Selecting the right rehab equipment is a key way to set your senior living community apart. A smart technology solution can create buzz and attract residents to engage and try new things. As an advanced rehabilitation solution, it can support care allowing residents to thrive and as a result, increase the length of stay – a high priority for all independent living (IL) and assisted living (AL) communities.
Last month, we conducted a webinar focused on selecting the right rehab equipment for a senior living community. The webinar was led by Rebecca DeRousse, an expert in senior living and former VP of healthcare at The Village at Germantown. In this blog, we will share insights and the latest best practices from the webinar to support rehab equipment selection for IL, AL, and CCRCs.
What are senior living communities?
Senior living communities refer to different types of care and housing for seniors, 55 years of age and older. Today, there are lots of different types of senior living communities encompassing retirement communities, independent senior living, or living in a nursing home or retirement home.
- Independent Living Communities are designed to allow seniors to live independently while enjoying recreational, educational, and social activities with others in their community.
- Assisted Living Communities provide nursing care, housekeeping, and prepared meals for people with disabilities or who require care with an emphasis on a more social lifestyle.
- Nursing Homes provide long-term medical care and residential accommodation for seniors with serious health issues.
- Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) provide seniors with the full spectrum of lifestyle and healthcare options – from independent living and assisted living to skilled nursing care, all on one campus.
- Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) are inpatient facilities with 24/7 medical support providing short- or long-term rehabilitation services to senior patients. Typically, these facilities also have specialized care and housing tailored to the special needs of individuals with Alzheimer’s, dementia or related diseases.
How rehab equipment can help differentiate senior living community offerings
During our webinar, Rebecca DeRousse discusses some of her approaches for identifying and trialing different rehab medical equipment with the purpose to differentiate her CCRC. She features her successful experience in choosing an innovative motor-cognitive VR gait training platform, GaitBetter, to enhance residents’ care within her CCRC.
Here are some of her reasons why harnessing the right new rehabilitation technologies is so important to help set senior living communities apart.
Enables specialization within a niche market
The selection of the right rehab equipment can provide a senior living community with a competitive edge by offering an advantage in care. In our webinar, Rebecca discusses how according to her strategic plan, she sought rehab equipment to become a specialist within the “neuro” niche.
Some of the most complex residents to care for are neurological disorders that cover a wide range of symptoms and require specialist care. Neurodegenerative disorders include Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, ataxia, and Huntington’s disease. These patients have mobility impairments with gait problems, lack of endurance, and loss of balance alongside moderate to severe cognitive difficulties, including memory problems.
Harnessing GaitBetter for residents with neurodegenerative disorders
By selecting rehab equipment that addressed both motor and cognitive functional needs, Rebecca was able to leverage technology to provide better care to residents with neurodegenerative disorders. As a CCRC, the capabilities of the GaitBetter virtual reality gait rehabilitation platform to work with a wide variety of patients with complex disorders and needs enabled Rebecca to use the technology in all levels of care from skilled nursing to assisted living and independent living.
Furthermore, the intuitive user interface and ease of set-up also meant all disciplines could benefit including physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech language pathologists (SLPs). With dozens of assignments and ever-changing virtual reality environments, residents also highly enjoyed the experience and were motivated to use the solution.
Helps residents age in place
Nearly 90% of seniors want to stay in their current living conditions as they age without upheaval so they can remain as independent as possible. Bringing on board the right rehab equipment can keep residents more mobile and independent, supporting them to be healthy, happy, and age in place.
In the webinar, Rebecca shares how by improving care with innovative medical solutions, a senior living community can also prevent residents’ decline and reduce the speed of progression through to skilled nursing facilities. This is particularly important for life care facilities that provide accommodation, personal, social services, and healthcare for life.
Reduces falls
A top concern for all facilities serving the senior community is fall prevention. According to the CDC, about 36 million falls are reported among older adults each year, resulting in more than 34,000 deaths.
Identifying and implementing rehab equipment that is clinically proven to reduce falls, is one way a senior living community can set its services apart. With over 20 peer-reviewed publications, the GaitBetter platform featured in the webinar has been shown to reduce falls by up to 70%.
Decreases costs
Choosing the right rehab equipment can support a senior living community to reduce overall costs. By focusing on safety and fall reduction technologies, IL and AL communities can keep residents independent, healthy and happy. This increases the length of stay, while also avoiding expenses from legal liabilities and reputation issues due to falls.
For SNFs, smart rehab equipment can also provide significant outcomes in a short period of time. Designed for both safety and fall reduction, GaitBetter is a highly cost-effective solution to support senior living communities to stand out.
Helps tackle staffing shortages
Nearly every nursing home (99%) and assisted living community (96%) in the U.S. is facing a staffing shortage. A similar situation is seen in CCRCs. In response to COVID-19, one-third of CCRCs are using contingency workers and sign-on bonuses as short-term solutions to staffing shortages.
In the webinar, Rebecca explains how selecting the right rehab equipment is one way a senior living community can improve operational efficiency while enhancing care. These are important determinants for ensuring excellent quality ratings while keeping staff and residents happy.
Drive market differentiation in a senior living community with innovation
With an aging population and increasing prevalence of neurodegenerative disorders, senior living communities need better rehab equipment to address the growing and diverse needs of residents. With growing staffing shortages to support care, innovative technologies provide communities with new approaches to both differentiate their service offerings, and streamline operations while keeping residents happy and independent.
Watch the full webinar on this topic or to learn more about GaitBetter’s evidence-based motor-cognitive technology featured in the webinar, please schedule a demo.