Person-centered care has been around for over 15 years and there have been countless descriptions, definitions, and models to help guide skilled nursing centers create a better living environment for seniors. Beyond physical changes to the building, changing care schedules, and making the resident the center of the circle of care, it’s also helpful to develop a person-centered mindset involving attitudes, a philosophy, a mental road map and a process that all lead to the ultimate goal of resident well-being and enhanced quality of life.
Attitude
A solid mindset begins by examining concepts involved in person-centered care and then endorsing and adopting them into the skilled nursing experience. This attitude maintains that the resident is far more important than providing nursing tasks, following rigid schedules and routines, and doing other forms of work. The person is first and all else is second. An attitude of care is more than a model. It’s a way of being, thinking, behaving and delivering care based on what matters most to the resident.
Philosophy
Adopting a person-centered philosophy means living out a paradigm shift in thinking and feeling that the lives of seniors in skilled care are important. They have rights to living their best life possible physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually. This philosophy holds that their lives matter and their lifestyle should match their previous way of living as much as possible, before they move in. Treating them as unique individuals is a far cry from seeing them as a group of old people who need care.
Road Map
A person-centered mindset can be better maintained by some kind of mental or visual mindset. It will help to answer “Where were we?” and “Where do we need to go?” in terms of developing a more person-centered space for both care and life to be experienced more fully. This map can provide a starting place, direction and guidance along their journey, and identify areas that need to be improved.
Process
Along with a person-centered attitude, philosophy and road map, another element required to create better person-centered experiences in skilled care, is a process. This involves a series of planned out and well-executed actions and steps to achieve the goal of wellness and quality of life for the resident. Person-centered processes require person-centered thinking and feeling. Along with tearing down institutionalized nursing stations and throwing out old med carts, the process involves valuing residents as individuals, seeing them as social beings, and including them along the way.
Final Thoughts on Developing a Person-Centered Mindset
While it’s true that person-centered care has come a long way, and in a relatively short period of time, it is in no way a finished project on the administrator’s list of things to do. Far from that, it is an ongoing movement involving an attitude, philosophy, road map and process, all geared towards the resident’s comfort, happiness, and psychosocial needs. It involves the mindset that these older adults have personal control, choice, and freedom.