Redaccion
The Benidorm City Council offers an accompaniment service for elderly people at the municipal Central Library, with the aim of enhancing the experience of senior users, one of the groups that most frequently visits these facilities. The Councilor for Historical and Cultural Heritage, Ana Pellicer, has explained that this accompaniment service is one of the actions promoted by her department within the certification obtained by the city in the last edition of Fitur for its ‘Commitment to the Elderly’ by AENOR.
«We are the first destination certified for its good practices in terms of services, infrastructure, and projects aimed at improving attention to elderly residents and tourists, and we practice this commitment on a daily basis, implementing actions to reinforce it and to reach all elderly people, in each and every service provided by the City Council,» Pellicer stated.
The accompaniment service for elderly people at the municipal Library is aimed at all individuals aged 60 and over who use the reading room or the book lending service. As the councilor has mentioned, «any user within this age range can request it by going to the lending desk, where the Library staff can guide them in choosing their readings.» Ana Pellicer has explained that «many users come with clear ideas about the books they are looking for or interested in, but we also encounter users who do not know what they feel like reading, who are unaware of the new additions to our catalog, or who, for these same reasons, feel hesitant and end up not coming to the Library.» «And precisely that is what we want to avoid with this service,» she continued.
«Knowing their tastes and preferences, the staff can guide them to find the desired readings, both with personalized recommendations and with advice based on their interests, thus making the facilities a more accessible space and a meeting place for reading.» The Head of Historical and Cultural Heritage has encouraged users to make use of this service, expressing her desire that «age should never be a reason to stop the reading habit.»
First certified destination
In January, Benidorm became the first destination to certify its Commitment to the Elderly with AENOR, an acknowledgment granted during the Fitur tourism fair and once again positioning Benidorm as an example for other national and international cities and destinations.
This certification, designed to highlight organizations actively working on the inclusion and quality care of the elderly, has key objectives such as facilitating the understanding and use of services, assisting the elderly in complex activities or products, ensuring their accessibility and ease of execution; reinforcing trust by implementing messages and actions that strengthen the elderly’s confidence in the services they use; providing quality care by focusing on customer experience processes and adding value to each interaction. It also aims to commit to sensitive sectors, such as banking or online, to demonstrate their commitment to digital inclusion and adapted care; and contributes to the 2030 Agenda by focusing on Sustainable Development Goals related to social inclusion and equality.
To grant Benidorm the Certification of Commitment to the Elderly, AENOR considered some of the actions that the city has been carrying out for years in various areas to promote the full integration and inclusion of this group, as well as the municipal commitment of the City Council to continue improving excellence in tourist attention and specialized care, training at least 30% of municipal staff and contractors to enhance elderly care.
Ana Pellicer has reminded that, in addition to the accompaniment service at the Library, «we have recently opened the Elderly Care Office at the Maravall Administrative Extension and have a decalogue to ensure that elderly people receive good attention in all municipal services and facilities.» This includes precepts such as respect and dignity; personalized care; clear communication; universal accessibility; active participation; confidentiality; continuous training; safety and well-being; transparency; and commitment to continuous improvement.
