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Resurrecting Your Closing Ratios

aadmin — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 16:30:56 +0000

It’s fierce. It’s competitive. It’s about always winning and never losing. It’s about always being number one. It’s a way of life. It’s what we have come to expect. What am I talking about? Well, it is certainly not the Super Bowl or the World Series. I am talking about every day in the life of a salesperson in the senior living industry. It’s not good enough to just hit our goals – we need to exceed them every day, week, month, quarter, and year.

We are not getting awarded for the highest closing ratios; rather we are being asked to move even more residents in. It just never seems to be good enough.

Many days, we find ourselves looking into the mirror and asking the same question, “What am I going to do differently today to get those numbers higher than they were yesterday?” The common answers are:

1. We will reduce our lunch hour to a “lunch half-hour.”
2. We will make more cold calls.
3. We will send more emails.
4. We will find more referral sources.
5. We will hire more sales people.
6. We will send out more marketing materials.

I think you get the point. We could come up with many more ways to increase our closing ratios. These “ways” are the same old style of selling that was used back in the 80’s and 90’s. I am not saying they do not work – they just do not work alone. You have to sell differently. It has been proven over the years that the more activity you have, the more deals you will close. However, we are dealing with a different generation of people. These are the Baby Boomers.

Statistics show that Boomers represent 28% of the population today. In 1997, Bill Geist wrote that a Boomer turns 50 every 7 seconds. Ten years later, these same people are turning 60, and ten years from now they will be turning 70, and so on. So, we should not be focusing on just the old ways of selling.

It is time to sell different.

They want to buy, but they do not want to be sold to. Regardless of the purchase, people love to buy, but they hate to sold to. However, if you take the approach that “selling is helping,” then we do not mind being “sold.” When you are selling your community, the prospect is expecting to be sold differently than if they were buying a car. This is a life-changing event for them, and we need to make it a life-changing experience for them. To accomplish this, you have to go back to the grass roots of sales training – not the old way, but the new way.

Sell to the emotion. People buy on emotions and back it up with facts and logic. Therefore, we need to sell to the emotional side of the prospect. We need to introduce a sales process that is built on a foundation of building rapport, and allows the sales person to step through the process and remain in control. It’s about listening. When we start listening, we will start caring about the prospect, and our main intent will be to help the prospect work towards a solution. There is a saying that “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” We show we care by really and truly listening.

You cannot expect what you do not inspect. The challenge we face in today’s world of selling is the same challenge we have always faced. We spend thousands of dollars a year on training, and we are never sure if our sales people are implementing the process. So, how do we fix this problem? The fact is, you cannot expect what you do not inspect. One of the most cost-effective and beneficial tool to measure your results is mystery shopping. As I mentioned in a previous article (“The Numbers Don’t Lie”), we are losing 70-80% of our deals over the phone. These percentages can be dramatically decreased by simply investing in a program that helps develop our staff.

Mystery Shopping is the practice of using trained shoppers to anonymously evaluate products, customer service, sales, and etc. It goes by many names such as Secret Shopping, Performance Audits, Anonymous Audits, Telephone Checks, and In-Person Checks. It is not a “Big Brother” program designed to catch the sales person doing “the wrong things.” It is designed to point out the areas of opportunities and to fine tune the strengths. Every industry is conducting mystery shopping. Mystery Shopping is the largest and fastest growing industry in the world. However, a mystery shopping program is not effective as it can be unless the results are implemented into a training/coaching program.

Selection based on trust. During your next sales meeting, ask your sales people if they do a good job of building rapport. Ask them if they always ask for the close. The majority of them will answer yes. Next, I challenge you to implement a mystery shopping program. You will be surprised of the results. I cannot tell you how many of my clients have said, “I cannot believe they are not doing this. We have trained them over and over and they have assured us they do it.” However, I can tell you how many clients have come back and said that mystery shopping has changed the way they sell and closing ratios are getting higher and higher. All of them have said it. There is a saying that the best time to plant a tree is yesterday. The best time to implement a mystery shopping and training program was yesterday. Don’t just choose any company or program though. Partner with a company that are experts and truly understand your needs and challenges. It is vital that you trust the company and their approach.

All Aboard! The train is leaving and you need to be on it. It’s time to take the status quo of closing ratios and resurrect them to a new high. Take your seats, buckle in, and enjoy the ride!

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Sales

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The Numbers don’t Lie...but are they Hiding the Real Truth?

aadmin — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 14:52:02 +0000

“If I can just get more leads, I can close more deals.” If I had a dollar for every time I heard these words come out of a salesperson’s mouth, I could start planning my retirement right now. Selling is a numbers game. I get it. The more leads that come in the door the more we are going to close. I agree completely. But, what salesperson can’t close more deals when they have more leads? Ouch!

So, let’s break this down. If you are a numbers person with an analytical mind, you will love this. For all others, I will keep it as simple as possible. The bottom line is that if you don’t see and understand what I am about to show you, you are losing a ton of money for yourself and your organization.

For argument's sake, let’s say you have 20 new leads a month for a particular community. These leads consist of Internet leads, walk-ins and call-ins. As a result of these leads, you have four new residents move into your community. That is a closing ratio (inquiry to move in) of 20%. The average cost of each of those leads is about $200 (that’s on the low end). So, the company invested $4,000 on those 20 leads. That’s not a bad return on the investment when you consider the amount of revenue those four new residents will bring to the company. The majority of the time, this revenue consumes our full attention.

Everybody is happy, but the salesperson is not satisfied. You have to love that hunger! The salesperson tells their manager that if they could get 40 new leads instead of 20, they could get 8 new residents instead of the 4. It does not take a rocket scientist to do the calculations. Based on doubling the leads, we can double the move-ins. So, we invest more money into the leads. Now we spend $8,000 for 40 new leads. Maybe the salesperson gets 8 move-ins from those leads, and maybe not. So, what’s the point, right?

The point is that the salesperson’s closing ratios have not moved. Based on these numbers, the closing ratio is still at 20%, regardless of the number of leads you bring them. In this scenario, the number of closed deals is directly related to the number of incoming leads. I don’t know about you, but as far as I am concerned, that is completely unacceptable. As managers, we are letting salespeople off the hook. We invest in the leads, yet we are not investing in the person. We can all go to bed and sleep at night because we are bringing in new residents and the company as a whole is doing pretty well from a revenue perspective. The owners and senior executive team sees the bottom number and are content. The glass is half full right? Here lies the problem.

It is our human nature to want to experience pleasure over pain. However, every sales trainer in the world will tell you to uncover the prospect's pain, and sell to that emotion. Yet, as business leaders, we tend to hide the painful stuff and focus on the “feel good” stuff. We focus on the glass being half full as opposed to it actually being more than half empty. As an organization, we may be bringing in enough revenue to stabilize our communities, and that is where we tend to focus. However, if we shifted our focus to the lost revenue, and educated ourselves on how to overcome that "lost resident" ratio, we would very quickly discover the distance from being content to unthinkable success is not such a huge gap after all.

As a manager or leader, you have to reach that point where enough is enough. If every prospect that walks through your doors is treated exactly the same (90% of the time, this is the case), then you are relying on the numbers game to close the deal. Quite frankly, you don't have salespeople, but order takers. Nothing will change until you shift the focus from the quantity to the quality. This requires an investment in your staff. You need to uncover their weaknesses and train to them. You need to discover their strengths and continue to refine them.

For those Bottom Line Up Front people, shift your focus more towards what is being lost as opposed to what is being gained. Alluding to a common quote - don’t just give your salesperson a fish, but teach them how to fish. More leads are great, but focus more on quality instead of quantity. Don’t lose focus of the numbers, but make sure the spotlight is not so bright that the other “real truth” numbers fall in the shadows. Train and develop your sales team and uncover the true value and worth that they have to offer. It may be painful in the beginning, as change normally is. However, just like we have all told out children, one day they will thank us.

RetirementHomes.com proudly sponsors Senior Housing Sales Seminar featuring Michael S. Miller. The most exciting sales training senior housing seminar. July 16-18, 2012 in Phoenix, AZ.

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Sales

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Choosing Incontinence Products: New Options for Every Activity Level

aadmin — Wed, 30 May 2012 11:55:01 +0000

There are as many incontinence products on the market today as there are types and causes of leakage, and buying the wrong product is an expensive mistake. New research from the University of Michigan, published in the journal Diseases of the Colon & Rectum, shows caring for a patient with fecal incontinence costs $4,110 per person per year.

Factored into this figure are direct medical costs, direct nonmedical costs and loss of productivity. Choosing incontinence products that fit a resident’s lifestyle can help minimize costly mistakes.

How can managers and staff at senior living facilities assist residents who seek help in choosing the right products? First, work with a retailer who offers trial samples, personalized advice from caregivers and doorstep delivery. Then consider activity level and how the individual wants to wear and remove the product.

For Active Men and Women
Men and women who are physically active — through exercise, travel or socializing — may like products that look and feel like regular underwear. Prevail makes boxers for men that look like ordinary pull-on boxers but offer moderate to heavy incontinence protection.

You may have seen a recent video of actress Lisa Rinna modeling Depend Silhouette for Women under an evening gown. Designed to be quiet, clothlike and smooth fitting, this pull-on brief helps enhance normalcy while offering moderate to heavy incontinence protection.

Machine-washable incontinence panties, such as Stride Everyday Panties, are a money-saving option. Some may be washed more than 100 times and can be worn under most clothing. If greater absorbency is needed, women may add an incontinence pad to this product.

Solutions for the Moderately Active
Men and women who are less active but appreciate comfort can choose from many garment styles and manufacturers. Undergarments, which absorb a smaller amount of urine than full briefs, are held in place with elasticized or button straps.

Offering greater absorbency are pull-on underwear, which are put on and taken off just like regular underwear but include stretchy side panels for a snug fit and tear-away sides for removal. Adjustable underwear typically have similar tear-away sides but add repositionable tabs for easy fitting.

Men who’ve undergone prostate surgery and have temporary incontinence may choose guards. Made by a variety of manufacturers, this product may be worn with regular underwear to catch leaks.

Best Products for the Sedentary
In cases where absorbency is the most important concern, we recommend the Wellness Brief. It absorbs 87 ounces, so it’s ideal for overnight use and going longer periods between changes. Active seniors also choose this product for travel, when bathroom schedules can be uncertain.

Briefs, also often called adult diapers, offer maximum protection for complete loss of bladder or bowel control. This style has tape tabs for easy caregiver removal. Briefs may be combined with waterproof underpads placed on beds and chairs to protect against urine and feces.

An Expert Resource for Your Facility and Residents
For a supply of resident informational brochures and access to more than 500 incontinence products with free doorstep delivery ($50+), call The CareGiver Partnership at 1-800-985-1353 or visit www.caregiverpartnership.com.

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Management

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Protecting Your Brand Online: Is The Truth Out There?

aadmin — Thu, 24 May 2012 13:15:08 +0000

“Shirley” just went online to find a retirement community for her millionaire father, age 92. She even Googled your brand name. What came up first? Twenty YouTube videos by another adult child, gleefully pointing out deficiencies in your residences, your services and your care.

That’s actually happening. Your brand is vulnerable online, where you can’t control the message.

The Internet is the number 1 source for health and wellness information: 59% of consumers search there first. Today in America, every month, the search volume for senior living keywords equals 7,685,000 results.

How do they find your brand? Four ways:

By its position in the search results. If you aren’t listed there, you might as well be located on the Titanic.
By its brand description. When Shirley types in those keywords, your description is her first look at your community.
By reviews from other consumers. And as we all know, people write more bad reviews than good ones. They’re more fun to write and more fun to read. People trust consumer reviews 12 times more than a company’s own description of its products and services.
By news stories about your brand. Press releases rank well with search engines naturally.

In other words, people are online, looking for reasons to opt out of your message—and finding plenty of alternatives.

How can you protect, defend and enhance your brand?

First, through Search Engine Optimization. But, just as a Studebaker and a Jaguar are both cars, there’s SEO and then there’s SEO. Don’t assume that your message is optimized, just because it has the keywords. Look for SEO providers who can show you a methodology for achieving the numbers you need.

Second, through social media and social networking. Join the conversations where your consumers are engaged: in chat rooms discussing health care, retirement and elder care, for example.

Third, through public relations. Good press can drive your brand higher and higher in the results.

Fourth, through pay-per-click, ensuring the prime position you want.

Fifth, through directory listings—but you’d be astonished how often they’re rife with errors. Where are you listed—and how accurately?

You can sometimes get a news source to delete or update an old story.

When an unhappy customer or employee complains about you on the Internet, reach out to them by phone or email. They will often respond positively: According to Harris Interactive, businesses have turned 18% of detractors into loyal customers, simply by responding to negative reviews, and 67% of once-disgruntled customers will delete their reviews or post positive ones.

Suing a reviewer for defamation rarely works and often generates more negative attention than it’s worth.

“Shirley” is out there, and her dad is ready to sign an entrance fee check for your largest residence. He might even make a sizeable gift to your foundation, once he’s happily ensconced in your community.

But it all begins with a few keystrokes and a search engine. Are you feeling lucky? Or ready?

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Management

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Your Phone is Your Friend

aadmin — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:36:37 +0000

If you are selling in the senior living industry, you probably have a love/hate relationship with your telephone.You love to get that call with the final YES on the other end of the line.

Shortly after you hang up, it’s time to get back to work on the phone. That same phone, your best friend just a second ago, now taunts you to get busy. There is no use arguing. It is not your BFF! Like a fickle teenage girlfriend, it drops you without so much as a text message.

The pressure is more intense than ever. It is logical that tracking the number of calls must factor somewhere into how we manage the extra effort it takes to survive and thrive in our present challenges. But be careful about making this the daily measure for success. You may confuse activity for progress and that would be a big mistake.

Here are some tips to turn your phone into a lifelong friend:

1. Don’t sell over the phone.
Take the pressure off yourself. Sometimes sales people (and their organizations) think that their job is to call up someone they hardly know and ask them if they are ready to make arguably one of the biggest and most expensive decisions of their life. No wonder they hate the phone! It’s going to take you more than a night at LaQuinta to be that good a salesperson! Remember the age-old adage: “Everyone loves to buy, but they hate to be sold.”

2. Model the values and benefits of your community.
Model them. Don’t talk about them. So what are we doing on the phone? We are building trust, serving as a resource, offering to share an experience. In short, we are trying to give our client a teacup-ful of the river of friendship, care, security, and support that is the emotional reason why they will choose our community over the one down the road. You want to be offered a seat at the decision table by creating a moment that is valuable for them. “People will not remember what you say, but they will never forget how you make them feel.” No matter what, we want to create a good experience for them over the phone.

3. Keep your purpose clear
If possible, we want to generate some kind of a yes. Even if this is a Yes, we both agree that I should take your name off my client list, we can have a positive outcome for the call. The statistics seem to indicate that most people need many touches (10-20 or more) before they make the ultimate “YES” phone call. So let’s use our creativity to make us different from all the rest of the sales calls they are receiving.

Yes, I would like your card.
Yes, I would like tickets to that concert.
Yes, I’d like you send some information to my son in Oklahoma.
Yes, you can research other senior living options for me.
Yes, I’d love to have you stop by
Yes, I’d love to see that home that just became available.

4.You are an expert. Be an expert
What is in your toolbox? More importantly, what are you adding every day? You know (and care) so much more about senior living options in your area than your customer. Never be satisfied that you know enough about the competition, the real estate market, the cultural and senior-friendly features of your area, the local politics and tax implications, the health care situation, the murky waters of Medicaid, Medicare and long-term care insurance. Be careful how much of this you dump on someone over the phone; but be clear that you have the answers they want and need.

5. Phone calling is only one form of Follow-Up
Phone calling is often the most appropriate task of follow-up. It is essential, but selling to seniors is like a symphony. You need more than one note and more than one instrument. The experts I respect are urging us to relegate more time, creativity, and effort to personal notes, home visits, meals, gifts, customized information, involving other experts, special occasion cards, shared experiences and a myriad of other small, creative ways to invest huge capital into the relationship.

6. It’s all about the relationship.
We hear this everywhere. Practically, it means the relationship is more important than your calling quota. Selling to seniors and their families is all about being invited inside the circle of influence because you are trusted to act in their best interest, and you have something that they value.To do this, you must have an authentic, personal relationship. To be sure, it is a one-sided relationship. It is all about them. You never want to be a sales-pitcher. You want to be a confidante. Don’t make phone calls that might actually hurt the relationship. Easy, non-threatening experiences that are meaningful and enjoyable will have both of you looking forward to your next call.

About the Authors
Bill Hull is the Director of Sales for Haskell Senior Living Solutions who specializes in healthcare and senior living at Haskell, the pre-eminent firm to turn to for total facility solutions in healthcare and senior living. Bonita Patteson is the Director of Marketing for Haskell Senior Living Solutions (HSLS)
www.haskell.com/SeniorLivingSolutions

Contact Information
Bonita Carter Patteson, Director of Marketing for Haskell Senior Living Solutions
bonita.patteson@haskell.com
(904) 357-4852

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Marketing

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Welcome to the world of Anti-social media

aadmin — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 15:39:34 +0000

“This community has cut back on staff and overloads the people who are left to do the work.”
“The food was late, lukewarm and it tasted stale. What are my folks paying for?”
“They’re in financial trouble. Here’s a link to a blog that explains it…”

Suppose those are the first things a prospect hears about your community? Consumers need eleven exposures to your brand before they’ll start a meaningful dialogue. What if they never get past three?

This is the wild and woolly world of social media. Just how wild? A Burson-Marsteller study revealed that 76% of the time, blogs gave an inaccurate picture of the original company message, blogging it up with “opinions, personal experience, knowledge of competitors and speculation.”

Marketing rule number one has always been “Talk to your customers” so they get your message, your way. But in social media, your prospects are busy persuading one another. Are you left out of the conversation?

Don’t follow us on Facebook™?

Age-qualified prospects are using Facebook in growing numbers, connecting with family and friends. So is the elusive adult child.

But an ExactTarget® report showed that 65% of Facebook users only used it when not at work or school. Ergo: “If you’re making social media part of a 9 to 5 work day, you might be missing out on connecting with consumers during the times they’re likely to be online.” (Source: Mashable/Business)

Social media has to be managed, so you reach prospects when they’re able—and willing—to be engaged.

They “Like” you. But will they listen to you? The ExactTarget study revealed:

70% don’t think that becoming a fan equates to opting in to marketing.
40% wanted discounts and promotions.
Only 21% wanted to learn more about the company.

At face value, Facebook initiatives are not an immediate invitation to sell. So your presence there has to be immediately relevant to the audience.

What social media can’t do, despite what anyone tells you:

It won’t generate leads instantaneously and shouldn’t be used at the expense of other lead-generation tactics.

In fact, social media makes it difficult—often impossible—to track leads. It’s a twisted trail: Someone finds you on Facebook, searches you on Google and then lands on your site. So it’s hard to understand the cost-effectiveness of your lead generation tactics.

Social media is not really about making sales—it’s about making connections. But, properly managed, those connections can enhance your marketing and advertising programs to:

Establish new channels of message distribution.
Protect and enhance your brand reputation—and correct misimpressions.

Enhance your recruiting efforts.

Find the conversations to join, places where your audience is landing: Facebook pages for the Alzheimer’s Association or OurParents.com, for example. Then join in. They’re posing questions. Provide the answers they need, in forums they trust. Establish yourself as a reliable resource—so you can be there to save face: presenting the facts when someone drops an undeserved cow pie on your good name.

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Management

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Aging in Place and Its Implications for Senior Living Communities

aadmin — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 14:01:17 +0000

No matter how one defines a senior living community – as a full continuum CCRC or MLRC, as an IL/AL/MC community or IL/AL – seniors’ desire to age in place has impacted both the business and care model. A trend best described as “acuity creep” has seniors eschewing earlier life-style moves into retirement communities until a physical need arises, foregoing transitions from IL to AL or Skilled Nursing until absolutely required by regulations, and changing the mix, look and feel of retirement communities across the nation.

The reasons for this shift seem to be primarily economic and emotional. The economic crisis has depleted seniors’ wealth through loss of investments and loss of value in primary real estate. It has also brought with it a sense of fear and uncertainty as it relates to the future. Seniors are less inclined to leave their own homes until it is absolutely necessary.

Consequently, the average age of a resident has risen in most senior living communities over the last ten years. As they age, they are requiring more services. A recent anecdotal survey of operators indicates that many are providing “assisted-living-lite” services to many residents in independent living. The idea that a resident transitions from IL to AL then to either MC or SNF services is less and less the norm. Many are bypassing the AL transition entirely and remaining in their IL residences. When not bypassing levels of care, residents are utilizing greater levels of services and resources. Communities are responding by establishing home care service affiliates to provide bathing, medication reminders and companion services and the like to an increasing number of residents. On the one hand providers are to be commended for meeting the needs of their residents.

However, that flexibility is not without risk. As seniors age in place concerns for their safety also rise, as well as the risk of increased liability. In addition, aging in place causes an IL community to begin to look and feel a little more like an AL community. This could decrease the appeal of the community to that next generation of potential residents, now put off by the more frequent reminders of their own mortality. A third factor revolves around pricing; many IL communities were built in the last ten years with an increasing array of amenities which may not be perceived as necessary by the new customer. The pricing models based on these higher fixed costs may need to be revisited as well.

By most accounts, aging in place is here to stay. It will be interesting to see how providers deal with the necessary changes to their business and care models in the coming years in order to remain viable and caring communities.

By Keith Kreidel, Haskell Senior Living Solutions

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CCRC Continuing Care Retirement Communities

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Causes and Diagnosis of Urinary and Bowel Incontinence

aadmin — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 12:51:56 +0000

Incontinence is most common among older adults because bladder and sphincter muscles weaken with age, decreasing the body’s capacity to store urine and stool. Causes may be temporary and the condition may be treated with a change in habits, or they may indicate a more serious medical condition. Urinary and bowel incontinence often are correctable and always are manageable.

Temporary Causes
Certain foods, drinks and medications can cause temporary incontinence. Alcohol and caffeine act as a bladder stimulant and diuretic and can cause an urgent need to urinate, while carbonated beverages, artificial sweeteners, and spicy or acidic foods also can aggravate the bladder. Heart and blood pressure medications, sedatives and muscle relaxants, and other medications may contribute to bladder control problems. Easily treatable medical causes include urinary tract infections and constipation, which can cause urinary or fecal incontinence, because impacted stool can put pressure on the bladder and weaken rectal and intestinal muscles. Diarrhea also can cause or worsen fecal incontinence.

Longer-Term Causes
Serious medical conditions that can cause urinary or bowel incontinence include obstruction, such as a tumor or stones; bladder or rectal cancer; and nerve damage, which can be caused by straining during bowel movements, spinal cord injury, stroke, diabetes or multiple sclerosis. In women, a decrease in estrogen production can lead to deterioration of the bladder lining and urethra, which can aggravate incontinence. In men, prostate problems such as inflammation, an enlarged gland or cancer, can contribute to incontinence. Dementia or other mental health problems also can make it difficult to recognize and respond to urges to urinate or defecate.

Diagnosis
Incontinence may be diagnosed and treated by a gynecologist or urologist, who will ask for a medical history and provide a physical exam of the abdomen, genitals, pelvis, rectum and nervous system. Methods for diagnosing urinary incontinence may include cystoscopy to view the inside of the bladder, urinalysis or urine culture, post void residual to measure urine left after urination, urodynamic studies to measure pressure and flow, and uroflow to measure flow pattern. Patients may be asked to keep a bladder diary before an exam or have a blood sample drawn. A fecal incontinence exam and diagnosis may include a digital exam, ultrasonography, and a range of other methods to test sensitivity and function.

Maintaining Overall Health
Blood vessel disease can increase the risk of overactive bladder, so it’s important to maintain good overall health by quitting smoking, treating high blood pressure and keeping weight within a healthy range. Because incontinence can cause serious skin problems that often lead to infection, it’s important to keep skin clean, moisturized and protected with products formulated to treat incontinence.

For a supply of resident informational brochures and access to more than 500 incontinence products with free doorstep delivery ($50+), call The CareGiver Partnership at 1-800-985-1353 or visit www.caregiverpartnership.com.

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Health Guide

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What Every Facility Manager Should Know About Alzheimer’s and Incontinence

aadmin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:45:29 +0000

On Jan.17, the U.S. government announced our country’s first National Alzheimer’s Plan, a call for scientists to find ways to prevent and treat the disease by 2025. According to CBS News, Alzheimer’s affected more than 5 million Americans in 2010, and could affect as many as 16 million by 2050. In addition to Alzheimer’s having a profound impact on government budgets, 75 percent of people with Alzheimer’s will be admitted to a nursing home by age 80, vs. 4 percent of the general population, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Because Alzheimer’s is a neurological disease, patients often have trouble recognizing physical urges or remembering where bathrooms are located, making urinary or bowel incontinence common. Certain medications also can relax the bladder muscles or cause increased urination. Facility managers and staff can help by discussing incontinence with Alzheimer’s patients, helping them acquire the knowledge and products they need to successfully manage their conditions. Consider hosting a seminar at your facility to provide help and encouragement. Here is a list of topics to get started:

Help residents create bathroom schedules, such as every two hours and after meals and naps, and provide regular reminders.
Check that bathrooms are clear of obstacles and tripping hazards, and encourage the use of raised toilet seats and night lights if needed.
Explain the benefits of wearing clothing that is easy to remove, with no complicated belts or buttons.
Teach residents how to use an Incontinence Product Finder to choose disposable undergarments by style, selecting types they can easily get on and off.
Explain the importance of keeping skin clean, moisturized and protected, using products made to prevent breakdown and infection.
Demonstrate how to protect bedding and furniture with disposable pads.
Encourage residents managing incontinence to cut back on fluids before bedtime, while explaining the importance of drinking fluids during the day to prevent dehydration.

For a supply of resident informational brochures and access to more than 500 incontinence products with free doorstep delivery ($50+), call The CareGiver Partnership at 1-800-985-1353 or visit www.caregiverpartnership.com.

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Alzheimer's Care

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Managing Incontinence in the Senior Living Setting

aadmin — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:48:36 +0000

Incontinence affects more than half of the elderly who are homebound or in long-term care, according to the National Association For Continence. Because this condition affects residents at all types of senior living and assisted living facilities, finding best practices for managing urinary and bowel incontinence is a concern for staff. Here is information you can share with residents in any care environment to better recognize types of incontinence and choose products based on gender, activity level and absorbency needs.

Incontinence Types and Tips

Stress: The most common type among women, stress incontinence can cause urine leakage while exercising, coughing, sneezing, laughing or lifting, due to pressure on the bladder, weakened muscles and/or damaged nerves.

Tip: Women with stress incontinence may lead active lives, so look for products made to fit a woman’s body comfortably, from a pad for light leakage to pull-on underwear.

Urge: Common among the elderly, urge incontinence is characterized by a sudden urge to urinate, with little bladder control. Marked by a need to urinate more than seven times daily or twice nightly, it may be caused by an overactive bladder or a result of injury, illness or surgery.

Tip: Because the urge to urinate is sudden and frequent, an individual may prefer pull-on underwear that can be pulled up and down like regular underwear.

Overflow: Individuals with overflow incontinence can’t completely empty their bladders, resulting in frequent urination, constant leakage or both. Causes include a blocked urethra and weakened bladder muscles due to nerve damage.

Tip: For those experiencing constant leakage, look for products in heavy or overnight absorbency and made of skin-friendly, odor-fighting materials. For extra protection, booster pads can be worn with other incontinence products. Men recovering from prostate surgery may choose Guards for Men, which are worn inside underwear.

Functional: Common among the elderly with arthritis, Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s, those with functional incontinence are unable to control their bladders before reaching a bathroom because of limitations in moving, thinking or communicating.

Tip: For complete loss of bladder or bowel control, choose briefs/adult diapers, for maximum protection and tape tabs for easy changing. Separate underpads can help protect surfaces like beds and chairs.

Mixed: Women commonly experience a mix of both stress and urge incontinence. The causes of each type may or may not be related.

Tip: Look for products made to fit a woman’s anatomy, which may include oval-cut leg openings and absorbency where it’s most needed.

Anatomic or developmental abnormalities: An abnormal passage between the bladder and another structure or a leak in the urinary system can cause incontinence. Also, patients who have nervous system damage may have a neurogenic bladder, in which case the bladder is underactive or overactive.

Tip: Depending on the level of incontinence, these wearers may choose from pull-on or adjustable underwear, pads or guards, or briefs/adult diapers.

Temporary: Incontinence may be a temporary result of severe constipation, infections, or certain medications, such as diuretics, muscle relaxants, narcotics, antidepressants, antipsychotics or calcium channel blockers.

Tip: Choose pads for light leakage, undergarments for medium absorbency, or briefs/adult diapers with or without booster pads for maximum protection.

Resource for Facilities, Residents
The CareGiver Partnership provides information, tools, and assistance for care facility staff and residents, to help them manage incontinence with dignity and ease.

For a supply of resident informational brochures, please call The CareGiver Partnership at 1-800-985-1353. They offer more than 500 incontinence products, free door step delivery ($50+) and personalized advice from product specialists. www.caregiverpartnership.com

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