Quality of life is a huge issue in a assisted living facility. Many people who are in a assisted living facility do not want to be there, but because of health reasons they have to be. So it is very important to try to make them as happy as possible. Many people feel that they are losing control over their own life. You need to try to see it from their perspective. How would you feel if you were in their position? I think that you should try to give them as much control as possible, while still making sure that they are safe. It may be difficult, but for many people these are the last few years of their life, so why would you not want to make them happy? Let them make the little decisions such as when and what to eat as long as it is health for them. Many people in assisted living facilities are more then capable of making decisions like that, and it can make a big difference in their happiness. I think that it should also be made to feel as homelike as possible. Try to make it is friendly as you can. Encourage their family to bring things from home that they like. It can even be as easy as their favorite blanket. You need to keep in mind that in some cases clients may be sharing a room with another person. This may be very difficult for them to deal with, so as long as it does not interfere with the other person you need to make them as comfortable as possible. You need to realize that this may be an extremely difficult time for them. They may have been very independent people for their entire lives, and now they feel like everyone else is making the decisions for them. So just try to make their quality of life as good as possible. I think that one of biggest problems that the health field has is that we are so consumed with trying to treat our clients that we forget about their happiness and comfort. If we keep that in mind then I believe that our clients will have a much better quality of life.
Pratt, R., John, Long-Term Care Managing Across the Continuum, Sudbury, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2011, 86-87.
