We are developing a wellness program for our older adults. North Star Wellness/Cardinal Ritter Senior Services is a purposefully guided wellness program, rooted in the mission of Catholic Charities of St. Louis to bring the healing, help, and hope of Jesus Christ. We are here to honor our residents’ unique journey by providing a steady sense of direction, connection, and meaning by reflecting our commitment to serving every resident with dignity, hospitality, service, excellence, compassion, and joy. Our program encourages individuals to chart their path to wellness across spiritual, physical, social, emotional, vocational, intellectual, and environmental dimensions. Through thoughtfully designed programming, led by our Wellness Captains, residents are empowered to stay anchored in what matters most to them, while continuing to grow, explore, and find purpose each day. No matter where you are on life’s journey, we are here to be your true North Star and guide you in your voyage towards wellness.
Challenge or Need
The challenge is to address the older adult as a whole person and meet all their dimensions of wellness, not just safety, nourishment, and exercise, etc. We also want to be a resource for older adults throughout the archdiocese and help build support along with the parishes. With the growing number of older adults needing support, this program helps to meet that need. Many caregivers and family members also need a resource to help guide them through ongoing care for their loved ones.
Why It’s Innovative
Most long-term care providers are also moving to a wellness program vs. activities. There are two areas that make our program unique. Each dimension of wellness will be developed through the spiritual lens, wrapping in Catholic social doctrine and the mission, vision, and values of Catholic Charities. Also, we will have wellness experts (captains) who will work across all levels of care to implement our program. Most providers are “siloed” in each area of care, e.g., assisted living, skilled nursing, and independent living. We would also like to implement the wellness program across Catholic Charities for coworkers.
Program Impact
We are still in the process of developing the program with a kickoff in September of this year. Since January, we have seen a 35% increase in resident participation, with more programming being offered across each dimension of wellness. We currently are getting resident feedback across the continuum in order get a baseline of satisfaction.
Lessons Learned
We have learned that we can’t overcommunicate the “why” of the program to all key stakeholders to get better buy-in. We have also been slow in getting our structure in place, meaning getting wellness coworkers in place.