A Good ALF - Trained And Experienced Staff

‘Assisted living’ is a style or type of living. The word ‘Assisted’ compares to the ‘Physically assisting a person’ part of it. In Assisted Living facilities or ‘ALF’, the residents live in different types of accommodation. It could either be a studio, a single room or an apartment within the facility. The inmates in these facilities are taken care of by the staffers and caregivers of the facility. Food, housekeeping, laundry, timely medications, exercising, entertainment are all provided for at a prescribed fee.
Also additional specialized care is provided on request and there are some facilities that are specialized for taking care of individuals who suffer from Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s etc. Assisted living is not an alternative to a nursing home, but it is an intermediate level of long-term care for seniors.
Most assisted living facilities, should be equipped with the necessary infrastructure to run the place. First of all they need to be regulated, licensed and approved by the State board. Then adequate and common facilities should be provided for. Like good and clean environs, caring and trained staff, good food, good and enjoyable social programs, entertainment, adequate medical facilities, good and safe emergency procedures like in times of a fire and medical emergencies, good security etc.
But a very important aspect or criterion to be considered would be ‘Trained, experienced and qualified staff members.’ Because they are the backbones of any good and well-established assisted living facility. If a facility has very well trained, qualified and experienced staff on its payroll, then the said facility can be considered as a good option.
For qualifying to be a good establishment, the owners of the establishment should painstakingly take great care in recruiting the right candidates.
• They should check and verify their backgrounds and antecedents.
• Checking their credentials and past employment records is very essential for their role as a caregiver.
• Their education, experience and attitude should be the key determinants in recruiting the employees.
After recruitment, the management should ensure that their staff members who would include, registered nurses, caregivers, assistants, housekeepers, security staff, volunteers etc. are given necessary updates and periodic training. Training can be either informal or formal. Informal training would be day-to-day updates, assignment of duties etc. It could also be conducted by a senior employee on specific or fixed days in a month. Formal training could include presentations, discussions, demonstrations etc. Formal training could also be conducted by outside agencies that have specialized training programs and it would definitely benefit the facility in the long run.
When one is scouting around for a good assisted living facility, for their loved ones, one should take the single most important criterion into consideration i.e. how well informed and trained are the staff members of the facility. A handy checklist would be as follows:
1. Are the staff members trained, experienced and qualified?
2. Are they paid adequately and are given their regular weekly offs and are not overworked or stressed out.
3. Does the facility have a good training program in place?
4. Check out with the inmates as to how well-equipped and trained are the staff members.
5. What are their methods when dealing with emergencies?
6. Is the facility only looking at long-term monetary gains or are the inmate’s well-being considered?
7. In case of any indiscretions, what is the management’s attitude towards the staff member and the inmate?
8. Always verify the background of the facility and the staff.
When we leave our loved ones in any facility, we do so because we have their best interests in mind and so a sound and secure facility should be of utmost importance.