Culture Change (also known as person-centered care or resident-directed care) transforms the traditional long-term care model from medical facility to a supportive home environment. This movement is designed to change the overall mindset and environment of nursing homes into personal communities. Culture change is designed to nurture the human spirit of aging residents as well as take care of their medical needs. Its focus is on both quality of care and quality of life as guiding forces for improved life experience and life expectancy.

Within the culture change model, seniors have more privacy and choices, much like they would in their own homes. They are given more control over their daily lives including meal and bed times and the caregivers are given more autonomy to care for residents in this flexible environment. Residents’ needs and preferences come first, and care community operations procedures are shaped by this perspective. Even the physical structures are changing from large hospital-like units to smaller communities resembling more of a group-home atmosphere in which they are cared for by a dedicated team of caregivers.

10 Benefits of Culture Change

1. Respects the right of the resident to make their own decisions and honors their need for control over choices in their daily lives.
2. Reduces boredom and helplessness in residents.
3. Improves mental health (reduces loneliness, depression, behavioral issues).
4. Encourages a personalized home atmosphere by allowing residents to create their own living style in their rooms.
5. Increases enjoyment and life expectancy of the patients.
6. Focuses on using person-centered language that respects and honors the patient by putting the person first and then the characteristic second. For instance, instead of a wheelchair-bound resident, the description is modified to a person who uses a wheelchair for mobility and instead of a feeder the patient is referred to as someone who needs assistance with dining.
7. Focuses caregivers on person-centered care, rather than completion of tasks.
8. Individual care focusing on personalized needs and preferences of the staff and the residents creates a supportive environment that puts people first, over the facility.
9. Promotes a dedicated team approach rather than rotating assignments for staff thereby creating personal connections and familiarity for the residents.
10. Creates a team-building e...