Environments for Aging - Fall 2016 - 41

PERKINS EASTMAN

Alarm systems, charting technology, vitals
monitoring, and exam lighting are all required
elements.
"We always have to have 4-foot-wide
doors and 8-foot-wide corridors. We do have
emergency call systems. We will always have
to have a med room," Pancake says. "There
are critical medical components that will never
go away, but we are disguising them. They
are readily available to staff, but not in the
[residents'] faces."
In place of traditional higher-walled nurses'
stations are now small charting tables or telephone tables with wood cabinetry and milling
that blend in with other common area, living
room, and den furnishings. And with electronic charting and the use of other paperless
technology, documentation can be done via
tablet in resident rooms or in a hallway charting
nook. Where nurses' stations do exist, they're
being significantly scaled back with "a singlesided grouping of cabinets and a counter that
promotes staff and residents to occupy the
same areas," says Russell Mauk, ABHOW's
vice president of design and construction
(Pleasanton, Calif.).
"We have initiated the use of charting
alcoves or cabinets along one side of the
corridor where the nurses can perform their
recording tasks," Mauk says. "This eliminates
the institutional feel of a traditional nurses' station while keeping the nurses visibly available to
the residents."
Cultivating a residential environment further
includes resident-specific medication drawers
and customized sterile supply drawers. "A
storage cabinet is located inside each resident
bedroom, which contains the key caregiving
medications and supplies so that med and
supply carts are not parked in the corridors,
creating an institutional ambience," Siefering
says. Other bedroom cabinet systems can
store a resident's wheelchair or walker, if desired, but with easy accessibility when needed.
"The design of skilled nursing facilities will
continue the evolution into friendlier environments where technology allows the systems
required for that high level of care; however, it
will also allow (that technology) to be hidden to
the residents," Mauk says.
The goal, however, is not to eliminate all
medical aesthetics from view. Bed levels are
visibly low where risk of falling is a concern-
that responsive adjustment is observable
and assuring. "This is an example of where

Left: Designed by Perkins Eastman, The Living
Center of Manhattan, part of The New Jewish Home,
reflects the care trend toward small community SNF
environments. The 20-story building will feature
22 Green House homes and will accommodate
264 long-term care and 150 rehab residents. It's
scheduled to open in 2020. Below: With a philosophy
toward mutual community connections, the first-floor
entrance and second-floor amenities-including
auditorium, kosher bistro, coffee shop, library, and
outdoor terrace-will be open to neighbors in the
surrounding community.

healthcare takes precedence," says Audrey
Weiner, president and CEO of The New
Jewish Home. "It's functional; there's no
hiding of the equipment." Some medical
elements belong in full sight and are a welcomed fixture of the resident's routine. "I'm
not sure how I would disguise an oxygen
canister," Weiner says. "I'm not sure of the
value of that. There's nothing derogatory
about [its visibility]. If I were at home and
needed oxygen, it wouldn't be wrapped up
and disguised."

The future profile
Despite a prevalent desire by many to
age at home, skilled nursing will remain a
practical and needed solution that comes
with its own benefits-especially for those
who eventually require 24/7 care. "While
home is the preferred location for most,
the delivery of essential support services
[at home] can be cost prohibitive, and the
elder is often socially isolated" if they stay
at home, Ryan says.
Projecting demand for the market, Siefering says that "short-term rehab lengths
of stay will probably continue to shorten,

but many seniors will have recurring visits to
short-term rehab. There's always likely to be a
demand for long-term care, but it will become
more medically intense with residents who
have multiple chronic conditions."
How the industry responds with appropriate
design solutions will be key. "The innovation,"
Calkins says, "is the continuation of moving
toward smaller groups of residents living in a
setting that is much more residential in character-living in a house, not an institution." EFA
Sharon Schnall is a writer based in Ohio. She can be
reached at schnallwriting@yahoo.com.

MORE ONLINE:
* With renovations in skilled nursing communities usually taking place every 15 to 20
years, it's important to get design features
right. From residential and hospitality models
to destination spaces, find ideas for creating
lasting environments at EFAmagazine.com/
snf-environments-last.
* Designing outside spaces and access to
natural light is just as important as the interiors
in skilled nursing. See how some organizations are approaching this challenge at
EFAmagazine.com/snf-outdoor-spaces.

Fall 2016 * EFAmagazine.com

http://www.EFAmagazine.com/snf-envlronments-last http://www.EFAmagazine.com/snf-envlronments-last http://www.EFAmagazine.com/snf-outdoor-spaces http://www.EFAmagazine.com

Environments for Aging - Fall 2016

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