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do we design for the other 363 days? Shouldn’t we design for daily living, which should include space for small groups that support family and one- on-one personal connections?
Working with elders every day teaches us that residents with vision or hearing loss function better when information is close to them. We bend down to make eye contact and speak at a close range so a resident can see, hear and respond. A large room brings with it lots of auditory and visual stimulation. Much of this arrives as muddled noise to elders, who have difficulty accurately separating out the information that is important to them. With so much going on, a resident who doesn’t see or hear well is prevented from receiving and responding to quality information. Because no one complains, it seems we assume these functional needs disappear when the children’s choir comes at holiday time, or when a large group of residents eat together in a big space.
Ideally, the household has a variety of spaces and rooms where people gather. Picture a large social gathering in your home, and you likely will conjure up images of guests conversing with one another in rooms throughout the house. Often, if the weather permits, there is overflow into the screened-in porch, deck or patio. Sometimes we set up tables and a string of lights up in the yard. This is the mindset suggested by the Household Model.
Design Principles for the Household Model
Consider using the following design principles as your organization formulates its vision of the Household Model:
Principle 1: Seek normalcy in all things.
Bringing residential patterns of life into a skilled care setting means letting go of institutional thinking. This impacts every decision we make about the environmental features in the home. Eliminate the institutional sterility. As you make design choices, once again, use Bump’s Law. Ask: What does the resident want? How did the resident do it at home? How do we do it at home? How should we do it here? If what you are planning doesn’t pass the Bump test, rethink it. It must look, feel, smell and function as a true home we are all familiar with in our own lives.
Principle 2: Home is our sanctuary.
Home is one of our most valued possessions. It reflects who we are and our relationships with people around us. There must be personalized spaces within the household for both the individual and the collective
“Seek normalcy in all things”
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“Home is our sanctuary.”