Arlington Heights, IL-based Lutheran Life Communities celebrates its 130th anniversary by introducing new lifestyle programs for residents of the four retirement communities in Illinois and Indiana.
The company is selling its fifth Florida location so as not to involve the retirement community in the new effort.
“We are currently rolling out many different programs. The first of the rollout is now underway, which is for all of our residential residents and some of it will be transferred to assisted living, memory support and skilled nursing, Maia Bonner, senior vice president of marketing and sales,” told the McKnight’s Business Daily.
She said the initiative is driven by the philosophy or methodology of programming Masterpiece (formerly Masterpiece Living).
“There’s a lot of focus on the spiritual, physical, mental, emotional — all the different components of well-being,” Bonner said.
Some of the specific lifestyle programs include “Pawsitive Connection,” bringing animals into the community for visits and possible adoption; “Fellowship Force”, which will connect residents with volunteer opportunities based on monthly themes; and the Bucket List, in partnership with Wish of a Lifetime, to help older residents achieve their dreams.
Lutheran Life is also partnering with David Troxel’s Best Friends Approach on a memory care program called My Tapestry, designed to help employees better serve residents with dementia.
Those efforts complement other initiatives launched at Lutheran Life earlier this year, according to a press release issued Tuesday. In May, the organization debuted Reclaiming MyJoy, a program designed to address the emotional toll of COVID-19 on its residents and team members. In January, the organization announced a partnership with Thomas Cuisine Management to enhance residents’ dining experience with new menu options and dining choices in each community.
130 years ago, when Lutheran Life began, long-term care focused primarily on a medical model and taking care of residents’ physical needs, Bonner noted, but a lot has changed since then, including the launch of assisted living.
“We really want residents to be at the center of their decision-making about where they want to live, providing more opportunities for education, mental wellbeing, real purpose and real benefit of living in a community as opposed to living in it.” home they’ve lived in for 50 years and are becoming increasingly isolated, Bonner said. “The support of humanity and the opportunity to live and grow purposefully — for me, that’s transformative in senior life.”
