What Living as Resident Can Teach Long-Term Care Staff: The Power of Empathy to Transform Care

Staff attitudes and caregiving practices are transformed when individuals learn what it’s really like to be a resident in the care setting where they work. Through the Looking Glass is a program first designed and implemented at Aviston Countryside Manor. Staff members participating in the program live at the residence, receive a diagnosis, experience daily challenges, and compete to see who endures the longest. The resulting lessons in empathy produce unprecedented results in the way daily care and operations are conducted. This powerful, culture-changing program can be replicated in any residential care setting. Implementation steps are punctuated with moving personal accounts of staff and resident experiences and revelations.