Beyond praise for the Java Music Club
Program offers new way to empower LTC residents
written on Monday, September 17, 2012 by Kristian Partington for The Morning Report.
Ontario long-term care provider Schlegel Villages began using a new Quality of Life survey last year, a tool that not only asks residents in its 11 homes — called “villages” — about things like comfort, security and whether emotional needs are being met. When initial results were tallied from the first wave of resident interviews, the team was surprised to learn the poorest results came in response to a question about whether or not people ask for their help or advice.
Residents had nice rooms, their meals were good, they felt safe and secure in their home, but in many cases their lives were void of the opportunity to use their experience to help others.
“We talk about empowering our residents and making life meaningful and making a life worth living,” says Schlegel Villages recreation and community partnerships consultant Christy Parsons.
“Could you imagine if no one asked for your help or advice?”
In March, the organization introduced a program called the Java Music club in six of its homes with the goal of including residents in the betterment of the lives of their peers, and the results have so far exceeded expectations.