Wellness programs are crucial in enhancing the quality of life for seniors and their caregivers in the home care setting. These programs often incorporate a variety of activities, including activity books. These books are valuable tools for promoting physical, mental, and emotional well-being for all involved.
Activity books improve cognitive function, memory, and problem-solving skills can also reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness, fostering a sense of purpose and fulfillment.
Further, participating in activities can strengthen bonds between seniors and their caregivers, creating a more positive and supportive environment.
Activity books can be a valuable resource for caregivers, helping them engage seniors in meaningful activities. They offer various options, from puzzles and word games to coloring and drawing. By participating in these activities, caregivers can build stronger relationships with seniors and better understand their interests and preferences.
Participating in shared activities helps alleviate caregiver stress and burnout.
To shed some light on the same, we interviewed a home care industry expert to bring his perspective on utilizing a wellness program in home care.
Who Did We Interview?
At Ways 2 Wellness, Michael helps senior care providers keep their clients mentally active and improve satisfaction with an exciting new wellness program.
Before this, Herrington had a successful career in the magazine publishing industry, driving growth and circulation at leading publishers.
He is now applying his publishing expertise to create programs that assist senior care providers in achieving their goals and keeping seniors mentally engaged and less isolated.
Let us now delve into what he has to say about utilizing a wellness program in home care:
Well, loneliness and isolation is the second leading cause of illness and untimely death among seniors. We offer custom-branded activity books that keep seniors engaged while taking a load off of their caregivers.
That way they stay connected and stimulated, and can delay the onset of dementia by as much as 5 years in some cases.
We see that without a wellness plan in place, caregivers feel overwhelmed, and seniors may feel isolated and mentally sluggish. With our program, through the use of activity books and exercises, caregivers can find clear ways to help seniors feel engaged, mentally stimulated, and socially connected. Our activities are customized based on the interests and cognitive needs of the seniors.
A large in-home care company in the Northeast uses customized books to help alleviate stress and anxiety for seniors in hospital emergency rooms. These books provide a calming distraction and support emotional well-being during what can be a stressful time.
They also distribute these books at senior centers and senior fairs, sharing them directly with the community. This approach not only promotes their in-home care services but also delivers intentional, audience-specific content in a respectful and dignified manner.
We launched the company in January 2020, right at the start of the pandemic, knowing that seniors and caregivers would need our activities more than ever. Despite the challenges of not being able to meet people in person, we managed to get our books into senior communities and centers, even though many were shut down.
In 2021, we faced another setback when our printer ran out of paper due to supply chain issues, halting production for 283 days. During that time, we shifted to offering PDFs that could be printed on-site.
Now, we’ve partnered with a reliable printer in Tennessee and offer both custom-branded printed books and PDFs, allowing us to reach a broader audience and support marketing and engagement efforts more effectively.
One of our biggest challenges is that caregivers are stretched thin, balancing countless responsibilities with little time to explore new wellness programs. That’s where we come in—offering practical solutions that not only ease their burden but also create meaningful, dignified ways to connect with seniors and enhance their well-being.
We’ve learned that seniors—while digital phones and tablets are going to become more and more popular—still enjoy interacting with paper with these types of activities. They prefer printed books.
But in the next 10 years, they’ll be migrating towards a digital platform and we’re prepared to do that as well.
In our interview with Michael Herrington, President and Co-founder of Ways 2 Wellness, he shared insights on how their wellness program is helping senior care providers keep their clients mentally active and engaged. Herrington’s team provides custom-branded activity books, both printable and beautiful printed books, catering to the needs of seniors at different cognitive levels.
The success stories shared by Herrington highlight how senior care providers are using these wellness resources for community outreach, marketing, and engaging clients in meaningful activities.
While the pandemic and supply chain challenges posed obstacles, Ways 2 Wellness has adapted by offering digital solutions and partnering with reliable printers.
Looking ahead, Herrington anticipates a gradual shift towards digital platforms for wellness programs but believes that seniors will continue to appreciate the tactile experience of printed activity books. As the senior care industry evolves, innovative wellness solutions like those offered by Ways 2 Wellness will play an increasingly important role in supporting the mental and emotional well-being of seniors and their caregivers.
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