On the most basic level, senior living is about helping older adults and improving their quality of life. Nonetheless, it can be difficult for aging adults to leave their familiar surroundings and join in on excursions that were once commonplace in their lives.
Senior outing events are an important part of the senior living experience and crucial to keeping residents healthy, both physically and cognitively. Social isolation tends to impair one’s well-being, or even intensify a state of decline. Getting residents out and enjoying all that life has to offer while interacting with others is a proven remedy to combat social isolation—because everyone deserves to live with a sense of community and meaning.
Expanding the activities calendar beyond just the usual
Too many times, engagement activities provided in senior living communities consist of limited options such as the 3 Bs: Bingo, Bible, and Birthdays. These options can be redundant, boring, and less stimulating from an engagement perspective. We now know that limited resident engagement can contribute to increased use of psychotropic drugs, which in turn translates to increased costs and potentially harmful side effects.
Having a variance of activities is key to the planning process and has a huge impact on residents’ overall health. Scheduling day trips is an important way to help residents enjoy a more full and enriched life. Travel outside the community can be a rejuvenating experience. Whether you are traveling to museum exhibitions, live theater performances, or a local garden tour, these outings are one of the biggest lifestyle benefits of aging in place. Seniors who can go out and connect with their community are able to remain more independent, and often report having more satisfaction and a higher quality of life.
The benefits of senior outing events
Outings for residents can lead to improvements in physical, emotional, and mental health. Outings hosted by the community can help with things like cognitive function and overall mood, as well as raise Vitamin D levels when outdoors.
Having a regular outing schedule in place gives residents something to look forward to. Being able to visit somewhere outside the community improves their sense of independence and lower stress levels, in addition to a self-esteem boost as they prove their competency to venture out.
The impact of outings for seniors with dementia
Seniors who have dementia often have increased agitation and boredom. They can easily become disengaged in an instant with activities that are sedentary and less stimulating. If able, those with dementia can greatly benefit from getting outside and taking in their surroundings in a way that removes distractions and guides their attention to their activity and potentially brings up happy memories.
Outings for memory care residents can decrease the risk of anxiety and depression, offer more variety in their routine, and improve reality orientation for a better sensory experience.
5 best practices to make the most out of your outing events
- Plan the outing around the ideal time for residents to allow for the most engagement at their best time of day
- Pack necessary medications and belongings
- Make sure residents are dressed in appropriate clothing and footwear for the outing
- Build in time for breaks or extra stops which will allow for flexibility and help keep the residents from getting overtired and address needs for frequent bathroom visits
- Choose locations that allow for the most success. Take into consideration spots that might be less busy during certain times of the day or mobility needs like wheelchair access
Don’t forget the most important part of the activities: The residents! Ask them what they prefer to see on the calendar for outings, what they wouldn’t, and what would capture their participation most. Maybe it’s a wine tour, or a trip to the farmers market. Allowing them to have a say in the places they’ll be going results in happier residents and more engaged participation.
Let Eversound’s wireless headphone system join you!
Enhance engagement levels between residents, staff members, and Senior living Activity Directors and make the most of your outing events. Through the use of Eversound’s advanced wireless headphones, residents’ participation and enjoyment during outings are likely to improve.
Eversound designed the headphone systems for easy use anytime, anywhere. There is no need to connect to wifi or cellular networks! The wireless systems connect over a long distance range of up to 300 feet between the transmitter and headphones, making it perfect for activities like group walks, and museum tours. Both the activity and community package options come with all the equipment fitted in a suitcase for simple portability.
See how to use your Eversound headphone system on outings
Whether it’s a trip to the mall, a bus tour, movie night, or town hall meetings, Eversound is a trailblazing engagement solution aimed to improve the quality of life for seniors by breaking down communication barriers both within your community and on-the-go.
Further, the activity programming included in Eversound’s dynamic members portal takes the guesswork out of planning outings with guides for walking clubs, scenic drives, and museum tours. Eversound equips senior living communities with training and support to optimize group programs for residents including specialized programming for those in memory care. Resident engagement can now go far beyond bingo and watching tv, and instead, provide real stimulation and meaningful outings for residents.
To learn more about Eversound’s leading technology solutions and see how its use can greatly enhance your residents’ outing experience beyond your community walls, let’s connect!
