A motivated and effective staff is key to the well-being of senior living community residents, but attracting and retaining talented caregivers can be a challenge.
However, thoughtful design can go a long way toward solving this problem, according to EFA Conference speakers David Mills, president & COO of AgeWell Solvere Living (North Palm Beach, Fla.), and Isaac Wallace, design project manager of design firm Erdman (Madison, Wis.).
The pair presented the session “How the Built Environment Can Help Recruit and Retain Talented Caregivers,” at the 2024 EFA Conference + Expo, April 13-16, in Atlanta.
“When evaluating the building design to recruit and retain staff, we defined three considerations,” Wallace said. “The first consideration was design for efficiency, maximizing space utilization, and number of steps. Second was design for safety, eliminating slips and falls, and focusing on well-being. The third—and possibly the most fun consideration—centers around creating a sense of identity and culture.”
Designing for staff efficiency
Creating ease and flow should be at the forefront when designing for caregivers, the speakers said, to make staff members’ jobs easier but allows them to focus on caring for residents.
“Instead of spreading common resident amenities, like activity rooms, dining rooms, and game rooms throughout the building, there’s value in having everything visible and accessible when you first walk through the door,” Wallace said. “This not only creates a sense of vibrance and life, but allows staff to be centralized, share duties, and take less steps to provide care.”
Mills cited Celebration Village Acworth, an assisted living, independent living, and memory care community, in Acworth, Ga., as an example. Here, all common amenities are in a town center that includes dining venues, entertainment, and activities.
This layout allows the staff to remain centralized, share duties, and have fewer steps to get to the places where they are interacting with residents.
“Instead of hiding senior residents, the life of the community is visible in the first few steps, allowing staff to be more efficient and to have more efficiently designed spaces that are utilized more throughout the day,” Mills said.
Designing for staff safety
A senior living community isn’t just a dwelling, but a sanctuary of safety for seniors and caregivers. Therefore, thoughtful design elements should focus on some basic concepts such as preventing falls and minimizing situations of higher injury risk, the speakers shared during their presentation.
For example, kitchen spaces are an area where staff spend hours of their day in this space, on their feet, taking many steps. Choosing the right flooring materials can help prevent accidents caused by slips and falls. Flooring options without transition strips and better traction reduce the risk of accidents, too, the speakers noted.
Daylighting is another important design feature here and can encourage a sense of well-being, beyond the basic needs of safety.
“A lot of the projects we are involved with include some form of natural light in the kitchen,” Mills said. “When I worked as a chef, I would often work an entire shift without knowing if the sun was shining, and that is not a healthy work environment.”
Design to build work culture
Pride in the workplace is about more than making staff feel good. It’s an essential factor in employee engagement and job satisfaction.
Wallace pointed to one project, Legacy at Savannah Quarters, an assisted living and memory care community, in Pooler Ga., that includes a large mural in the bistro/bar area featuring the local high school football team.
“Very likely, the caregivers can identify the kids pictured in the mural—some might even be their own kids,” he said. “This is what we mean by identity. The kids see themselves where grandma and grandpa live and where their parents work. It’s a place to be proud of.”
Additionally, for staff to feel that sense of pride, they should have amenity spaces that allow them to take a break and feel support, the speakers noted.
“Breakrooms with the same old plastic chairs and tables are not enough,” Wallace said. “We need to create spaces that provide a sense of comfort, variety, and privacy. Access to biophilic elements, natural light, and connection with the outdoors are a necessity not a nice to have.”
Tracey Walker is managing editor of Environments for Aging and can be reached at [email protected].