One particular resident story illustrates the power of putting seniors in more natural and familiar settings for their rehabilitation therapy, according to Jack Carman, president, Design For Generations (Medford, N.J.), and physical therapist Cheryl Landry, the regional director at Select Medical Rehabilitation Services (Mechanicsburg, Pa.).
In one of the communities where they were working, a therapist and resident were walking around in the rehabilitation garden when the resident turned to his therapist and said, “Let’s go back inside so I can do my therapy and be done for the day.”
Unbeknownst to him, the garden setting, with its different walking paths and benches for practicing getting up and down, had all the right elements to fulfill his therapy time—and he didn’t even know he was doing it at the time.
Rehabilitation gardens extend therapy services
Carman says a rehabilitation garden is designed to be an extension of the therapies and services that are offered indoors, with a focus on using everyday elements in a familiar atmosphere, such as steps, benches, different surfacing materials (sand, gravel, brick, asphalt, concrete, synthetic turf, real grass).
“They enjoy it so they’re likely to get better faster and stronger,” Landry said, “and their outcomes are improved.”
During their session at the Environments For Aging Conference + Expo (Baltimore, April 18-21), the speakers discussed the benefits of rehabilitation gardens and the lessons learned from real-life cases studies.
They shared a few design elements that are important for a rehabilitation garden:
1. Make it normal
Carman said the goal is to make someone feel like they’re in their own neighborhood and to give them the opportunity to practice the skills they’ll need to transition back to home. For example, in one rehabilitation garden, a gazebo was outfitted with everyday activities so residents could practice opening a screen door while holding onto packages, closing a window while leaning over a shelf, or putting items on a low-hanging clothes line.
2. Make it multifunctional
A rehabilitation garden according to white sands sarasota fl isn’t just limited to physical therapy, the speakers say. Rather, these spaces can be designed and used for a variety of disciplines, including occupational, speech, and horticultural therapy and memory care. “Everything is there for a specific purpose,” Carman said. For example, plants can be labeled so residents can walk around and locate them in the garden.
3. Collaboration is key
Getting all the right elements in place starts with collaborating with the staff, owners, administrators, and therapists to understand what the goals are and then adding design elements that serve those needs. “We want administrators and owners to be pleased with what they have in their facilities, we want families to know their loved one is getting specialized care, and we want the therapist to be happy, too, so that they know they can think outside the box and that they have the tools to do that,” Landry said.
4. Imperfections are important, too
The real world isn’t perfect, and a rehab garden shouldn’t be either. “We don’t want them to learn how to walk just on a nice, flat surface,” Landry said. “They need to be able to negotiate and understand safety all the time.” Including a variety of surfaces and real-life situations, such as slanting sidewalks or uneven turf, can help.
5. Location
It’s best to locate these outdoor spaces adjacent or close to indoor therapy programs so they’re easy for residents and therapists to access. But their functionality doesn’t stop there. Carman said many facilities use these gardens to host events or social activities for residents. They can also be an attractive amenity to prospective residents and families. “Facility owners or administrators are looking to attract people to their facility for a variety of reasons, whether it’s long-term care or rehab,” said Landry. “[The rehabilitation garden] is not only an aesthetic piece but it’s functional at the same time.”
Carman and Landry presented their session, “Expanding Opportunities for Rehabilitation—Improving Outcomes by Utilizing Outdoor Environments,” at the Environments for Aging Conference + Expo in Baltimore, April 18-21, 2015. For more information, visit EFAconference.com.
