It is no secret that America’s aging demographic keeps growing rapidly. Many of these older adults undoubtedly prefer to remain in their homes for as long as possible. However, this preference can become quite difficult due to health and safety concerns. That’s where the over 15,000 nursing homes in the United States come in, providing top-notch care to older adults who need it. When selecting these care facilities, people have several options, so you must give them good reasons to choose yours. Here’s how to make your nursing home stand out.
Provide flexible and extended visiting hours
Many experts agree that open visiting hours are a must to make your nursing home stand out from others. This is because the decision to commit older relatives to eldercare options is a tough one for many young people. However, being able to see one’s relatives at any time or at least quite frequently is a comforting detail that can make this decision less difficult. Consequently, give families a chance to visit their loved ones as often as they want instead of having numerous visiting rules. You can even go a step further to facilitate overnight stays for family members who wish to spend time with their aged relatives to make your nursing home unique.
Have the right professionals around
Many professionals are involved in running a nursing home, including registered nurses, administration and support employees, nursing aides, and dieticians. Therefore, hiring all the right professionals for your nursing home needs is vital, depending on the facilities available and the type of residents you accept. For instance, you might need to bring in a physical therapist if you accept older adults recovering from surgical procedures. Having a speech or occupational therapist around can also make you popular with elders needing therapy to recover from strokes. You may not have the facilities necessary to take care of every kind of resident, so it is best to have places you can refer clients to when the need arises. For instance, if you run a New York-based nursing home without a memory care wing, consider referring residents who develop severe dementia and display challenging behaviors to a specialized dementia care NY facility to get the treatment they need.
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Stamp out elder abuse
Elder abuse is more common in nursing homes than their management would want to acknowledge. The World Health Organization’s shocking 2021 research revealed that 2 in 3 nursing home and long-term care facility staff reported committing elder abuse in 2020. Since elder abuse appears to be the norm, make your nursing home an exception by taking great steps to eliminate it. For starters, make your hiring process more thorough and regularly train staff on elder abuse and neglect issues. In addition, institute solid patient care policies and practices that all staff must follow to prevent elder abuse. Also, consider installing quality monitoring systems at vantage points to keep staff accountable. You can also allow visits from volunteers and social workers to discourage employees from abusing residents.
