More and more, senior care services are looking beyond physical needs and focusing on other aspects of wellbeing, too. Social and emotional needs are getting more attention than ever before, especially in the light of the recent pandemic where we have all seen the negative impact that isolation can have on an individual.
Community is a huge part of our lives. Think about who your community entails. If you’re not yet of retirement age, that community likely includes your coworkers, family members, neighbors, friends, people who participate in the same activities and gatherings that you do (such as people that attend the same place of worship, members of sports teams or clubs, and so on).
Hopefully, you haven’t experienced the negative impact of isolation in your own life. However, you probably know someone that has. COVID-19 and social distancing have both changed how we operate as a society, and we’ve learned a lot about how to keep people healthier as a result of this. Attending to social needs in a safe way has become a primary focus of many care services thanks to the lessons that we’ve learned from the pandemic. Hopefully, we can continue to see growth and improvement on this front.
Additionally, a sense of community in senior care creates a sense of accountability. No longer is senior care something that’s separate from everyone else’s lives. We are all part of a larger community. When care acknowledges this, it is less likely for people to fall through the cracks. A sense of togetherness is important because really, we are all part of the process. We are all a part of the same team. When that team works correctly, mistakes are discovered and corrected more organically. People get the help that they need more efficiently.
Effective senior care needs to cover all of an individual’s needs. That includes social and emotional needs along with the physical ones. Caregivers have a professional obligation to ensure that this is a part of care. And if it’s not a part of the care being provided, the sense of community should be accounted for in other ways. Unfortunately, this isn’t how care has always been run. Until very recently, the bulk of attention has been spent on physical needs. And while this aspect of our wellbeing is very important, focusing solely on bodily needs misses a big part of the picture. We’re more than just bodies. We have feelings, thoughts, goals, and souls. The best care needs to take this into account, too.
We are here for you. If you’d like to learn more about care and how your loved one’s complete set of needs can be addressed with care, we’re happy to talk. Senior care can be an overwhelming thing for a lot of people, especially if it’s something that your family hasn’t had to navigate before. Having a professional on your side can make it a whole lot easier. And we’d love to be that professional for you.
So please, feel free to give us a call or send an email today. We’re here and we are ready to help.
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