Listen to this articleMelissa Khedar is a life enrichment professional with over 20 years of experience working to improve the lives of senior citizens. In the past, she has worked in executive roles, including as Director and Senior Manager of Life Enrichment programs at facilities in the province of Ontario and beyond. Melissa’s experience makes her a go-to resource in this important vocation which touches the lives of a great many senior citizens, as well as their loved ones. We asked for her thoughts on, among other topics, the future outlook for improving the quality of life of the older adult population of Ontario, other provinces, and Canada overall.
Q: Melissa, can you walk us through your path? What makes you passionate about serving the aging population? How did you get started?
MELISSA KHEDAR: I started as a volunteer in retirement homes while I was still in high school and quickly fell in love with the residents that were socially isolated and required social engagement. That’s when I decided to pursue a career in the medical field, specifically in life enrichment and social engagement. I worked for a year with The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto in the multi-organ transplant unit. While there, I realized that, though the kids were wonderful, I personally was working with the wrong generation. I went back to school and obtained a gerontology degree. As for what makes me passionate, it’s looking at the individuals as three-dimensional human beings who have lived full lives–not simply as names on medical charts. Everyone has a story to tell, but sometimes that gets lost, and we as professionals sometimes have a difficult time looking beyond their disease or medical condition. I want to make sure workers in the field of senior services focus on the person behind the disease, the individual we are connecting with. That is what drives me.
Q: You have experience in both the public and private sectors in your field. Can you describe the difference, in your experience, between the two?
MELISSA KHEDAR: In the public sector, you’re a part of the government apparatus, accountable to the taxpayers. In that role, you have to be cognizant of engaging with the community, external stakeholders, as well as the governing agencies, and because of that, there is a lot of collaboration. In the private sector, things are more siloed. Your attention lies more within the organization, not with the external environment. In many ways, a comparison of the public sector versus the private sector is tantamount to facing outward versus facing inward.
Q: From your experience, can you give us your thoughts on the planning of recreational and wellness programs? What stands out as the biggest challenges and how do you overcome them?
MELISSA KHEDAR: My philosophy for life enrichment largely centers around life skilled programming. When I say life skills, I mean things like baking, cleaning, gardening, and exercising. Not idle activities. Keeping both the bodies and minds of individuals active and engaged is always something of a challenge for life enrichment professionals. We have to create an environment where they want to participate in programs that are meaningful, purposeful, and tap into their interests and hobbies. We want to ensure we continue to change and enhance our programs to refrain from being stagnant in our program delivery. We have to continue to encourage them and find things they enjoy doing.
Another challenge is planning for the new demographic coming forward. The Baby Boomers will be descending on long-term care and retirement communities in the next few years. The trend right now is that individuals are staying home a lot longer, and as a result, they are becoming socially isolated, either due to physical and cognitive barriers. The goal is to create a continuum of care that connects our acute care, home and community care, and long-term care and retirement partners to support this aging population.
Q: As a leader at Esprit Lifestyle Communities, Extendicare, you supervised a variety of life enrichment activities across several provinces. What were some of the challenges you faced working across different provincial healthcare systems?
MELISSA KHEDAR: The biggest challenge is related to operational regulations that differ between provinces. The funding models are different, as well. There are cultural differences between residents of different provinces to keep in mind, as well. It’s important to understand the operational differences to ensure that we are in compliance and providing excellent care.
Q: An essential part of your duties as the Activation and Volunteer Services supervisor for the Region of Peel was leading and managing a multidisciplinary team with diverse backgrounds. Can you describe what you learned in that role and relate it to others facing similar challenges?
MELISSA KHEDAR: It’s important to recognize the learning capabilities of the people you’re supervising, as well as where they are in their careers. Different modules work for different learning styles. For example, there are modules for people who learn best through written instruction, verbal instruction, and experientially. Not all people learn things the same way. Another example would be generational differences; someone in their 20s learns differently than someone in their 50s. So, as you roll out processes, you have to be patient and let people digest information at their own pace. It’s all about flexibility. The people you supervise will all have different opinions on a wide variety of subjects, as well. Be sure to listen to them all, then process their thoughts in addition to your own, and make one cohesive decision. Move forward. Observe what is working well and what isn’t, and then adapt accordingly. Gathering the feedback from those involved in the process is vital, including the employees and the residents. This helps with evaluation and sustainability.
Q: You have two Bachelor’s degrees related to your field, along with several certifications related to geriatric care. What advice would you give to someone just entering the field in terms of what to study?
MELISSA KHEDAR: Before you study, volunteer, volunteer, volunteer! You may think you like working with seniors in retirement homes and long-term care facilities, but you have to make sure of it because you may be wrong. When I teach students, they often have grand ideas about becoming life enrichment professionals. I advise them to volunteer before committing to it as a career. When they do, a certain percentage discover it’s just not for them. So, my advice is to volunteer in the senior services sector. If you enjoy it, research life enrichment and become acquainted with all the different aspects of the job.
Q: What do you think of the potential for AI as a part of the solution?
MELISSA KHEDAR: AI scares me. I don’t think it’s applicable to a people-focused business like this one. Life enrichment is all about touching lives and interacting with residents. I think applying artificial intelligence would undermine a person-centered approach and totally take away the emotional component necessary to do this job properly. I’m aware of some practical research that is taking place with respect to AI. I believe there is value in using AI in some components of the senior services sector, but I see difficulty in it being used in Life Enrichment. It’s about making connections, building relationships, getting to know the individual, supporting them when they’re both happy and sad, and demonstrating flexibility each day.
Q: Moving forward, what do you see as the future of life enrichment programming?
MELISSA KHEDAR: I hope one day it’s at the forefront of healthcare. There have been big criticisms on the clinical side of things, post-Covid. But it wasn’t the clinical side of things that was the major problem–the social isolation was the problem, for all of us. Senior services have to focus on life enrichment, social engagement, and mental and physical well being. That aspect of the profession isn’t given enough attention. Put yourself in the shoes of a senior citizen. There has to be something to look forward to besides watching television until you go to bed. That’s a lonely life. Seniors need and deserve further engagement and enrichment.
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