Kirklees Council’s Post

Before deciding to age in place, it's important to consider various factors that will create a safe and comfortable living environment. #foreverhome #accessible #equitable #inclusive #eldercare #eldercareplanning #AgingInPlace #AIP #UniversalDesign #Housing #HousingSolutions #Design #DesignMatters #Elder #Elderly #ElderHousing #Boomer #BoomerConsumer #BabyBoomer

This is not a wheelchair accessible bathroom and yet this is the bathroom in our rental apartment that I will have to contend with when I do eventually return from the hospital with my healing broken leg. Even at its tidiest—I haven’t been home in a month, hence the mess 😅—my power wheelchair takes up the entire open floor area making it difficult for me to do basic functions or for a caregiver to help me. With all the focus on new housing construction, why are we still building bathrooms like this? Or spaces that are even smaller? Why do building codes permit the construction of spaces that are almost guaranteed to be inaccessible to an aging population and their changing health needs? These are the questions I’ve been contemplating as I lay in this hospital bed both longing and dreading to go home… Read more in my latest post: https://lnkd.in/gjVeGpYD

I learn something new every day. This was interesting. Did you know that dementia patients will not cross over large areas of black floor tiles? The black tiles, like the border in the photo below (sorry, blurry photo!), interfere with their depth perception. The reason is that it makes the ground look uneven or even like there are holes. We do one type of flooring for every building in this development. Type. Color. Pattern. Except for the dementia unit. Here, we installed everything except we included a black border around the perimeter of the halls. This way, dementia patients are encouraged to stay in their units and not wander around. Fascinating! Let’s talk flooring for your facilities. #flooring #nursinghomes #commercialspaces #multifamily #construction #flooringsolutions

Hiding The Stranger In The Mirror #dementiacaregiver #dementiadesign #healthcaredesign #NORCs The book, ''Hiding the Stranger in the Mirror'' by Dr Cameron Camp offers wit and compassion as readers act as detectives and are given the tools and the resources to understand why persons with dementia do what they do and how to solve their own cases. More importantly, the stories lead the reader to new ideas, new ways of thinking, and a new attitude towards persons with dementia. In particular, people's reactive behaviours when confronted with their reflection in a bathroom mirror. For instance, at a respite centre - that man is wearing my sweater! Or, asking, who is that man staring at me? Or having conversations with a person they do not know, and so forth. It is common practice in environmental design for dementia to avoid mirrors in bathrooms. Simultaneously, the Universal goal is to de-institutionalise bathroom design. It is also accepted practice that hanging artwork that the person themself has chosen in their bathroom will help them to recognise their room. The National Aged Care Design Principles and Guidelines, Minimal Clutter 1.2, asks us to avoid mirrors in community spaces, including bathrooms outside resident rooms. Therein lies the problem: the time and cost of constantly rehanging people's property and heirlooms that turn nursing staff and maintenance people into decorators and art hangers, for which they are not trained. Instead, a Tile Mural can act as a window out that breathes freshness, a sense of space and well-being into a bathroom environment. Ad to this, art is culture, contrast and homelike style. Our custom-made Tile Murals offer residential aged care providers or developers of NORCs a way to cut maintenance costs, prevent reactive behaviours and bring beauty into people's lives so staff can focus on person-centred care. Tailored Artworks are presently working on a blinds solution to Hide The Stranger In The Mirror. So stay tuned! Let us know what you think in the chat. Center for Applied Research in Dementia Dementia Australia Dementiatrainingcentre ArcMedia Ltd ACCPA Care & Ageing Well Expo The Dementia Centre Dementia Support Australia Dementia Summit Dementia Care Specialists at Crisis Prevention Institute, Inc. #hidingthestrangerinthemirror Liz Fuggle Dr. Tuwanda Green, AIA Dr. Simon Pedzisi Shilo de Bono Zena O'Connor, PhD Kate Todd Bo XIA Alan Cubbon

Designing spaces for individuals living with dementia requires careful consideration of various factors to ensure safety, comfort, and well-being. Here's a checklist:

With the design of Care Home bedrooms, there seems to be 2 main schools of thought in the uk (at least with new build schemes) ............ 🛌🏻 The first, is that the bed shouldn't be visible from the corridor to protect the resident's privacy & dignity (shown in this sketch as option 1). The other school of thought, is that the bed should be clearly visible as you enter the room (option 2). If you're in the Care Home sector I'm interested in your experience ( and I’ve even worked out how to set up a LinkedIn poll.....I hope 😁) I've worked on different Care Home projects where the client's generally had a firm view in favour of one or the other of these approaches. What is your experience or view? ❓ Do you go for option 1 or 2? Stirling University in their 'Intersection of Dementia & Design' course are very clear that for dementia patients, option 2 should be used. Their principles are, that for someone with dementia, being able to see the use of a room, before entering it, is really important, and can mean the difference between that person entering the room, or not. It's also felt that being able to see their own bed from the corridor helps the resident recognise their room before entering. The other benefit of option 2 is that it's easier to get a direct sightline from the bed to the wc. So why is that important? 🚽 Well in research it was found that residents with dementia were 8 times more likely to use the wc at night, if they could see it from the bed, than if they couldn't. That's quite a staggering statistic, and clearly something that would help with an older person's dignity and wellbeing. Not to mention reducing the amount of time that staff would spend dealing with accidents in the night. So do you tend to use option 1 or 2 and why?

The National Aged Care Design Principles and Guidelines came into effect on 1 July, but don't be overwhelmed by the task at hand. Even small changes will take you 'closer to better'. If you’re looking for changes you could make right away to a residential aged care facility, there are plenty of options that are quick and won't blow the budget. Find out 6 changes you can make immediately in response to the guidelines in our handy blog: https://hubs.li/Q02HKS9j0

The "2030 problem" (so it's called) when all baby boomers will be over 65 and account for 20% of the population, requires thoughtful and #affordable solutions for this growing need for access to healthcare services and #seniorhousing that support care with dignity. Be it the “Green House” model (small, self-contained residences serving multiple residents) or in-home care, opportunities to innovate the design of assisted living and dementia will grow in 2024. Gensler #seniorlivingdesign #2030 #aging https://lnkd.in/eSQhSqVt

Considering the current costs of moving or building a new house, an increasing number of Americans staying in their home later into life. All too often we see homeowners that are stuck with the floorplan and features they fell in love with when they purchased their home 20 or 30 years ago, that no longer suit their needs. One great solution to these issues is accessibility-focused remodeling with a CAPS Contractor. These remodels take your existing space and redesign and modernize it, all with the goal of adding accessibility and safety. Features like nonslip flooring, grab bars for support, lowered sinks and vanities, and curbless showers are all options that can increase you or your loved one's comfort and safety at home, and almost always at a lower cost than a live-in nurse or attendant. Our newest post in our Learning Center quickly runs through our top requests for CAPS related remodels: https://hubs.ly/Q02kJY3q0

Caring for aging family members likely means home renovations. Here are six ways to improve handicapped accessibility.