Being a Resident's Best Friend at Senior Living

Ollie Minogue, Resident Liaison at Chateau Valley Center, joins Suzanne Newman on the Answers for Elders podcast to talk about helping residents in senior living.Ollie says, "My main job is really being a resident’s best friend when they move in. They come in, and a lot of residents feel kind of isolated when they first arrive. So I think my biggest part is getting them acclimated, making sure they're comfortable. And that involves a lot of steps along the way... "When they first come in, my big thing is, of course, it's move-in day, I’m greeting them, ensuring you're comfortable, making sure we've got everything squared away. But for the first two weeks of them being here, I'm checking in every single day with them. So whether that's just, 'Hey, how are you doing? Do you want to walk to Happy Hour with me, or do you want to come down to dinner?' And really make sure that they know that they have somebody to reach out to."The other thing is helping them to meet people that they may have things in common with. I love coupling people up with best friends. I always have somebody in mind when I do that discovery. I learn from marketing what they're looking for and I'm like, 'Oh, I have just the person for them.' A good example is Boeing engineers. We just have so many of them in the area... And lots of teachers, and based off of interest too, so learning what they like to do. So if you want to play bridge, oh boy, do I have a group for you. Or do you like art? Perfect. There's somebody for everybody, and I truly believe that."Chateau Retirement provides independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. They have been locally owned and family operated for more than 25 years. Chateau Retirement has three communities in Washington's Seattle/Puget Sound area: Chateau Pacific in Lynnwood, Bothell Landing in Bothell, and Chateau Valley Center in Renton.Visit them online or call 800.960.1944. Also visit Chateau's specialist page on Answers for Elders to hear more of their shows.Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks.Mentioned in this episode:Chateau RetirementChateau Retirement