By making the extra effort to make sure they are adapting to their surroundings, shows your residents that you are care about their well-being.
After the first 100 hours it is still important to be focused on the resident’s needs. Another crucial part of new member orientation is the first 100 days or (3-4 months) of a residents stay. During this time you and your team will still be in contact with the resident once a week to make sure they are still adapting well to the community. During this time you will also need to be in contact with the family of the resident asking them if they have any questions or concerns. By doing this the family of the resident can feel more assured that their loved one is being cared for correctly and will be more likely to tell other friends about the great service their loved one is receiving from your community.