Foundational Principles of Wellness, Part 2

*The following is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.

The following podcast is provided by an approved senior care provider on the answers for elders radio network. And welcome back everyone to answer for elders radio network. And we are again here with the Elena Quebus from morning star senior living, and she is the vice president of the western region. But we’re here talking about we’re sitting in this beautiful I wish I could turn the camera around for those of you that are watching on Youtube, because I’m sitting here in this amazingly beautiful, you know, two bedroom apartment model unit, and I’ll talk about an open, beautiful floor that feels so inclusive and warm at the same time. It’s so nice. It’s someone’s home. It’s an apartment home. We you know, and that’s exactly you mentioned. It’s an apartment, it’s an apartment home. Yeah, we just happen to offer services. Yeah, it has a little kitchen and, you know, Wash your dryer and washroom dryer and all things. So it’s kind of Nice to have these little adventures for me, I never get out of the studio, so it’s kind of fun. So, Elena, we’re going to talk right now. I’m going to talk to you about the first of eight foundational principles of wellness. We talked about wellness, but what’s the first one? Oh my gosh, emotional on us. Emotional, emotional on us. That’s coping effectively with life and creating satisfactory relationship ships. God. So. So, when you say emotional wellness and coping effectively, how does that relate to senior living and what you provide in so many ways? And so when we look at the process moving into seeing your living, how scary is it? It’s making a dramatic change from the comforts of her home into an environment that you’re not used to. You have no idea what’s going to happen what and there’s a lot of loss. It’s that fear of the unknown, fear of the unknown and and fear of not just fear but coping with loss. It’s mourning the loss of either love one that just happened, mourning the loss of help, mourning the loss of your environment. It’s mourning the loss and it’s also having to make connections are actually never met before, never met before. Yere, you may not consider yourself a sociable person, right, you know, you may consider yourself an introvert, right or somebody that, because every single person, which we’ve talked about on this show for a million times, right, I you know, there’s no cookie cutter solutions here, folks, right. You know, every senior has weak emotional needs. Absolutely, and this is something that you guys put it the top to recognize what’s most important. And I think the other thing is it’s following those values like you talked about. Absolutely, and so we have a process. You know, I know you’ve met Eric Willen, who is he has our director of community relations here for forever. It for sever like of ever, and we have awesome Oh my God, what an empathetic heart that man is. And then we have Ashley Joe, who we haven’t that yet. She’s at Kirkland. Are Building at Kirkland and, of course, with all of our dcrs and community relations structors across the United States within our company. What we really strive to do is when we sit down with families, when we sit down with our seniors, we ask the why. Yeah, what’s going on? We become we become a trusted advisor. Right, we want to seek to understand what happened. No one wants to make that move. So we go through that necessity of discussing the issues, the the opportunities that someone has that they need to make a change for, and we walk them through the emotional roller coaster ride of what that looks like. So something happened there. It’s something traumatic, happen at home and unfortunately that is that’s what brings folks into our communities. Sometimes it is just because they want to be around other individuals, because there they become a trapped in their own homes. So we’ve really true to try to seek to understand, to understand what the core values that are important to them are so that we can walk them through that process. And it’s some of the things you’re saying is there’s so much anxiety. Oh my God, yeah, pandemic, right, and so many of our seniors, they sat at home alone in their houses for so long that they kind of turge. In word, right is very scary. Right, turning inward is very hard because it’s hard to consider, you know, socializing outward, to start to, you know, connect with other people. And but if you don’t give them the opportunity, in their own way, to go outward, it will end up in a very bad slipper slow. Well, absolutely, you know they don’t take care of themselves, depression sets in and all kinds of stuff like that, and we talked about that being able to cope effectively with our life changing issues. That happen right here. So imagine doctor, you go to your doctors, you know your go to your doctor’s appointment. Doctor tells you’re no longer able to drive because of lert glaucoma becoming so, so, so bad, and so now you’re stuck at home. How do you cope with that? Emotionally, what do you do? You can’t go outside. So we walk through, but we help walk through that process of coping through that loss of so this is what you can’t have anymore. There’s not the life used to have. What’s the life that you can create? What are the solutions right? What? How can we benefit you if we can’t benefit you here at our community? What services can we bring in to assist you with us, because we don’t want a residence or seniors or prospects to go home without having solutions. If there not, moving in, let’s get your solution. You know, here’s the thing. So interesting Speken of that here we did. I just took a little walk to everyone up appeared to this unit from the lobby. Okay, what I was struck by, and I’m just going to tell you, you said hello to every single resident. You validated then lifted them of. You cared about them. We’ve got under the elevator. You addressed her by name. That the type of acknowledgement and the fact that of sense of belonging. It’s like they all connect with you. That speaks to me of volumes. Right, I’m happy here, I want to connect, I want to, you know, move forward in that, if you know, and that right, and I think that’s the thing. You know, these are little things, but it certainly goes into the fact of recognizing that this is important. Right, and I know, just going the extra mile when we bring the therapy dogs and right, it’s total emotional wellness. Right, it’s bringing that connection in to have to say, you know what, I have people that care about me and I can put a dog doctor put his head on my lap and I can pet that though, or I could scratch its back or I you know, you look at me with those great big adorable eyes and say hi. Absolutely and all of those things. They those things contribute to the overall feeling of when I go to bed at night, how do I feel? And and that’s the thing, and I think, and I’m going to take it one more step, which is really important and turn it on you, is emotional wellness for the family. I think. I think the families go through probably as much turmoil right making this kind of situation decision right as the resonant does. Yeah, I’m how do you owe my family? It’s the same way, right, because it’s coping with the loss your parents doesn’t want to go and now you’re kind of forced to make that decision sometimes for your parent. That’s heart, that’s a that’s an emotion, and so we help our families as well kind of walk and Cope through that emotional staying of making a major life decision. In addition to that, we mentioned earlier with the relationship we build right, it’s creating satisfactory relationships and that’s emotional wellness. So these relationships, when we go out and when work, we’re having fun within our business and outside of our business. Man, what a connection and we we talked about that connection and you know, posting on facebook and that we make friends and introduce each other to other friends as well as we just continue that on that circle of trust and friendship. That’s what happens in our communities. That is not necessarily happening at home in our residence life. But yes, we walk through that with our families and now they are families have grown within those work work groups. You mentioned the family dogs, you mentioned you know, or the pet therapy. Some of our family members enjoyed the pet therapy for themselves. Yes, they’re coming in and now they’re making friends with me. I had taken family members out to dinner so many times because we become friends, become family. Well, the other thing is it’s helping families come together, right, because everybody, oh my God, and nobody really. I mean I’ve seen so many families that I work with the daytoday. You know, let’s say the adult child that takes care of that loved one before they go in a system women, they see a different side to mom or dad, right, somebody that just comes at into town a few times a year to see because they can always rise to the cage. But you know, there’s this feeling of, you know, I’m going to step it up. Yeah, that isn’t necessarily the every day behavior and and certainly it’s feeling like people can understand completely, and I and the other side of it, I think too, is having healthcare professionals on site, right, which we will go into right later about that piece, but really understanding that an organization like like morning star is going to understand a care plan right, they’re going to understand the physical rights. So those physical needs, which we’re going to talk about, obviously are part of that piece of emotional moments, right, because it’s knowing that mommer dad is always taken care of. It’s that feeling of piece. But a family member has that says wow, right, you know, I’m I’m really glad I did this because I know that I can leave for three days now and know that mom’s going to be taken care of. Amen to that, and that’s why we have the support groups that we have on side as well. We have our CAREC ver support groups, because we saw a family members who are taking care of other family members and other aging parents at home well, that they might have a parent here at they have a man end lost all at home that they’re taking care of. And we have other support groups as well, but we bring families together. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve called family and said, can you please reach out to this is Smith, because she this is this is what she’s struggling with, this is what she’s going through. You went through the same thing. Help each other out. That’s community. How and how loving is that? And now, in best, that’s that’s investing generously in each other and it’s incredible to be able to have that opportunity. Absolutely so. And like I think I’ve shared with you about my mom, she was a character in her everyday life. Yeah, and it made her feel good to help other people and to do things, and so those are things that being in a community like that, you making that difference in your making it in a positive way. And certainly I’m seeing in this community of our people are together right and I’m doing things in a positive way and having fun. Is it top of the list? And that’s so cool. Absolutely, and you mentioned you know our residents. I can’t tell you I love being in communities because I get my emotional value, yes, me, from the hugs that I get. So you’ll look and go adgeous girl, I’m like, how the Dude, I love it all day long. I’ll take it. I’ll take those compliments. So it makes my emotional wellness sky rock at every single time I’m in a community, which is why I prefer being here than being at home. Well, I’m with you. Yeah, if I was in a different stage in my life, I probably be doing exactly what you’re doing with him. So everyone, we’re going to go to the next foundational principle. Elena and I for Morgan Star. would be right back, Francius, we at answers for elders. Thank you for listening. Did you know that you can discover hundreds of podcasts in our library on senior care? So visit our website and discover our decision guides. That will help you also navigate decision making. Find us at answers for elders. DOCUM