What Is Person-Centered Care in Assisted Living?

No two people are alike, so it stands to reason that the care they receive should be as unique as they are. Rather than only considering the individual’s medical condition and the areas they need assistance with, person-centered care takes a holistic approach. 

Person-centered care services personalize activities and care to each resident’s dislikes, interests, and preferences to ensure the whole person is cared for. While this care model is typically used in medical settings, some assisted living communities are also starting to incorporate this approach.

What is person-centered care?

The person-centered care model is built around discovering a person’s preferences, values, and needs and using that information to direct all aspects of their care. This model can be applied in many environments, including assisted living and memory care communities and hospitals.

Anyone can be involved in person-centered care, including doctors, nurses, caregivers, and family members. Because so much of this type of care approach involves learning about the individual’s preferences and what’s most important to them, a key part of the process is ensuring the individual is included in their care plan to the best of their ability. This can help seniors be more active participants in their care plans, and it can also help them build trust with physicians and caregivers.

Person-centered care services recognize that there’s more to a person than their symptoms and that other factors can have an impact on a person’s health and influence the decisions they make. This could include spiritual and psychological factors, personal care, and social preferences. 

Benefits of Person-Centered Care

There are several benefits of person-centered care for seniors, their families, and even their providers, including:

• Commitment to long-term wellness
• Collaboration between seniors, providers, and family members with long-term goals in mind
• Prioritization of well-being and physical comfort
• Encouragement of family presence and involvement
• Respect for personal values
• Quick sharing of information for informed decision-making
• Encouragement of feelings of independence

How does person-centered care work in assisted living?

This type of approach is often spoken about in medical care settings, but it’s also beneficial in assisted living communities, enabling families and residents to have a relationship with care staff members that’s built on trust.

Core Characteristics of Person-Centered Care Services

Person-centered care considers all aspects of a person and their well-being instead of taking a task-based approach that’s focused on completing a defined task for a person. Some core characteristics of a person-centered approach in assisted living include: 

• Individualizing care to the person and ensuring the plan adapts and is in tune with their changing needs
• Considering the person’s unique perspective in all care decisions and activities
• Offering supportive opportunities for socialization and other life-enrichment activities for people to live their best lives

How Communities Provide a Personalized Experience

One of the main aspects of person-centered care is thoroughly knowing about the person being cared for. In an assisted living community, this not only means ensuring their values, needs, and preferences are honored but also making each resident’s values and interests evident within the community. For example, activities they want to see are incorporated into the community, some of their favorite meals may be served, and their dietary preferences are honored. As a result, residents truly feel listened to. 

At Cedarhurst, we created our Living TRUE℠ program to ensure every resident feels supported, loved, valued, and encouraged to live life to its fullest. The foundation of this program is that each person is unique, so the environment around them should be as well while reflecting their values and interests. To get to know each person, we start by asking them to tell us about themselves through a “Resident Story” survey. This information is used to create purposeful activities and helps us honor residents’ wishes.

Personalized Care Plans

Each person has unique needs and preferences, so the care they receive shouldn't be the same care that’s provided to another person. Residents should have the autonomy to ask for assistance and tell staff members when they would like to do something independently. Additionally, residents shouldn’t be participating in activities that aren’t of interest to them. Instead, they should have the autonomy to choose how they structure their day.

When an older adult and their family choose an assisted living community, they’ll likely be asked to complete a form that includes information about favorite activities, interests, hobbies, former occupations, favorite meals, dietary needs, and more. At Cedarhurst, this is the “Resident Story” survey. All of this information is used to take a proactive approach to care, ensuring it’s individualized to each person rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach.

Knowing a resident’s favorite activities, hobbies, and interests can also be useful in creating a personalized care plan. It helps care team members create meaningful moments and get to know residents better. This information can also be used to help build purposeful activity and social event calendars that are based on residents’ interests.

How to Find Out If an Assisted Living Community Follows a Person-Centered Approach

There are many different assisted living communities to choose from, so it’s important to do your research and tour communities to ensure they align with your values and preferences.

The best way to tell if an assisted living community takes a person-centered approach is through a tour. As you explore the community, you should see:

• Team members greeting residents by their names
• Residents choosing which community events and activities to participate in
• Residents and team members having conversations as equals
• Families collaborating on care plans
• Staff members caring for residents with passion and care

Additionally, the move-in process should consist of building relationships and moving into a comfortable home that you can make your own—it shouldn’t resemble admission to a medical facility. For example, the community should have a welcoming committee, welcome rituals, and a well-developed transition program to help the move-in process go as smoothly as possible.

Discover our unique approach to senior living and person-centered care.

When you’re searching for assisted living communities, they can all start to sound alike. They offer the same amenities, look similar, and even offer the same promises. 

But Cedarhurst is different. We take an approach to senior living that’s tailored to the unique individuals that make up the community. Each resident is the main character in the story because we take a thoughtful approach to person-centered care services. 

Learn more about what makes our approach and communities stand out in our free resource, What Makes Cedarhurst Different from Other Communities?