This month, Community Homes of Lebanon County shares news of a fire safety workshop hosted for residents while emphasizing its commitment to monitoring seniors’ well-being through daily living assessments.
Resident education: How to use a fire extinguisher
Community Homes equips each resident’s apartment with a working fire extinguisher.
A necessary step is to educate each resident on using the fire extinguisher in an emergency. For this reason, Lebanon City Fire Chief Aaron “AJ” Sweitzer conducted a recent workshop for residents of Poplar Terrace.
A video crew captured the session, so a video replay could be used as an educational tool to ensure residents understand how to handle an emergency fire in the apartment.
Addressing the issue of cognitive decline among seniors
Community Homes has been a valued resource for safe, affordable, and independent living for approximately 55 years, serving many seniors, individuals with disabilities, and, today, families in need.
Residents live independently and manage the numerous tasks associated with day-to-day living without relying on others.
But, as people age, they face the risk of cognitive decline, which means they are faced with getting help with their lives. While we are not experts in this field, we care enough about our resident population to be vigilant if signs of cognitive decline become evident.
In the spirit of self-protection, we encourage residents to undergo a testing process that focuses on their ability to perform certain activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, toileting, using the phone, preparing food, housekeeping, laundry, and more. This helps us determine their ability to function independently. As a measuring tool, we use the Katz Index of Independence of Daily Living (ADL), by Donna McCabe, DNP, APRN.BC, GNP, New York University Rory Myers School of Nursing. It is beneficial when applied to activities of daily living.
The key message here is that becoming a resident of an affordable, safer place to call home comes with a relationship with a caring management team that sees you as an individual who values the independence of having your own apartment, while also being part of a community of friends.
For more information about Community Homes of Lebanon County, please visit communityhomespa.org or call 717-273-1711, extension 100.
Community Homes of Lebanon Valley, in partnership with others, provides housing, related facilities, and supportive services so that each person, whose life we touch, may realize more fully his or her potential for physical, social, and spiritual well-being.
