Healthcare has its fair share of risks for sure, but it is a booming business sector all the same. However, running a nursing home can never be just about business. It must be a place of care and comfort first, but that should practically work in favour of the business aspect too. Taking a few cues from some of the most respected and successful nursing home in UK, here are a few suggestions that should help any nursing home to grow in both business and care.
Choose Furniture with Residents in Mind
Elderly residents spend a lot of their time sitting, lying down, rocking, and lounging. Therefore, it is important to only buy furniture for nursing homes that are designed specially to suit the specific needs of the older generations. For example, all nursing home chairs must be comfortable and ergonomic, and they should come with armrests. If we are discussing recliners or rocking chairs, those must be reinforced, ergonomic, and easily adjustable. All tables, cupboards, and the backs of chairs must have a smooth finish to prevent the elderly from getting hurt by sharp edges. Also, brighter colours in contrast with the background make it easy for them to see where everything is exactly.
Note that when you upgrade your nursing home furniture to better suit the needs of your residents, it’s not just a move that benefits them. It’s a step that boosts the quality of care provided at the establishment for sure, but it also boosts business. Every time the legal guardian of an elderly individual comes in for a visit to decide whether the place would be appropriate for their family member, they are more likely to be impressed by the nursing home’s attention to the finer aspects of their resident’s safety. The potential future resident himself/herself would also be more inclined to stay if the seat provided to them is as comfortable as it can be.
Add the Option to Personalise Décor
There are limits to how much customisation can be allowed inside a nursing home, but barring exceptional and unavoidable conditions, their rooms should not feel like a hospital room to the residents. They should not only be allowed to personalise their room, but rather assisted in any way possible within the set limitations. It adds the much needed “home” to what would otherwise only remain a nursing facility.
That feeling of homeliness is what makes all the difference to not just the residents, but also the people who come to visit them at the nursing home. If it feels like their own place, they will want to stay there. If they want to stay there because they actually like where they are, it never hurts the business either. If anything, it creates the positive vibe necessary for future residents to like the place as well.
Plan Activities to Encourage Social Interactions
It is of the utmost importance for the elderly to not feel isolated. It’s true that the staff can take care of their health and physical wellbeing, but constant efforts from the nursing home’s side must be made to keep them socially engaged with each other as well. The best way to encourage participation and social interaction is to plan activities that are designed to help with just that. The following ideas are popular and effective in keeping depression at bay, provided the execution is proper:
- Birthday parties can be personalised and planned by working with the patient’s family members.
- Outdoor picnics or at least a barbecue party should be held at least once or twice a month in the summer.
- Building a home theatre with comfortable seats for attending residents is not as expensive as it sounds.
- Bingo parties can still be a hit with the right enthusiasm.
- Some board games have no age limit and make for amazing social interactions.
Invite the family and friends of your residents to join in and remain a part of the residents’ life. Often, nothing makes an old soul happier than to see his/her family has arrived to celebrate with them. Click a few photos and shoot the occasional video with genuinely happy people in them. They will serve as both everlasting memories for the families, as well as genuine, care-driven material for social media marketing. The power of social media posts is more influential than it has ever been before, and genuine content can do wonders for your nursing home’s reputation.
Last but not least, consider investing to upgrade your medical division. The focus should be on improving the nursing home’s infrastructure in such a way that it can handle emergencies and stabilise patients as quickly and as efficiently as possible. This may mean different things for different nursing homes, depending on what they are already working with (medical staff and equipment) and of course, their budget.
