We recommend compassionate care for seniors with dementia. It is an interdisciplinary approach that includes practicing nurses, social workers, health and aging specialists, geriatricians, and other caregivers.
In addition, families can also get involved in caring for their loved ones with dementia by taking part in family education sessions, so they understand how to provide compassionate care for their aging parent with dementia as much as possible.
According to Alzheimer’s Association, caregivers face multiple challenges in caring for a family member dealing with memory loss and other types of dementia. If you want to learn more about compassionate care for seniors, read on!
What is Compassionate Care?
Compassionate care is the practice of providing individualized, compassionate care to older adults with dementia. It’s a way of treating people with compassion and recognizing their humanity while supporting their dignity, autonomy, and self-determination.
Compassionate care aims to help seniors with dementia live as independently as possible while still receiving the best possible care.
Compassionate care includes music therapy, art therapy, group activities such as dining or board games, and even pet therapy (if you have one).
Examples of Compassionate Care
Many types of compassionate care are available, and it’s essential to find out what kind works best for your situation. The following are some examples of compassionate care:
• Being there for them emotionally, physically, and spiritually
• Engaging in conversation with your loved one
• Helping them maintain their independence by simplifying their daily lives as much as possible
• Providing simple tasks they may have difficulty performing
• Providing nutritious meals (including snacks) and beverages
• Helping with transportation when needed
• Providing activities that keep them engaged and active
• Helping them stay connected with family members and friends
• Checking on a person regularly, including making sure they’re not in pain or discomfort
• Assist caregivers in providing services such as bathing, dressing, and toileting
• Provide comfort through massage or physical therapy
• improve mobility by helping people walk or perform other activities
What is the Difference Between Compassionate Care and Hospice Care?
Compassionate Care
Compassionate care in assisted living and memory care provides help and support to those with chronic conditions, such as Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia.
They do not intend to cure these conditions but ease their symptoms so that residents can live independently for as long as possible.
Family members, close friends, and professional caregivers usually provide compassionate care for seniors with dementia. This support includes helping with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, and preparing meals.
In addition, it provides emotional support during difficult times, such as when a loved one has lost their ability to communicate because of memory loss or other forms of dementia.
Hospice Care
It’s important to note that not all seniors who need hospice care have dementia. Most do not. But if you or someone you love needs help transitioning into hospice care because of dementia, here’s what you need to know about it.
Hospice care provides a team of professionals who help seniors with dementia to die with dignity in a home setting. Still, they can also offer it at assisted living facilities or nursing homes.
Hospice services include counseling, support groups, pain management, and home health aides.
The 11 C's of Compassionate Care
1. Calmness
When a person with dementia loses their ability to recognize the world around them, they can often become agitated. This can be hard on family members and caregivers trying to take care of them, exceptionally if the person being cared for has dementia and is not yet physically or cognitively able to express their emotions.
It’s vital that caregivers work together as a team to create a calm environment in which they can help their loved ones maintain their dignity and keep them safe.
2. Care
Care is one of the main focuses of Compassionate Care. It’s a word that can mean so many things, but it’s a word that describes what we do when we’re with our residents and loved ones. We care about their comfort, their safety, and their needs.
It can be as simple as ensuring they have clean clothes and don’t have to worry about where to find them. It can be as complex as helping them get out of bed when they’re ready to sit down again after an hour-long nap.
The world has changed since people started caring for each other more than they did in the past—and that change has made caring for those we love even more important today than ever before.
3. Comfort
Seniors with dementia need to feel comfortable, safe, and secure in their surroundings. This means familiar things, and people who understand their needs should surround them.
It’s important because it helps seniors feel accepted and cared for, reducing their anxiety levels and making them feel more secure about their environment.
This type of care offers an environment where people feel safe and secure—something that can be hard for older adults with dementia who may be highly sensitive to changes in their environment or surroundings.
4. Commitment
Another vital aspect of compassionate care for seniors with dementia is commitment.
The first step in creating a plan for compassionate care is committing yourself to the process. You must ensure that you will put in the time and effort required for this process to be successful, or else you will only waste your time. It would help if you had an open mind when beginning this process. You should not have preconceived notions about what will or not work; instead, approach it as an experiment and see if it works out for you.
When we talk about commitment, we’re referring to committing yourself and how much dedication you’re willing to put into helping those with dementia. You can’t just show up once every two weeks and do some tasks with them—you need to show up every day and spend as much time with them as possible! If they get bored or start falling asleep on their own, what good does that do? If they don’t feel loved enough, who will?
5. Communication
Seniors with dementia need someone who can communicate with them about their needs and concerns so that they don’t feel isolated or alone when they experience new feelings or emotions because of their condition.
Communication is an integral part of compassionate care for seniors with dementia. It’s essential for keeping seniors safe, ensuring they feel understood, and ensuring that all the right people are involved in their care.
When caring for a person with dementia, it’s easy to forget that communicating with them is more than just talking to them or asking if they need something. It would be best if you took the time to listen so that they understand what’s happening around them.
It would help if you also asked open-ended questions so they have time to think about your words and answer in their way.
6. Compassionate
Compassion is the underlying principle of compassionate care. It’s what drives us to care for others and why we do what we do. It’s also a key component of compassionate care for seniors with dementia because it’s essential to ensure they receive care benefits.
There are many ways to practice compassion in your life, but what do they have in common? They all involve treating others with respect, kindness, and understanding—and they’re all part of being compassionate.
7. Competence
Competence means that all those in caring roles must have the ability to understand the health and social needs of each individual. It also means having the expertise, clinical knowledge, and technical knowledge to deliver care treatments that are effective and based on research and evidence.
A caregiver’s competence includes knowing their role, their limitations, and what they can do to help.
Competence also includes being able to communicate effectively with those around them about what is going on. This can be difficult when a person has dementia or other cognitive impairments, making it hard for them to understand what’s happening around them or how other people are feeling.
Caregivers must figure out what a person needs before they need it—this will prevent confusion and frustration on all sides.
8. Community Involvement
Community involvement is one of the most important aspects of compassionate care. It leads to greater compassion and empathy towards individuals and their families.
Community involvement also significantly improves the quality of life for those with dementia by providing opportunities for social interaction and support through activities such as outings, cooking classes, or other social gatherings.
9. Consistency
When a person with dementia is being cared for, consistency is key to maintaining their ability to function independently and safely. For example, your caregiver should always set a familiar routine, such as the time to eat meals and go to bed when possible.
Remembering these details when you’re busy caring for someone else is hard, but it’s essential! For example, if your loved one has trouble remembering when they need to eat or go to bed, they may need help to get the right amount of meals and restful sleep.
An excellent way to ensure your caregiver maintains consistent care is by having a written plan before they arrive so that there are no surprises when they get here. Make sure you have all the information needed on hand (including details on how they should dress and what kind of food they can have)
10. Courage
Courage is a quality that can be scarce in the face of dementia and its symptoms. But it’s important to remember that someone with dementia is still a person, just like the rest of us. They are not dead or gone; they are still there and deserve our compassion.
Courage is about being brave enough to do what’s suitable for your patient and their family, even when it’s scary.
11. Creativity
Creativity is the ability to be creative, to find new and better ways to care for the elderly with dementia.
Seniors with dementia experience many symptoms and behaviors that are often confusing, and it’s challenging to know what to do or how best to approach a problematic senior. As a caregiver, you must be creative in approaching these challenges.
Compassionate Care at Applewood Our House
At Applewood Our House, we believe in supporting our residents in their pursuit of happiness and independence. Our residents live with dementia, and we want to help them continue living as independently as they can while dealing with the challenges associated with the condition.
We offer compassionate care to our residents with dementia, which means we go above and beyond to ensure they receive high-quality help from our staff members. This includes:
• Providing a safe environment for our residents is not just a goal. It is a necessity. This includes making sure their living space is clean and free from clutter.
• Ensuring that our residents have access to everything they need (even if it’s something as simple as using a cane or walking aid)
• Offering more personalized care for our residents
• Working as a team to ensure that every resident receives the highest level of care possible is key to the success of our program. We know that the best way to keep your loved ones safe and comfortable is by providing them with compassionate care.
That’s why we ensure our staff members know about dementia and how it affects people. So not only do they have experience in caring for seniors, but they also have training in administering medication, changing bandages, and much more.
• We believe that providing support for our residents’ families is crucial to keeping our residents well and happy. Our team works with families to create a plan that addresses their needs while caring for their loved ones.
• Offering specialized training for our caregivers to ensure they’re equipped with the knowledge needed to provide compassionate care
• Giving residents a variety of resources and amenities that allow them to live more independently
Compassionate Care for Seniors with Dementia - Conclusion
In conclusion, the need for compassionate care encompasses these points. Caring for seniors with dementia is challenging on many levels, but failing to attend to their emotional needs is neglect.
Compassionate care shows we understand that our loved ones are people, not problems requiring solutions. Loving them means working to develop a rapport with our seniors and having honest and open communication regarding their needs.