Blog
Does your staff notice any residents feeling lonely in your community?
There are no reasons to be lonely when you live in an Independent or Assisted Living community. Yet many residents have become lonely despite being closely surrounded by others in their age range and various life-enrichment activities to appeal to their interests....
Does your food serving team feel they belong in your organization?
“I know many people, women in particular, will stay home with a salad in front of them rather than eat in a restaurant alone. I am not one of those people. I love it because I hear the best stories by listening in on what is being said around me.” A writer friend...
Do your food servers treat every resident the same?
Some of the best information comes to me from friends overhearing conversations at lunchtime in restaurants. This conversation came to me from a friend: “When are they going to understand that I am not my grandmother? I am their grandmother. I am different and...
Do your employees carry a sense of belonging?
The human emotion of that “sense of belonging” does not fade away after graduating high school, raising a family, and/or fulfilling a career. It remains with us as long as we breathe. As many seniors choose to shed household ownership responsibilities to live in a...
Do your food servers and caregivers think of their work as a calling?
Assisted Living and Long Term Care communities may have different regulations than Senior Independent Living communities but many similar responsibilities make one community stand out from its neighbor. It’s a time when those regulations and also policies are updated...
Do your LTC employees stumble along, learning from mistakes made?
“While I stand in line to buy a cup of coffee at a ridiculous price to drink while I run errands, I wonder why I do these dumb things. I could easily have made a whole pot at home.” This woman’s story came to me. “You may know that I work in an assisted living...
Does your food serving team bring holiday cheer along with the meals?
It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, A Christmas Carol, Little Women, and Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer are a few from a long list of stories of Christmas where kindness wins the day. Winter Holidays, no matter which one you celebrate, are a time for...
What do your food servers see during the Holidays?
Close your eyes, think of the Winter Holidays coming up, and what do you see? Perhaps a Christmas tree in the background, hear Christmas carols being sung, but you ‘see’ family and friends gathered around a festive dinner table, no matter which holiday you celebrate....
What makes your residents truly feel like they belong to your community?
Once the experience of moving into an Independent Living Community happens, the older person has found a place to belong, enjoy, and begin a new chapter in life. There comes a time to let younger families take care of house maintenance, repairs, and household...
Does your staff create the sense of belonging in your community?
Stories come to me from all directions. As soon as my career choice is known, someone has a story for me. This one came from the laundromat while the woman’s dryer at home was being repaired or replaced. “My mother-in-law is way ahead of us. She announced last week...
Do your food servers notice when a resident has lost her appetite?
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately one-third of all older adults live solo. Many of these people are lonely, which can happen even when surrounded by others, as in a senior independent living community. Not all widows have the confidence to approach...
Does loneliness linger in your community?
“It’s probably a reflection of my own, if I may say, loneliness.” This quote is from the famous American artist Edward Hopper (1882–1967). He was a master at conveying loneliness and isolation in his paintings. To look at them is to feel loneliness seeping into your...
Does your food serving team still find value in the work they do?
Changing how you look at something changes your whole perspective. That is a key phrase to removing burnout from your long-term care and senior independent living community workforce. From grocery stores to art galleries, changing your product around gives your...
Do you ever ask if training for all staff is really necessary?
A friend told me about running into a woman she used to work with while she was out shopping. The woman looked terrible! She asked if she had been ill. “No,” the woman replied, “just tired of the same old job, the same old complaints, and the same old me.” My friend...
Do any of your residents still feel isolated now that the pandemic has faded?
One of the huge negatives left behind after the pandemic faded is isolation. So many residents who enjoyed the camaraderie of living in an independent living community still have that sense of being left out. Many elders didn’t have a chance to bond with other...
Do you remember the best parties you attended?
It’s like a party! When you entertain, you want your guests to feel special to have received an invitation to your home. You prepare foods and beverages that entice, tempt an appetite, please the eye, and you serve a variety so there is a choice. You want your guests...
Does your company management attend onboarding training sessions?
David and Matthew were driving to their usual Saturday morning basketball game to stay in healthy condition. Both worked in the management department of different long-term care communities but discussed problems and ideas because their workplace routines were...
Is your company ready for Gen Z gig employees?
Because many retirement and assisted living communities are shy of the number of employees needed to keep their community running smoothly, many are resorting to hiring gig workers. After your company has responded to excellent training for its food servers and...
Are your employees surprised by your training sessions?
“Our last training session took an unexpected turn this time. I was quite surprised at first. When I gave it some thought, it all made sense.” Kelly spoke with her usual enthusiasm. She and her mentor Coleen were enjoying lunch at their favorite bistro in town....
Are your food servers passionate about food?
Your food serving team is the most powerful segment of the senior care community! Their work responsibility begins long before the salad is washed or onion is tossed into a pot. Your registered dietitian might be busy researching and choosing foods for individuals who...
Are potential residents turned away from your community for lack of staff?
It’s a tragedy when older adults are turned away from becoming part of your community, not because you have full occupancy but because there are not enough staff to tend to them. Occupancy in long-term care communities has dropped drastically recently. Often the lack...
Do you show a kindness to someone every day?
When talking about the travel we did when being much younger, my friend, who prefers traveling solo, and has since she was 14 years old, told me about a time flying to England 40 years later. When she boarded the airplane, she settled in, delighted to have made early...
Do your employees practice kindness on each other?
“It’s Spring! Walking in the park to find a bench and have lunch was a great idea, Kelly! I’m bursting to tell you what happened to me since we had lunch together last month. Even at my age, I’m still learning new lessons to apply to my everyday living.” Colleen said....
Do you remember a kindness someone did for you?
It may be a small kindness for you to give, but it is a major kindness when received. There are many small things we do throughout the day that we don’t think of as being important. The person on the other end of your thoughtfulness may see it as major helpfulness....
Are you aware of how hugely different retirement living is today?
Recently on an online program about reframing aging, the first male guest speaker stated that a retirement home is the last place you would want to put Mom! Ack! This man has been out of touch with today’s retirement and long-term care communities! He hasn’t been...
Do your food servers feel like they belong in your company?
The trend shows that employees seek work positions where they can grow as individuals; feel accepted for who they are and their work. Challenges, education with training, and a voice that can make suggestions and improvements seem more important than a high wage. They...
Do your food servers feel like a supporting team at work?
Coleen and Kelly were out for their monthly lunch date. They decided to go to a small, family-owned Mexican restaurant near Kelly’s neighborhood, instead of the bistro where they normally met. “Variety is the spice of life,” Kelly said as they were seated by the wife...
Do you know people whose ideas of retirement living are old-fashioned?
Tom was talking to his younger, married brother Bob about taking time to do some repairs around their mother’s house. “I can’t be here to do all the repairs that are needed. I have to fly out tomorrow for a meeting in Chicago and I’ll be gone for ten days. It...
What advice would you give to an older adult seeking a long term care community?
Advice. We are all familiar with advice, whether giving it or receiving it. If you are over 30, you may have already followed some bad advice and suffered its results unhappily. It’s not unusual for a person starting in life after completing their schooling to ask a...
Do your employees know the importance of their service?
Do your employees know how important each resident in your senior living community is to your company's success? A long-time friend who is an avid reader sends items of interest to me about long-term living, which she knows I’ll enjoy. For example, a recent article...
Do your food servers have days when everything goes wrong?
“Do you ever have a day when everything you touch goes wrong?” Betty said to her husband Joe when she arrived home late from working in a senior living community. “You know I have always loved working in foodservice and enjoy working with the elderly. I’ve known for a...
Is there diversity in your food serving team?
Does a company that hires minimum wage earners to need to invest in the expense of training? Absolutely! Investing in your assisted living and senior living community servers enhances the interaction between your serving teams and your residents. It is more than...
Is this a good time to choose a long term community as home?
The story came to me about a couple who needed to resettle into an assisted living community where they could get the best care. Both of them had Alzheimer's, at the same level of memory loss. Their son was alarmed, knowing that many communities right now are working...
Are your food servers an asset to the community?
Word came to me by way of a friend who has both parents in an assisted living community for the loss of memory. “In particular,” she said, “seeing the same, familiar faces each day is most important to them. Talking with one of the caregivers who said it is especially...
Does good training make a difference in these times of understaffed communities?
Food has always been a comforter, whether coming home from school to nibble on the snack Mom had ready for you, chicken soup when you were ill, or gathering around the table for Sunday dinners or grand holidays with family and friends. Food is still the number one...
Does your company make wise investments?
Many long-term care communities are finding ways to cut expenses yet benefit their residents at the same time. One of those improvements is investing in a garden. An area is set aside for residents to participate in the gardening program of planting, maintaining, and...
Is the pandemic the only cause of losing food serving staff?
The pandemic has trimmed many workforces in our long-term care communities. Yet if you read the articles about the industry of food service, you will find that many employees leave the job within the first 90 days because they didn’t know what their work...
How is your food service training progressing?
After some fast-paced games of basketball, a shower, and a change of clothes, Matthew and David drove to their favorite Burger, Fries, & Beer Tavern with hearty appetites and a thirst for discussion about the latest news of their long term living communities. With...
Do your employees know the tremendous growth that has taken place in long term care communities?
It’s only natural that we think everyone who knows where we work and what we do, knows all about our highs and lows of the workday, during these pandemic times, including our struggles to get things right. Not so! People outside our Long Term Care, Senior Living, and...
Would your employees enjoy sharing the news?
Kelly was so charged about her new idea for the next employee meeting that she could hardly concentrate on a menu choice at their favorite lunch Bistro. “We’ve talked to our residents about being unable to order some foods and stock items right now that aren’t...
Do you know the wisest decision to make for your company?
A friend recently sent this to me after seeing the body of work curated: “Researchers have confirmed what parents have known for a long time. Sharing a meal is good for the spirit, the brain, and the...
Do all your food servers take pride in their work?
It is time to stand back and examine where your budget from last year succeeded your desires or failed them. In these times of severe labor shortages, if you have lost employees this past year you need to know why and how you can prevent losing employees ever...
Since 1994, the organization has supported its clients by enhancing the dining experience and ensuring the nutritional care of residents.
Learn more at www.DiningRD.com