Get the Script for Prescribable Resident Engagement

“If, as a physician, I want to recommend something for an older adult I serve, I want to ensure that what I’m recommending will work and that it is evidence-based. Then, I want to make sure that it is happening. If it is not going to happen, I shouldn’t recommend it,” says Charles de Vilmorin, CEO and cofounder of Linked Senior, Inc. This is just one of the challenges when dealing with the concept of resident engagement, he suggested, which is an integral part of the care that helps residents find purpose every day. He will be presenting an AMDA webinar, Prescribable Resident Engagement Is Here, on April 29.

This program will review research, best practices, and case studies that show how resident engagement can be an effective way for a practice to use person-centered and therapeutic engagement as a modality. It will focus on the typical therapeutic and Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) efforts that include the assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation of resident engagement. Additionally, de Vilmorin will provide data-driven tools to effectively implement resident engagement best practices.

“The vast majority of the older population has lost the ability for self-creation. They need support and purpose,” says de Vilmorin. “We are in a very exciting moment in resident engagement.” He suggests that music programs and similar efforts are showing positive results in this regard. Making the best use of these initiatives for each individual resident, he says, requires meeting people where they are and engaging them accordingly.

The current COVID-19 pandemic has revealed a real need for engagement, says de Vilmorin, especially as it relates to reducing isolation in older adults. “We are learning about more creative and innovative ways to address isolation,” he observes, emphasizing the need to take these lessons learned and continue to apply them after the COVID-19 crisis has resolved.

Empowering residents to self-engage is key, says de Vilmorin. “One Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Report in 2015 determined that the average nursing home resident gets just 11 minutes of engagement per day from others. If they can’t self-engage, there’s not a lot going on.”

This webinar will offer ideas and tools for AMDA members to employ in the months and years post-pandemic. “These are things you can do that will have a tremendous return on investment in terms of time, resources, and resident well-being,” de Vilmorin explains. As always, this webinar is free for AMDA members. Click here for more information or to register.