Program planning for an assisted living community

Occupational therapy has long had a vested interest in activity programming for the elderly. During the past, this interest has been largely confined to adult day care centers for community dwelling elderly, and to nursing homes for long term care of the elderly. In light of the interest generated by the recent entry of assisted living into the housing continuum, program models and understanding of the population of people who choose this option are of interest. This article introduces one model of wellcare for assisted living residents and describes a population of 626 residents in approximately 30 Morningside assisted living communities dispersed over the Southeast. The Healthy Generation model outlined in this article emphasizes five separate but inter-related domains that have been shown to impact the quality of life of aging individuals. Through the use of a multidimensional instrument, these domains (intellectual, social, physical, spiritual and emotional) are surveyed at the time each resident moves into a Morningside community. The resulting picture of the population is utilized by the assisted living program planners to create a monthly balanced calendar that intentionally engages each domain to support and enhance resident function and well being. This model has a direct bearing on practice of geriatric occupational therapy and this emerging area of practice.