The Importance of Feeling and Looking Good for Older Adults
CenterLight Healthcare’s Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) provides care and services that our participants need to help them remain living safely and independently in their own homes. We serve more than 6,300 people every day—and beyond medical and nursing care, physical and occupational therapies, nutrition, social work, and therapeutic recreation services, our team aims to improve the quality of life of those we serve. True to our mission, our goal is to make a difference in our participants’ lives.
Some of our participants’ favorite activities are our “Self-Care” programs, which allow them to relax and enjoy services such as manicures, massages & haircuts from certified individuals. Our Flushing, Wallerstein (Bronx), Westchester, and Stillwell locations even have a dedicated space for a salon/barber shop, while the rest of the sites bring in beauty care experts as part of their special events.*
These types of programs may not be the usual activities that come to mind when you think of healthcare. But at CenterLight PACE, we believe that providing complete care means we provide not only services that our participants need for their physical health, but also those that can help them feel good mentally and emotionally. In essence, we aim to nourish our participants' body and soul.
For CenterLight PACE participants, one of the benefits of self-care programs is the convenience of not having to go to a salon or barber shop. On days when self-care programs are in the schedule at our PACE centers, our participants can enjoy these services while they are at the site taking part in other TR activities, seeing their nurse, speaking with their social worker and dietitian, or using the open gym. Although it may be tough for some older adults to travel from one place to another, for CenterLight PACE participants, transportation is provided to and from our centers.
As we grow older, we may fear losing our independence or being too focused on other needs that self-care becomes very low on the priority list. It’s amazing how a simple haircut or manicure can help someone feel more confident and in control, and more importantly, promote a healthy sense of self that can contribute to mental wellness. In fact, a study published in the National Library of Medicine concluded that beauty care is effective for maintaining and improving the self-rated health and depression status of community-dwelling older adults.**
Our commitment to holistic care and providing these types of simple but meaningful experiences for our participants come from the belief that an individual's health and capabilities may decline with age, but their personalities and who they are at their core remain. We love that we get to know our participants as their unique selves while respecting their individual needs and preferences. They become like family, and it's always amazing to see your family feel good about themselves. I have personally seen how these simple things can make participants feel connected to their younger selves, and our team is very privileged to be a small part of those moments.
*Participants should check the TR activities schedule or ask their care team when self-care/beauty care programs are scheduled at their site.
**Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27250219/
This blog post is written by Kathleen Keegan, Director of Therapeutic Recreation Services at CenterLight Healthcare PACE.
H3329 SelfCareBlog Approved 02202025
Updated 12302024