Being a top-performing food server in a senior care community is complex and challenging at the best of times. During COVID 19 it is so much more. Add being alert to the residents’ emotions, having small chit-chat handy, and being cheerful and making sure they have the resident’s meal correct to the standard usual of being neat, clean, well-spoken, and … Continue reading
The discussion was all about new words and phrases coming into our language every year. One man was complaining that he couldn’t understand a word his grandson said to him. The other two laughed, agreeing with him in complete understanding. Then the words New Normal were tossed into the discussion along with wearing yoga pants, tee shirts, and pajamas during … Continue reading
It’s harvest time for your food serving team. During these times of COVID 19, they realize the skills learned have been so critical to their work in the community. To harvest their sense of fulfillment and to acknowledge that they are the heroes of today. Is that not enough to feel joyful in the work they do? If ever they … Continue reading
While trying to stay in touch with family, Dina’s niece emailed her at her retirement community, asking if she had been visiting the kids lately. The kids had kids of their own and often held family celebrations or took Dina out to dinner, shopping, or somewhere special for the day. No, Dina told her, if she went to stay with … Continue reading
Supportive staff administration, especially your food serving team, is the keyword in successfully Senior Living (SL), Rehabilitation Centers, and Long Term Care (LTC) communities. Kind Dining® strongly urges that an organized environment creates a comforting sense of a home feeling for residents, eliminating the old institutional appearances and habits. Teaching an adequate food serving team the skills and connections of … Continue reading
The story came to me about two friends discussing his time in a Long Term Care facility. She came to visit and asked about his experience so far since he had not been there very long. He didn’t mention any medical routines performed each day. He talked about the way everyone went out of their way to care for him, … Continue reading
Some folks think improving food service in Senior Living Residential and Nursing Homes means making the food tastier or more varied. Training for better dining and food service is so much more. It includes learning and practicing a new brand of hospitality until it comes naturally and linking it to health care. Health care and hospitality go hand in hand … Continue reading
Alice was one of those women who never lacked for something to say. She wasn’t trying to earn a degree or win an award. She just knew it relaxed the older people when she served their meals, especially newcomers to the community and especially in these days of quarantines. Alice wasn’t always so gifted with her tongue; it was something … Continue reading
Some food servers don’t seem like they are trying to give genuine personal care and aid to the comfort of the older people they serve, yet that is what they are doing. If they love their job, love the work they do, and care for the older people they serve, it appears to be a natural part of the day … Continue reading
Many stories of many kindnesses being extended to a customer come to me in many different ways. The stories aren’t always directly related to Long Term Care or Retirement Living, but the idea of kindness stretches from one station to another. For instance, a father checking into the Ritz Carlton for a conference brought his young son along. As they … Continue reading
