ASK AMY KOCH
A monthly column from the Executive Director of the Charles Ford Retirement Communities of New Harmony
“Resident-Centered Care” and Its Importance to a Successful Care Plan
Several have asked questions about what life would be like for them or their family member as a resident of the Charles Ford Retirement Communities. This month we asked Amy Koch to describe “resident-centered care” and how important the approach and its emphasis would be to a successful care plan:
“The Charles Ford Retirement Community places special emphasis on the goal of providing resident-centered care. This means that overall, our focus is on individual care plans that honor the individual’s and the organization’s culture, while striving to provide open communication between the staff, our residents and their families. Reaching our resident-centered care goals depends always on our ability to collaborate with all the people involved.
“We define resident-centered care as care that provides respect and response to individual resident preferences, needs and values, and ensures that the care and concern provided is guided by those values. This approach requires a true partnership between our residents, their families and our care providers, one where individual needs and aspirations drive both healthcare and quality of life decisions. Under a resident-centered care model, the team works to know and treat the person — developing comprehensive care plans to address mental health and social needs as well as physical needs.
“Dealing with Covid-19 has only accentuated and brought new attention to the active collaboration and the shared decision-making necessary between our staff, our residents and their loved ones. As it relates to the Pandemic, we feel very fortunate to report that the process works. Currently, all of our residents and all of our primary staff members have begun the vaccination process with several having completed the second step. Under the current restrictions, staff immunity plays a major part in keeping residents Covid safe. Many of our staff members have received the Pfizer vaccine; some have received Moderna. Our residents received their first Moderna vaccine on February 2. Their second vaccination is scheduled for March 2nd . By mid March, we will be reasonably Covid vaccinated. Thus far, none of our residents or staff has had any adverse or unexpected reaction to the vaccination.
“The biggest change within our walls, associated with the vaccination process, is a sense of relief, peace and renewed hope. Reviewing the past 12 months, we feel extremely fortunate and grateful to have had only one resident to test positive for Covid19 and that resident made a complete recovery. The Charles Ford Retirement Community, its staff, residents and their families sacrificed a lot of personal time with loved ones and friends in order to stay Covid free and help to assure this positive outcome for our residents. There are no words to express how deeply grateful I am to everyone involved. This is how resident-centered care works in our Community!”
