Reflections on Silver Linings

About Juliet Holt Klinger

Senior Director of Dementia Care

Juliet is a passionate advocate for people living with dementia and their families. She is deeply committed to improving the cultural acceptance of those with cognitive differences. As our gerontologist and Senior Director of Dementia Care, Juliet develops person-centered care and programming for Brookdale’s dementia care communities. But if you ask her, Juliet says she continues to learn every day from the true experts, those living with dementia and their care partners. Juliet believes we need to move beyond the concept of caregiving, which implies a one-sided relationship, and embrace the idea of care partnering. Care partnering is about relationships built on cooperation—a two-way street promoting person-centered care and mutual feelings of purpose, where the person living with dementia also plays a strong role in shaping their care and daily routine. We are here to partner, learn and grow with our residents and families to make aging a better experience. After volunteering in nursing homes in high school, Juliet knew she wanted to work with older adults. While working on her bachelor’s degree in social work at the University of Iowa, she completed an Aging Studies Certificate program, before there were formal gerontology programs available. At Iowa, Juliet also had the chance to study with pioneers in the field of dementia care, an opportunity that shaped her passion for caring for those living with dementia. Trained as a gerontologist, with a master’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado, Juliet joined Brookdale in 2004. She is a seasoned senior living executive with more than 30 years of experience designing and executing innovative Alzheimer's and dementia care programs and living environments in both assisted living and skilled settings.

It’s been a rough few months but as people keep reminding me, there are silver linings to COVID-19. Maybe it’s helpful to share one of those now as we begin to look forward to a post-COVID world…or, as I like to say, our world with COVID (don’t ever give it top billing!).

Considering the positives in a pandemic is counterintuitive at best, but there truly are things to share that are worthy of discussion. I want to start with some thoughts closest to my heart and then, hopefully in subsequent blogs, I can share more of how Brookdale has coped and innovated around this challenge. The first positive lesson I have to share is that person centered care is not only the right thing to do, it can help save lives. With its foundation in the maintenance of human connection and relationships, you might think that the very bedrock of person centeredness was threatened during this time of isolation and social distancing—but it really was further validated.

At the heart of person centered living is the relationship that develops when two people (in our case two people involved in a care partnership) truly know each other and bring an authentic concern for their connection to the relationship. One steadfast tenet of person centered dementia care is the support for consistent assignment—some say dedication—of care partners. The concept is that the same care associates work with the same residents, day in and day out. I’m proud to say Brookdale has committed to this tenet for well over a decade in our Clare Bridge dementia care communities. This really matters and never has it mattered more than in the past few months.

Consistent assignment and the continued development of care partnerships between our associates and residents is the magic that enables us so often to identify early, very subtle symptoms of this horrible virus. We are able to notice signs unique to that person that tell us when things may be just a little off, when their eyes reflect a change, when the smile is a little less robust, the handhold a little more weak. We know because we know them.

These relationships, this care that our Clare Bridge care associates feel for our residents, has also driven their dedication and presence during this crisis, despite some real and perceived risks. I recently heard about how a care associate in one of our Brookdale communities stepped up to work extra shifts when her fellow associate fell ill because, as she said, “I won’t let my residents go through this without me. I’m the one they trust—they know me.” Over and over again, I have listened to tales of the powerful shared experiences of associates weathering the storm of the pandemic together with their residents because they wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. The care, the dedication, and the determination to be together is the best example of person centered care and the best silver lining I could ever ask for.

Person centered care is absolutely the right thing to do.