It’s always hard to reach the point where a loved one needs extra care and has to leave his or her home for skilled nursing services. However, not all skilled nursing facilities are designed to deliver the same experience. Older adults who live in a household care model are part of a community that has many of the characteristics and comforts of home.
Cozy Rooms
In the household care model, residents live as part of a small group, or household, that shares a dining room, kitchen, and living room areas. A household would typically include the following:
- A living room with comfortable chairs, lamps, books, and games that create a welcoming space to spend time.
- The kitchen is a place for snacks and any quick meals that are not provided by the main kitchen of the facility.
- The dining room offers a home-like space that is different from the large cafeteria-style dining rooms found in more traditional skilled nursing models.
- Many communities also offer outdoor space for the household, such as a patio or front porch.
While the building design is key to the household care model, it is not the most important factor in making residents feel at home.
Comfort from Caregiver Relationships
Nurses, aides, and other staff purposely build relationships with residents. The same team is assigned to each household, providing continuity of care. Residents learn that they can rely on familiar faces for care and companionship, and staff members and residents plan activities together. In addition, studies show communities with a household care model have a lower staff turnover rate.
Residents Make the Schedule
There isn’t a set schedule in a household care model. Each resident decides when they want to get up, eat, and go to bed. Want to paint after breakfast, eat a sandwich mid-morning, or walk outside on a summer evening? Staff in a household care model have the flexibility to help each older adult have the day they desire.
Surrounded by Friends
The household design makes it easier to interact with other residents in the common areas, which are smaller and more home-like than larger spaces in a traditional skilled nursing facility. Residents have the option for downtime in their bedroom, while also having plenty of space to engage with others. One group may play cards, while a pair chats about a good book or sits outside.
See a Healthcare Household Up Close
Pennybyrn Healthcare Households, located between Greensboro and High Point, NC, was the first skilled nursing facility in North Carolina to offer a complete household care model. If you would like to tour the healthcare households at Pennybyrn, complete our easy online form or call 336-821-6546. Direct admission to skilled nursing, assisted living, transitional rehabilitation, and memory care healthcare households is available.