One of Our Differences – Training our Caregivers in Talking to Seniors

These differences included the process by which our caregivers are interviewed in order to ensure they will be an asset to Always There Home Care as well as the strongly encouraged interview between client and potential caregivers. These two interviews are just two examples of the way Always There Home Care strives to ensure the client is pleased with the service they receive. The next couple weeks’ blogs will be focused on the training our caregivers receive on our holistic approach to care.

Before Always There Home Care’s caregivers are placed in a client’s home, they all participate in training. At Caring Hearts Homecare Assistance, we only hire Certified Nursing Assistants and certified Home Health Aides. Therefore, all of our caregivers come prepared to take care of seniors on a physical level. Our training is geared to caring for seniors on a social and emotional level. Our caregivers are trained in the holistic approach to care of engaging body, mind, and spirit. All of our caregivers are trained in massage therapy where they learn basic massage techniques as well as the importance of a caring touch. Always There Home Care also has a Registered Nurse with degrees in nutrition who comes to the training session and educates caregivers on proper nutrition for seniors. Another part of the training session is teaching caregivers the importance of and techniques for meditation, which can greatly help reduce stress. These aspects of the training session will be discussed in separate blogs over the next few weeks. Today, we will be discussing the part of our training that focuses on how to talk to seniors.

As the social aspect is a part of the holistic approach to care, part of caregiver training at Always There Home Care is how to talk to seniors. The more we understand why seniors do what they do, the better we can take care of them. All of our caregivers are required to read How to Say it to Seniors: Closing the Communication Gap with Our Elders by David Solie. During training, Jeff Bond explains the main points that this book makes. For many caregivers, it is like a light going off. They now understand why seniors tell the same story over and over again and why they tend to argue when decisions are being made for them. Seniors want to maintain their independence and therefore want to have control over the decisions that are made about their lives. This is because most of them have lived productive lives and are used to taking care of themselves. Seniors also want to figure out what their legacy is. They want to know what they are leaving behind and what difference they have made by living all these years.

As we get older, our need for control deepens. This is partially due to the amount of losses that seniors have to deal with every day. They begin to lose their health, strength, friends, and independence. Not only is it important for seniors to maintain control over their lives, but it is also important for them to feel as though they are leaving something behind, be it wisdom passed on to others or the memory of themselves. This is why seniors often tell the same story over and over again, and therefore as a caregiver it is helpful to reference stories or ideas that the client has told you. This way, they feel as though they are passing on a part of themselves and their lives have then had meaning.

How to Say it to Seniors: Closing the Communication Gap with Our Elders also explains senior communication habits, why they occur, and how to best deal with them. These communication habits are explained “as an expression of the conflict the elderly are experiencing in resolving the items on their developmental agenda”. The reason it often takes seniors so long to make a decision and the way in which they sometimes get off topic in conversations is explained. The book also gives helpful tips on how to help seniors deal with the dilemmas that many of them face on a daily basis. This book can be used as a wonderful tool for caregivers and because of the insight and tips given in it, it is discussed during the caregiver training session. With an understanding of why seniors do what they do and say what they say, our caregivers are able to take better care of our clients and satisfy all of their needs: social, emotional, intellectual, physical, and spiritual.

How to talk to seniors is only one of the many helpful portions of Always There Home Care’s caregiver training session. Be sure to read the next couple of blogs that discuss other parts of our training session, and why this training helps set us apart from other homecare assistance companies!