This past week, our team went back to Charles Morris Nursing Home to test our design kit. Included in a large blue duffle bag was an assortment of chess pieces, markers, Yahtzee chips, and index cards. Each had a purpose in creating an ideal nursing home for future elderly residents.
We met with Carol Danhires, the Activities Director for the home. She was an insider. Her job was to work with all the residents and staff to create a sense of community in the home. There was no one better to interview. She intimately knew the ins and outs of every corner. We sat down with her for an hour and a half, took a tour of the facility, and created a plan for a better layout of the home. Because of her daily interaction with staff and residents, she knew what needed improvement.
Some of the important points that she discussed included;
– There is no wheelchair access in the activity room
– Nurses cant see patients from their station
– Furniture needs to be updated to accommodate the needs of the residents
– A lot of wasted space
– There is no storage for residents
To be honest, these are things that I would have assumed were part of the package for nursing homes. Our host mentioned that 99% of their long-term patients are in wheelchairs. Bringing in furniture that accommodates wheelchairs would have an immediate impact. Creating nursing stations that have a clear line of vision to patients would also create measureable results. When we used our creative kit to the staff to design their ideal nursing home, they came up with the design shown below. The nursing stations are centrally located with circular paths flowing around them. Each side of the building would house residents of different abilities.
Basic Layout- details to come
This is a good start for our group. There were other aspects to the layout that will be added into our recommendations. We will have to compare the needs of urban and rural homes. Patterns are starting to emerge in our research that indicates which direction we should go. Many practitioners have expressed a desire for smaller, “more local” nursing homes. Moving away from the institutionalized approach would have many benefits, but lower the profit margin. As we move forward, it will be interesting to see the various preferences in home layout.
Design and Policy 