How a sense of advocacy makes life better for residents of our communities

Jill Vitale-Aussem is not only President and CEO of the Eden Alternative, she has authored a recently-published book entitled  Disrupting the Status Quo of Senior Living: A Mindshift (© 2019 Health Professions Press, Inc.)  I look forward to purchasing my copy of Jill's book this weekend when I am at the Pioneer Network Conference in Louisville, KY.

What I offer here is a link to an excerpt from Jill's book that is worthy of your time in reading.  She begins by noting that when prospective residents are looking at a community, the bulk of conversations is what the community can offer to the prospective resident. There is never a conversation addressing what the resident brings to the community.  Person-directed living is predicated on Knowing the Person; the all-too-often ignored part of what the resident brings needs to become operational. How can we facilitate purpose and meaning in the lives of our residents if we do not know each person we serve?

The story in this excerpt revolves around a series of thefts in an Assisted Living Community. It has a happy ending because of the sensitive insights and strong sense of advocacy the administrator exhibited.

Read the story  here.