Retirement villages
steam rooms and gyms key to that, but also the team and equipment involved. An empty pool does not equal healthy residents.
At Inspired Villages, we have what we call a team of ‘wellness navigators’. When residents move into the village they can discuss their fitness goals and the wellness navigators can recommend a course of activity to help. Our residents have found that particularly useful for when they need to get fit for surgery and to rehabilitate quickly afterwards. We would recommend fitting a gym out with specialist equipment that can be tailored to the needs of older users. After considerable research, we chose to partner with eGym. Once set up by a team member, it is not intimidating to use and acts as a virtual personal trainer, adapting fitness and strength exercises to each user.
We have eGym equipment in three of our six operational villages and we have seen an average strength increase in users of 35 per cent, which is particularly important given the UK Chief Medical Officer’s call for more focus on strength activities.
The accessibility of eGym equipment also means more residents are using it than residents in our other three villages that have more traditional kit. We even have one 103-year old resident using the eGym equipment three times a week, always dressed in a three-piece suit! Another technology innovation in the gym is our cardio wall. This interactive wall has different settings that allows
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people of all abilities to engage with tapping the lights as they flash around the different parts of the wall. So, someone in a wheelchair using a stick to tap the lights can use the wall just as someone more mobile and fit, enabling it to be an enriching experience for everyone and leads to competition between the residents. It is also a fun, popular draw for the grandkids when they visit. We know for certain having tested eGym equipment out in half of our operational villages that this will be rolled out across all our future sites going forward.
5. Provide support for residents I have talked a lot about the village, and what the communal offering should be like for residents, but what about the homes themselves? What makes them ‘age-appropriate’?
The vast majority of our residents are looking to downsize to a more manageable property from big family homes that are now empty, or, as we prefer to call it, ‘rightsize’. That means being able to offer apartments and cottages between one and three bedrooms in size, which allows room for residents and visitors should they wish. From an interior design point of view, small but important details such as windowsills that are not too high, plug sockets that are not too low, wide staircases in the cottages for a stairlift installation and wider doorways for potential wheelchair use are obvious things to consider. Also consider
installing bathrooms with the WC pedestal at a higher level than normal and showers that are large enough for wheelchair access.
Technology can be also used to help retirement village teams support residents. We currently have tablets in each home that provide a way of sending important messages from the village teams to every resident. This system also allows us to discreetly check that all is well. If a resident does not ‘check in’ that all is well on their tablet one day, the village team will be alerted and make a discreet call to ensure everything is alright. Having an alert system like a pendant or alarm that residents can press that goes to a 24/7 support service like Careline is also a good way to help residents feel supported and reassure their loved ones they are living safely in a retirement village. Residents often report that worried children are no longer ringing them multiple times a day to check they are OK because they feel secure in the knowledge Mum or Dad is safe.
As smart home technology develops, there is scope for further integration into retirement villages. How much more convenient would it be if our residents had the option to open and close curtains or turn lights on or off with their voice, particularly if mobility becomes an issue for them?
Finally, high speed wi-fi is an important addition to any retirement village to make technology more accessible for both residents and the village teams supporting
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com • November 2020
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