We’re celebrating the invaluable contributions and importance of our Life Engagement Team this week for National Activity Professionals Week, but perhaps we should take a moment to explain exactly what a Life Engagement Manager does, and why they are so vital to our residents’ well-being.
If you’ve ever visited Autumn Leaves, you’ve likely seen our Life Engagement Managers and Life Engagement Specialists in action. They are responsible for developing and implementing all the wonderful programming for the residents at Autumn Leaves. “No other employee at the community level has quite the same opportunity to enrich the residents’ lives, increase the quality of life, and restore dignity as the Life Engagement Manager does,” say Clair Jameson, Director of Life Engagement for Autumn Leaves.
They spend the majority of the day with the residents, developing programs to keep them stimulated and engaged, and go out of their way to personalize events and activities to each of their resident’s needs. You’ll often find them playing games, doing crafts, organizing outings, or inviting special guests to entertain residents.
But that is only a small part of who they are.
They are patient to a fault, they are compassionate, they live and breathe creativity, love to laugh, give great hugs, have more energy than ten espresso shots, and can multi-task like a pro! They must learn to pivot and recalibrate on the fly depending on how a resident’s day is going. They often go above and beyond what is asked or expected of them, and they serve as great resources to family members, keeping them informed on how their loved one is doing and sharing the daily victories and breakthroughs. They can bring out joy in others just as easily as they can soothe someone in distress. They are jacks of all trades, the life of the party, and they are our heartbeat.
This is just one example of the wonderful testimonials we’ve received about our Life Engagement Managers from family members:
Dawn Sickler, Life Engagement Manager [Autumn Leaves of Oswego], is such an asset to Autumn Leaves. She takes the residents into the community and leads engaging on-site meaningful and fun activities. Dawn treats our families like her family and is such a hard working and positive person and our loved ones are recipients of that joy. Dawn knows each and every resident and which activities work for some and not for others due to her great attention to each individual.
Thank you, Life Engagement Managers and Specialists, for all you do. For giving your heart to your residents so completely, for making their lives better, and for reminding us that while dementia takes so much from them, they still have So Much More to give this world.
