A Story
Twenty years
ago Mrs. Goldstein was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She has had symptoms
off and on during the years, but much of the time the disease was in remission
and she has lived a fairly typical life. Her husband was there to help when she
needed it until his death five years ago. During the last year, she had a
relapse and has been having more neurological symptoms, creating pain, mobility
problems and fatigue. Her doctors recommended an experimental treatment to slow
the disease’s progression.
Mrs. Goldstein
moved two months ago to live with her daughter and grandchildren, who live near
a major medical center where she is receiving treatment. While she is currently
able to take care of most of her own personal needs, there are times when she
needs more assistance and she feels more comfortable with someone nearby. She also
knows that even if her disease slows its progression, she will need more assistance
in the future.
During the
day Mrs. Goldstein’s is often alone and finds herself feeling lonely and bored,
and she misses her friends. She thinks that if she got out and did something
interesting and useful, it would take her mind off her disease and make her
feel better. She enjoys living with her daughter and grandchildren, but this is
not enough for her.
Mrs.
Goldstein’s case manager at the treatment center has suggested that she join a
support group for multiple sclerosis, but she does not feel safe driving
anymore and does not have transportation while her daughter works. While she
thinks the group might be helpful, she does not want to define her entire life
in terms of multiple sclerosis. Before she moved to her daughter’s home, she
was a volunteer at her town’s local blood bank and tutored a child in the third
grade. She thinks there must be some way that she can still do something
useful.
While Mrs.
Goldstein is receiving good medical care, she has not found a way to maintain
connections to her old friends, or to make new friends and create new connections
where she lives now. She needs help to discover ways that she can be integral
and useful in her new community, along with supports to participate, such as
transportation and intermittent mobility assistance. Assistance will need to
change as her condition fluctuates.
What is Community Connection?
Studies have
shown that an active social network of family and friends can promote healthy
aging, and that high quality social relations may be associated with better
mental health.1CQL's own Personal Outcome Measures® Database indicates a strong
relationship between safety and welfare andremaining connected to natural support systems and having close intimate
friendships based on trust and reciprocity.2 Staff members of person-centered organizations know that
people can live happier and healthier lives if they have strong relationships
and community connections. Staff takes the time to determine relationships that
are important and how the person wants to be involved in the community. They
support relationships currently existing and facilitate opportunities for the
older adult to create new connections and social roles.
Not only do
strong community connections promote better well-being for older adults, but
these connections strengthen the community as a whole. Older adults have years
of experience and wisdom to share, and the community benefits from their active
contributions. Recognizing older persons’ strengths and abilities to
contribute, person-centered organizations facilitate opportunities for them to
participate in things that matter to them and that can benefit the community.
This includes volunteering and work opportunities.
Person-centered
organizations are integral in the community, recognized as being valuable
through their contributions and interactions beyond their organizational
boundaries. Because they have strong community connections, they have more
options for assisting people they support. They can provide information,
education and training to older adults to help them understand the possibilities
for participation. Their active community involvement provides them with social
capital—in other words, they have created credibility and trust and can expect
that others will be committed to assist when needed.
In the story
above, Mrs. Goldstein needs assistance from a person-centered organization to
establish personal relationships and community connections that will be
mutually beneficial for her and her community. If she is part of a
person-centered organization, her case manager will begin to determine how she
wants to be involved and what supports she needs. She will inform Mrs.
Goldstein about the possibilities and will call upon her colleagues and peers
in the community to help Mrs. Goldstein realize her chosen goals. The outcome
will be a happier, healthier older adult and a community that is benefiting
from her contributions.
Resources
The
following websites contain information about the role of community connections
in supporting the lives of people, including older adults:
1 Population Reference Bureau, Today’s Research on Aging, No. 17, June
2009 http://www.prb.org/pdf09/TodaysResearchAging17.pdf
2 It’s About Social Ties
and Trust—For Everyonehttp://www.thecouncil.org/base.aspx?id=598&terms=social+capital
Social Factors Influence Elder Health, Rick Nauert PHD,
Senior News Editorhttp://psychcentral.com/news/2009/03/20/social-factors-influence-elder-health/4864.html
http://www.thecouncil.org/cqlvideos.aspx;
videos on social capital
Quality in Practice, Social Roles; The Council on
Quality and Leadership http://www.thecouncil.org/resources/article.aspx?id=721&terms=social+roles
The Council
on Quality and Leadership--www.thecouncil.org/pceduideforolderadults.aspx
The Learning
Community for Person-Centered Practices--http://www.learningcommunity.us/aging.htm
Helen
Sanderson Associates--http://www.helensandersonassociates.co.uk/reading-room/who-/older-people.aspx
Pioneer Network
culture change-- http://www.pioneernetwork.net/CultureChange/Whatis/
Long Term
Quality Alliance -- http://www.ltqa.org/
Quality Long
Term Care Commission--http://www.qualitylongtermcarecommission.org/
Leading
Age-- http://www.leadingage.org/Article.aspx?id=1756&terms=person+centered