Top Five Things To Look For When Working With A Gerontologist And Assisted Living Operator

November 16, 2021

Top Five Things To Look For When Working With A Gerontologist And Assisted Living Operator

Two men are standing next to each other in a circle.

When finding the right assisted living location, make sure they meet the requirements that you have. Through the pandemic, it was challenging for people to get the assistance they needed because most did not plan on leaving their homes. There was enough evidence to believe that the older population would be the slowest to recover from the pandemic, so people did not want to take that chance. There were other changes they were planning as well and wanted to get through those as well.


We had to make sure that the team that we found was the best equipped to assist. They had to stay safe and look after themselves, and take all the precautions because there were chances that they could pass the virus and get others sick.


We learned that many changes were taking place, and people were unsure what they had to look for when deciding that they wanted to work with someone for the job. People were quite uncertain about the qualities that assisted living needed when they were picking them. We decided to create a list of traits that they should select based on to make the process significantly easy for them when they are getting through.


1. Emotional intelligence, maturity, and empathy

When you are looking for someone to assist with the process, you have to make sure they are working because they love the job and not for the money. Of course, we would pay them, but working with the elderly needs a lot of patience and is not just a job that anyone can handle. If they are mature enough to work on it and find it easy to get through, they have found the best job for them. It can get challenging because some people might be difficult to deal with and they have to get used to working with people who are a lot slower with age.


2. Communication skills

People that are working with the old have to have better communication skills. As people get older, they do not communicate the same as they did in the past. You need a lot of patience to understand what they are saying, and you would also need some insights on having been in similar situations. While you can train someone with these skills, you have to make sure you have what it takes before beginning the training program. Working with someone with good communication also helps understand what they are going through, making the entire process easier.


3. Strong work ethic

You need people who are dependable because there are a lot older people who are depending on them. It can be challenging to work with older people if one team member keeps missing meetings or doesn’t show up to work. Most teams have the exact number of people to get through a lot of the tasks and have to make sure that everyone comes in on time to assist each other get through a lot of challenging tasks that keep coming up.


4. Strong ethical sense

You want to make sure that you do not have someone on the team taking advantage of someone who cannot defend themselves, whether physically, mentally, or emotionally. You want to have a team that is always open to making understanding where the other person is coming from and working with that information to get through the process.


5. Ability to learn and improve

The team that you plan on working with should learn on the job and no one is perfect. They would receive new information every day and have to adapt to it if they are planning on growing and getting better at what they do. The team you work with should be pushing themselves to get better because they would be able to get through processes with ease and tasks that took some time in the past, do start getting along a lot faster as you begin working and improving on them. The team you pick should have the initiative to get better and be doing it for their personal growth, which is a motivational factor itself.


If you are looking for a Westminster Retirement, Assisted Living, and Care Home, connect with us at The Retreat at Church Ranch. Our staff provides continuous protective oversight, along with medication administration, bathing, personal care, and dressing. We provide delicious meals and assist people with a wide range of services to make their stay the most comfortable and memorable. If you want a better understanding of the services that we provide, please click here. If you want to get in touch with us or think we can assist in any way, please click here.

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