Nursing Home Administrator's Experience Based Education

Ben Cornthwaite in the Changing Aging blog Although there are many actionable items of changes that I will make as a direct result of my greater understanding, there is one profound issue that I encountered that has brought new importance to my day-to-day management. The most revealing experience for me was not my own disability, rather, the disability that we create in our own design. Specifically, the disability that residents in wheelchairs face is profound and utterly unacceptable in creating and maintaining home. The following are plans to address this very important issue: Our community’s Executive Team has agreed to spend one day in a wheelchair on campus to encounter accessibility obstacles throughout a normal day. It is my hope that this experience will provide all the information necessary for the interdisciplinary team to agree to urgently and strategically implement changes on our campus. To see other changes planned for implementation click here ---------------- I have come to realize that the heart of the problems that I faced was mostly due to ageist and declinist thought. To me, it is rather simple to address the cosmetic features that promote significant obstacles to our residents in wheelchairs; however, it is now apparent to me that the real issue at hand is changing a profession’s mindset. We need to consider resident growth and ability in our design and operation—not the inverse of decline and disability. I will do my job different each day as a result of my learned experience—I carry my resident ID band with me each day as a reminder for what I must not forget. Specifically, I will do my part to empower my team and others around me to also confront ageism and declinist thought each and every day.