Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. That is what many senior living communities learned in 2020. It was a year when hard decisions had to be made in quick time that would certainly benefit residents as they were the main object of consideration. We are living and working through historical, hard, and divisive times. People tend to bring out the best in themselves during hard times as we’ve seen in this past year. Kindness has spread to such a degree that people are even making a campaign for kindness. It’s as contagious as a yawn but much more lively. Every encounter in the community is to be met with kindness for it is the kindness that will be remembered long after the pandemic has been restrained.

Present discussions reveal that you are not to expect the new normal to be the same as the old normal in senior living. Another major lesson learned from the pandemic is that hospitality and healthcare go together, hand-in-hand for older adults.  The pandemic has taught leaders in the aging industry that vulnerability held in senior housing will call for changes in the delivery of healthcare to hospitality. Kindness will be paired with care services as senior communities expand their on-site capabilities in tending to resident wellness.

Kind Dining♥ continues to train food servers in the social skills in hospitality that bring trust and comfort to residents’ care and excellence to the foodservice team. With practice, they will perform their duties naturally without thought and always with kindness in mind and at hand. Changes have brought creative ways of serving meals to residents that have been happily receptive to meals delivered in to-go containers that are recyclable and microwavable. In some senior living communities, food servers have set up mini-serving stations on each floor level where residents can attend at social distances. Chefs have limited the number of entrees to avoid menu burnout. Drink and snack carts visit at particular times during the day to keep residents from being too isolated. These options are all part of the planning in moving forward and working within guidelines to keep residents and staff healthy and happy.

B♥ Kind ®Tip: Kindness remains to a be a focus in these extraordinary times.