Here at Evermore, we know that keeping in touch with friends and family is essential for our residents’ happiness, which means supporting them to communicate with their loved ones is an important part of what we do. Here are a few ways we’re helping our Ashton Manor residents to stay connected to the people they care about most.
Our visiting ‘pod’
Having in-person contact with family and friends is incredibly important, which is why the impact of the pandemic restrictions has been so devastating for people living in care homes all over the world.
Our priority is always to keep our residents safe and healthy, but we also know just how vital contact with loved ones is for their wellbeing, so we’ve invested in a new ‘visiting pod’ which allows residents to safely meet visitors in a comfortable and natural setting. Specially designed with non-intrusive glass screens, the pod provides a comfortable location for both residents and their families and is already making a huge difference. Unlike ‘window’ visits, the pod offers a floor-to-ceiling view, a furniture layout that helps families feel like they are together in one room and, particularly important at this time of year, no one is left outside in the cold!
Helping to connect digitally
Connecting digitally has been more important than ever this year, but even when life returns to normal, technology will be valuable for our residents to connect with relatives and friends who live further away or lead busy lives and cannot visit in person regularly.
The older generation may be getting more tech savvy, but we understand that not everyone is an expert WhatsApper or Zoomer! Our team are on hand to support, so whether it’s a quick initial tutorial needed or more in-depth assistance for each call or message, we understand how beneficial it is for our residents to see friendly faces and hear familiar voices. Many of our residents have their own smartphones and tablets, but those who don’t are welcome to use our Evermore iPad to connect with their loved ones.
In the near future, we’ll also be introducing Relatives Gateway, which is an app that will allow residents and their families to securely share messages, photos and a video link. It will also give our carers an efficient way to provide wellbeing updates to loved ones.
Residents’ families can also join us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, to keep up-to-date with everything that’s going on at Ashton Manor.
Keeping in touch the traditional way
Many of our residents grew up in a different environment so for those who prefer to keep it traditional, support for phone calls and letter-writing is always on hand too. In fact, we are big fans of old-fashioned mail here at Ashton Manor as we know receiving letters, postcards, and photos that can be kept and treasured is valuable too. For residents who may be struggling with vision or reading and writing, our team are ready to help.
Understanding every resident
Every resident at Ashton Manor has different preferences and capabilities when it comes to communicating with their friends and family and we make sure we get to know everyone as an individual so we can best help them stay in touch with their loved ones. This forms part of our initial assessment of a resident’s care needs when they first move into the home, and as their needs change over time we are able to adapt with them.
