Person-Centered Care and Quality of Life

A resident or a family member of a resident, seeking out a nursing home, the goal is to seek the best care possible. There are many resources and websites to help aid in the search for care. But, how does one truly know what they are looking for in nursing home care, especially if they have no experience in healthcare or with nursing homes? Not all nursing homes are alike, even though they all adhere to the same standards. It is fair to say that all consumers want facilities to adhere to standards, but what they are truly seeking is the care model that the facility offers. People do not want to live in a nursing home, but if they have to, they want to ensure the care that is provided is holistic and person-centered. Person-centered care focuses on improving a patient’s quality of life while living away from their homes, in a nursing home. The components of person-centered care include (Pinkowitz, 2017):

• Creative being
• Intellectual being
• Social wellness
• Spiritual being
• Physical health

These components for person-centered care sound holistic and personalized for a resident but, what does person-centered care mean and how does this impact the quality of life of the resident living in a nursing home and for facility operations? This is a question that is important for the consumer seeking a nursing home, but more importantly for the caregivers and administrators working and leading in a nursing home. Let’s take a further look into the topic of person centered care and quality of life for nursing home residents.

Purpose of this Course

The purpose of this course is to understand what person-centered care means and how impacts the quality of life for a nursing home resident.

Objectives

• To provide the history of person-centered care and culture change in nursing homes
• To understand the principals of person-centered care
• To have knowledge of the impacts that person-centered care has on residents and nursing homes