Building Personal Relationships

As we have cared for seniors over the years and cared for our own aging parents, we discovered a very important aspect that is often sadly missing or even discouraged in many assisted living facilities.  That is the idea of developing personal relationships with residents and knowing each person well enough to understand the “little things” that bring them joy, dignity, and purpose.  Too often, there are very few staff members that really connect with residents in this personal way.

At The Heritage, we encourage our associates to spend time getting to know each resident personally and to understand their background, their interests, and the things that are important to them in their life.  We also encourage our staff to understand the things that concern our residents or cause anxiety or frustration so we can help minimize or avoid those situations.

Learning as much as we can about each resident helps us to develop a foundation of trust for providing care and support.  Knowing that a resident likes to have lotion put on her hands, for example, offers a wonderful opportunity to interact in a way that is not only personal and assuring, but also builds trust and friendship.

Heritage of Overland Park / Developing personal relationships with residents and knowing them well enough to understand the “little things” that bring them joy, dignity, and purpose.