Christmas season sees increase of supportive measures
Thursday December 13, 2007 -- Deron Hamel
The holiday season is a joyous occasion for most residents in long-term care, however, the season can be an emotionally taxing time for some residents.

And with the coming of the Christmas season, staff members at OMNI long-term care homes will be vigorously focusing on supportive measures for those residents who need a little extra care, notes Scott Ladoucier, supportive measures specialist at Springdale Country Manor.

While some residents become visibly agitated when something is bothering them, other residents are less noticeable when they’re upset. Staff members from all departments try to identify these residents and help them as much as possible.

“We often focus on those residents who are most visual . . . we often don’t pay enough attention to the residents who are quiet,” says Ladoucier. “It’s the old adage of the squeaky wheel gets the grease. We’ve got to go look at the other wheels.”

It can be a challenge identifying which residents are feeling sad during the Christmas season because residents are preoccupied with family members and friends who are constantly coming in and out of homes.

However, there are signs staff members look for in residents who are depressed, says Ladoucier.

For instance, staff members from the nutritional care department might notice that a resident who eats regularly and has a healthy appetite is suddenly not eating their food. In other cases, life enrichment staff will see residents who normally participate in programming becoming less active and spending a lot of time in their rooms.

This is where supportive measures comes into play. Once staff members suspect a resident is depressed they will spend one-to-one time with the resident to help make them feel better.

Staff members can help by doing small things, says Ladoucier. Often, just taking the time to have a cup of tea with a resident will be enough to help cheer them up.

These supportive measures are used throughout the year, but they are magnified during the holiday season, says Ladoucier. To enhance the benefits of supportive measures, staff members will be allowing themselves more one-to-one time with those residents who need it.

“It’s all part of OMNI being flexible with care,” he says.