Enhancing Resident Engagement: Creating Meaningful Moments in Senior Living Communities with the Help of a Resident Experience Platform

Resident engagement is a vital part of creating a vibrant and fulfilling senior living community. It encompasses a range of activities and interactions that promote social, physical, intellectual, and emotional well-being. Life enrichment professionals support resident engagement by creating opportunities for residents to connect with others, pursue their interests, and actively participate in the community. When residents are engaged, they tend to have higher levels of satisfaction, an improved quality of life, and a greater sense of purpose. 

In this blog post, we will explore how life enrichment professionals can promote resident engagement to improve their residents’ quality of life. We provide practical tips on how to engage residents in activities with a special focus on how a resident experience platform can streamline the process. 

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How to Engage Residents in Activities:

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1. Embrace a person-centered approach

A person-centered approach to life enrichment involves taking the time to get to know residents as individuals. When you have a better understanding of your residents’ likes, dislikes, needs, and interests, you can plan activities and programs that will meaningfully engage them.

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2. Offer diverse activity options

To engage all your residents, you will need to create a program calendar that features a diverse range of activities. Your life enrichment program should offer exercise programs, social events, outings, and other activities that represent each of the 7 Dimensions of Wellness. This variety ensures that residents have options that align with their personal needs and preferences.

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3. Collaborate with residents

One of the most successful ways to engage residents is to involve them in your program planning. Ask them for their feedback and input on what activities they would like to see in the future. This collaborative approach empowers residents and helps them feel at home in your community. 

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4. Ask for volunteers to lead programs

Encouraging your residents to lead programs and activities of their own is an excellent way to engage them. This allows residents to share their knowledge, skills, and expertise with others in the community, fostering a sense of purpose and accomplishment. 

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5. Celebrate resident achievements

Recognizing resident achievements, milestones, and contributions helps to foster a sense of community. If your residents wish, you can help celebrate their birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions that are meaningful to them.

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Utilizing a Resident Experience Platform to Improve Engagement

Resident experience platforms are designed to support life enrichment teams in planning meaningful programs and engaging their residents. A resident experience platform such as Welbi automates recreation planning and documentation while providing teams with the tools they need to offer personalized life enrichment programming.  

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1. Streamline program planning

Planning personalized life enrichment programming is a time consuming task. Resident experience platforms provide teams with digital tools to streamline their processes. They may include features for taking attendance, designing activity calendars, documenting resident information, and analyzing recreation data. These allow teams to spend less time behind a desk and more time engaging with residents.

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2. Create connections with residents and staff

A resident experience platform documents information about a resident’s interests, preferences, and life story. Team members can view this data to connect with residents and see what they may have in common. This information can also be used to see which residents you should introduce to each other based on shared hobbies or similar backgrounds. You could end up helping your residents form lasting friendships!

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3. Promote programs and activities

There’s nothing more discouraging than spending time and resources planning a great program — only for no one to show up. A resident experience platform allows you to create eye-catching posters and calendars, so your residents are always informed about what’s going on in their community. With Welbi, you can even print personalized calendars to use as promotional material for prospects.

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4. Track resident attendance and engagement

To improve resident engagement in your community, it’s important to track program attendance so you know where you stand. A resident experience platform gives you the tools to digitally track attendance. Welbi allows you to dive even deeper with the option to track your residents’ level of engagement at the same time that you take attendance. 

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5. Get personalized activity recommendations

A resident experience platform can help plan programs that meet the needs and interests of your residents. Welbi goes a step further by analyzing your resident data to provide real-time program recommendations. The platform will suggest activities to try in your community and provide a list of residents who are likely to attend, so you know who to invite!

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Enhancing resident engagement is crucial for creating a thriving senior living community. By following these tips and adopting a resident experience platform, your life enrichment team can create an environment where residents can flourish, enjoy an enriched lifestyle, and foster connections that enhance their overall well-being. To learn more about how Welbi can help increase resident engagement in your community, book a demo of the platform.