What Design Features Do LTC Residents Most Want? (LTL mag online)

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Here’s my latest article in Long-Term Living Magazine online:

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What design features do LTC residents most want?

The psychologist walked into Mrs. Winters’ room and found her in the corner, muttering under her breath. “Is everything okay?” the psychologist asked, concerned. Mrs. Winters was usually a calm lady, but today her face was tight with anger.“Thank goodness you’re here!” Mrs. Winters cried. “I came over here to get a letter from my nightstand and now I can’t get out of this spot!” She tried to move her chair backward but the wheels jammed into the wall. She pushed the chair forward and ran into the bed. “I’ve been stuck like this for almost an hour and my call bell is on the other side of the bed. It’s a good thing I’m too angry to cry because I can’t reach my tissues either!”Renovations and redesigns large and small can breathe new life into a facility, especially when they’re focused on the needs of the people who live and work within them. The changes that are most important to the residents tend to be those that center on their psychological need to regain control. Most residents enter long-term care after a fall or other health crisis takes them from their home and thrusts them into an unfamiliar environment with rules not of their own making. Meals are served on schedule, toileting depends on staff availability, and discharge plans rely on a host of factors and players that can’t be managed by the resident. When the big things in life are spiraling out of control, being able to direct the small things can make a world of difference. Here are some design changes that matter most to the residents.

WITHIN RESIDENT ROOMS

To provide increased control within each room, consider that most nursing home residents have limited mobility and are often in wheelchairs that are difficult to maneuver in small spaces. Residents spend significant amounts of time in bed, unable to get out on their own. While most LTC facilities have mechanical beds that allow residents to adjust themselves as needed, there are many additional aspects of the environment that could be under resident control.

  • Room temperature. Many times the call bell is ringing because a resident wants a window opened or closed or wants the air conditioning adjusted. Providing remote controls for the air conditioning and heating system allows the residents to take care of this function and frees staff time for other concerns. If the windows can be opened by remote (or easily opened manually) this improves quality of life, especially because getting outside for fresh air can be such a challenge.
  • Large remote control for TV. Residents may have remote controls for their televisions, but have difficulty using them due to overly complicated designs with small buttons and tiny labels. The best remote controls are simple, with large well-labeled buttons, yet are not so heavy that frail elders have trouble holding them. Provide recommendations to family members as part of a good customer service program.
  • User-friendly telephone. Similarly, the best telephones are the least complicated. They have large buttons, a loud ringer and speaker, are impervious to liquids and can withstand the inevitable falls that occur during use in long-term care.  If families are providing phones, offer them these suggestions because you’re the experts and they’re probably going through this for the first time.

For more, visit LTL magazine online: What design features do LTC residents most want?

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