Long Term Care Residence Design Assets
One truism in elder care: our days are consistently inconsistent. Some days are sweet while the residents do crafts, greet visitors, and reminisce over a great old movie in our common area. Other days are trying, with paramedic crews hustling in and out or family members filled with emotions caring for their loved ones. No matter what each moment brings in our facility, we have found that Screenflex Room Dividers are a great asset in creating the space needed for those times.
Most days, we use our movable partition walls to help facilitate the various activities we offer. During these events, any ambient background noise can be distracting to residents. So, when we’re gathered in our multi-purpose room for a game of Jeopardy, a Wii bowling tournament, or a lecture on Lewis and Clark, we use dividers to enclose the area, muffling noise from the corridors making it easier for our residents to hear. We’ve also had great success using dividers in our dining area, not only to section off a private space for visiting family to share a meal if our private dining room is in use, but also to separate residents involved in a game of cards, or a family discussion. Having this added space for privacy throughout our facility helps the residents and families bond and create memories. One of our favorite ways to use the portable partitions is to showcase art from various local schools as well as art created by our residents and staff, something everyone in the facility appreciates. Our team likes the flexibility the art display systems provide. We tack and staple the artwork directly to the fabric walls and roll the art display into the desired space for everyone to enjoy. Once the art showcase if complete, we simply remove the artwork and move the portable partitions back to the multipurpose room to divide the space into smaller, private gathering spaces. The feature of the room dividers that we like best are the self-leveling casters. The casters automatically adjust to bumps, transitions strips, and cords on the floor, making it easy to move the walls throughout our facility. This feature is important in an elderly care center like ours that has many rooms and medical equipment.
It’s also during our trying days that our Screenflex Room Dividers are worth their weight in gold. Calls to the paramedics frequently stem from a fall, and often those falls happen in the bathroom. When that bathroom is in a public space, there is no dignity for the resident as the door is propped open to allow for medical personnel to go in and out and do their job, and other residents tend to get very curious about what’s going on and who is in need for help. Quickly moving a divider into place allows plenty of room for the paramedics to do their job while still providing the privacy and dignity the fallen resident so desperately needs. The ability to configure the screen in a number of ways allows us to accommodate a stretcher, a wheelchair, a walker, or any other piece of durable medical equipment left in the hallway while still retaining a wide enough passage for people to pass by on the other side of the screen and go about their day. The same is true when a family meets with doctors and staff regarding their loved one’s care. Our assisted-living residents enjoy the light ambiance of our atrium and shared space. However, these rooms lack privacy. Having the movable walls nearby helps the staff in creating a private, intimate meeting space to discuss therapy, medical care, or the enrollment or release process.
Regardless of the reason we need to use our Screenflex Portable Room Dividers, we’re delighted to have a few sets on hand so we’re ready to handle whatever life throws at us while providing our residents with a thriving and nurturing environment.
