Another resident doesn’t like breakfast, preferring a coffee at 10 a.m. instead.

These practices developed earlier in residents’ lifetimes shouldn’t be expected to change when they move into long-term care, says Scott Ladoucier, supportive measures specialist and personal support worker at Springdale Country Manor in Springville.

“That’s our job to accommodate their previous lifestyles as much as possible.”

Meeting residents’ needs involves employing creativity and flexibility, says Scott. For instance, there’s another resident who likes to bathe late at night, long after the other residents have. “It’s a previous lifestyle habit,” says Scott. He likes a very late bath because it helps him sleep.” He says accommodating these requests requires reworking schedules.

With Scott working fulltime in a supportive measures capacity, it helps, he says. “All (employees) know they have an extra pair of hands.” Scott also has the opportunity to investigate circumstances that may cause agitation in residents who have dementia. It also provides him the time to conduct the necessary detective work to find solutions.

This supportive measures work is possible through the creation of a special department at the Springville long-term care home.

The department was created in May in order to give supportive measures a daily, formalized focus at the Springville nursing home. Sandra and Scott work together so there is a supportive measures specialist on shift from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

Supportive measures is a practice whereby caregivers focus on individual needs and preferences of residents living with Alzheimer disease or related dementia, to increase quality of life. By identifying factors that trigger resident agitation, supportive measures can be put in place to remove many of these factors from the resident’s daily life. Behaviour mapping, medication mapping, and the use of resident assessments to determine resident needs, strengths and preferences are all part of the supportive measures discipline.