b'ASK THE EXPERTAfter all, when we start a new job, there is usually an onboarding processan orientation and Heres how Deborah BaktiMel Barsky things work around here. If you can help them with empathysaying that you know they have a lot of mixed emotions, and that you have some information to help themthat will go a long way.Q.Were trying to improve the transition process for new residents and families in our home. Whats the number one thing we canAssume that the family youre do to make it better?meeting will remember the If you can reset admission day so that the new resident and family see, hear, and feel your empathy, youll makefeelings of this day forever, based the transition easier for them as well as for your staffandon the experience you create for youll lay the foundation for a trusting relationship going forward. them. There is more power than I speak from experience. I was an executive at one of theyou may realize in your presencemajor LTC providers in the province when my husband was diagnosed with a degenerative and incurable disease, and within a few years needed long-term care. Even though I worked in the sector and understood seniors care fromTake a deep breath before you meet with the family, and let a business perspective, I was going in blind as a residentsgo of any frustration or distraction that has built up in your wife. day. Think about the experience from their perspective. Before you get into the questions, slow down and invest Most families are going in unprepared, not really knowingsome time to ask them about how theyre doing, and truly how to play the family member role, what to anticipatelisten to their story. This is more than just kindness; it builds or what is expected of them. Theyre often exhausted andtrust with families who in all likelihood have felt treated like emotionally spent after months or years of trying to copea number through their years in the health care system.at home. I believe its imperative to help them step into the new role of LTC family member with empathy andI know I can still remember my husbands admission education so that there is a better opportunity to haveday, almost nine years later, because of the way it felt so healthy relationships and connection from the start.transactional. We were just something that needed to 40 LONG TERM CARE TODAY Fall/Winter 2019'