Anyone who’s experienced even a small injury like a broken finger or sprained ankle knows how difficult basic activities you do every day, like tying your shoe or driving a car, can be with a physical impairment.
With aging comes increased loss of physical function, although the rate and degree of loss is highly individualized. Some older adults have the “broken finger” level of loss, while others experience mobility problems, muscle weakness and even cognitive decline that is significantly more limiting.
But, by age 75, almost half of the adults in the U.S. report physical limitations in daily activities and by 85 “fifty-five percent of women and 38% of men…report being unable to perform a mobility task such as: walking, stooping/kneeling, writing and lifting 10 lbs,” according to Todd Manini, Ph.D., Co-director of the Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, University of Florida. This loss means that basic everyday actions, or Activities of Daily Living, can become a challenge. With the challenge comes frustration, quality of life issues, and can even safety concerns.
Senior care assisted living communities provide the hands-on help, and physical and emotional support needed, so that residents can live as well and independently as possible.
What are ADLs?
Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) are both descriptors used in senior care communities and definitions used by Medicare and insurance companies to determine the level of care and support a resident in senior care assisted living needs.
A trained professional is able to assess how much help a person needs in each of the categories and rate the level of assistance as: none; some; or complete.
Each person in senior care assisted living is on his/her own unique journey and the goal of staff is to make sure that the residents have the best quality of life possible. That can mean a little or a lot of help with ADLs.
The ADLs that apply to senior care assisted living are:
- Ambulating/Transferring: The extent of an individual’s ability to move from one position to another, such as from bed to a chair, and walk independently.
- Feeding: The ability to successfully move food from a plate or bowl to the mouth to receive life-sustaining nutrition.
- Dressing: The competence to select appropriate clothes and the physical capability to put the clothes on.
- Personal hygiene: The ability to bathe and groom themselves and maintain dental hygiene, nail and hair care.
- Continence: The control of bladder and bowel function with little difficulty.
- Toileting: The capacity to get to and from the toilet, use it appropriately and clean oneself after.
How does senior care assisted living staff help residents with ADLs?
Much of the assistance that staff offers is hands-on, actual physical help with everything from buttoning shirts to moving a walker closer to the chair so the resident can stand and move on to their next activity. Considerate, well-trained staff know both the preferences, schedules and mobility needs of each resident.
The key phrase is “well-trained.” Staff, like the outstanding team we have at Country Meadows Retirement Communities, know how to carefully assist a person using specific techniques, taking into account the physical constraints of that individual. A senior resident who is usually capable of using a walker might occasionally need a staff member’s help, possibly using a gait belt as a safety precaution.
Staff also play a vital role in balancing independence with safety. Encouraging independence allows residents to maintain autonomy, which builds trust and alleviates frustration. Our staff members communicate clearly and respectfully with residents to make sure their preferences are incorporated into their days, while keeping essential safety protocols in place.
When senior care assisted living staff help people with ADLs, it leaves these residents with more energy to enjoy, the activities, people and events they choose.
Country Meadows Retirement Communities offer memory care, plus independent living, assisted living/personal care and restorative care in Pennsylvania and in Frederick, Md. Each of our campuses is a vibrant community with a wide range of amenities including professionally prepared meals, scheduled transportation and support with senior care assisted living daily activities and as needed.