CREJ

July 2020 — Health Care & Senior Housing Quarterly — Page 13 www.crej.com Cappella Living Solutions is a management and consulting resource for both for-profit and not-for-profit senior living communities. • New development services • Consulting - Operations-related assessments as well as sales & marketing • Management services Call us today 720.684.4600 CappellaLiving.com PARTNERING WITH YOU TO EXPAND POSSIBILITIES Senior Housing & Care C OVID-19 has exposed senior housing design shortcomings. Historically owners and developers have placed high importance on lifestyle amenities or aging-in-place strategies because these have been very important from a marketing perspective as well as resident satisfaction perspective. Until recently, both topics were relevant because they address design trends that meet the consumer expectations of family members and friends making these housing choices for their loved ones. Then suddenly the coronavirus invaded our country, attacking our most vulnerable population: senior citizens. Daily, the evening news covered stories of high infections, morbidity and mortality in nursing homes and places of care for the elderly. The consumer priorities shifted toward life safety that included infection control. Designs that address infection control usually are a consideration in most senior living environments but never to the degree that is emphasized in hospitals, medical office buildings and other ambulatory facilities. Building codes that address health, safety and welfare only indirectly address infection control. These concerns are generally reviewed by the local or public health authority in addition to the state compliance agencies regulating the health care facility. Obviously, skilled nursing facilities have more regulations than independent or assisted living environments. This may change in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. Prior to COVID-19, senior living designs prioritized accessibility, social connection and amenities that made it feel like home. Social distancing was a bit of an unknown human behavior, at least in the USA. Few facilities offered queuing, isolation or containment space. The goal had been to create beautiful spaces where people connect, touch and share experiences. While these basic psychological needs are still very important, designers are challenged to re-evaluate and find design innovations that make the facilities safer than ever while facing COVID-19 realities, not to mention future superbugs yet unknown. Who better can address these new concerns than interior designers with acute care design experience? The most intense attention to infection control comes from designers working in hospital settings. I had the good fortune of being a founding member and national president of the Academy of Healthcare Interior Designer, where designers generally focus their practice on either senior living or acute care design. Both groups are required to meet rigorous testing and professional experience standards to earn advanced certification. These professionals demonstrate design intersections where knowledge is freely shared, that improve patient outcomes, and enhance living and working environments, based on evidence-based design data. Design professionals will provide owners and developers with improved designs that re-establish consumer confidence. Design trends for senior living environments are in part the attempt to replicate some of the amenities of the resident’s former home while realizing that evidence shows that design amenities improve the residence experience as well as their mental and physical health. For example, the trend toward more outdoor amenities is growing. We have known for a long time that walking trails de-stress the resident and provide needed exercise. The introduction of firepits as a connection spot is similar to outdoor dining spaces. All too often there is a clear “inside” or “outside” space in which windows or doors are the transition elements. Imagine designing these spaces connected by wide bifold glass doors, that integrates the interior and exterior space, providing easy accessibility and improving air quality and safety. Outdoor fitness centers are a new trend and the same design techniques can be applied to interior fitness centers that are open to the exterior. This open- air approach is a better infection control strategy for places where the residents share experiences. Interior meeting places such as the dining rooms and lobbies in both hospitals and in senior living centers will require redesign to meet social distancing requirements. Large impressive “statementlike” rooms will change Design intersections to solve housing shortcomings Top Five Covid-19 Assessment Questions 1. How can I communicate direction, policies and protocol using graphics and signage for a safe environment? 2. When arriving, does my facility have year-round screening portals with required storage for equipment and supplies? 3. Where can I make immediate facility improvements that enable improved social distance behaviors? 4. What can be changed in my mechanical system to make my facility safer? 5. Which services could be opened or moved to the exterior to benefit from fresh air? Dan Lee, AIA, IIDA, NCARB, NCIDQ Project executive, FreemanWhite Please see Lee, Page 19

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MzEwNTM=