What to Look for in a Top-Notch Senior Care Facility

The decision to put your loved one in an assisted living home is never an easy one. But unfortunately, sometimes it reaches a point where they can't stay at home due to serious health and safety concerns. In this case, placing them in a care facility can be a great way to improve their health and quality of life. A top-notch senior care facility will provide high-quality long-term care – allowing your loved one to interact with peers and live in a safe and secure place with help close at hand.

But you should know that assisted living facilities are not created equally. Some are better than others. So it's imperative to familiarize yourself with the qualities of a good senior living community. Knowing what to look for can help you make an informed decision. Here are some essential qualities to look out for in a top-notch senior care facility.

Sufficient staffing

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Nurses and other staff members in senior living communities play an integral role in ensuring your loved one's optima health and wellbeing. They will see to it that your loved one is as comfortable as they should be at all times. When a senior care facility is understaffed, nurses may cut corners to get the job done the best they can. Unfortunately, this might translate to neglect and abuse that may cause physical illness, mental health issues, and even death among residents.

Top-notch senior care facilities understand this fact too well. They know that sufficient staffing is key to improving patient care and nursing retention. So they always ensure that there's an adequate staff-to-resident ratio at all times.

Exercise and fitness

As your loved one grows older, it can become harder to maintain their physical fitness. But the very changes that make the physical workout more challenging also make it more vital. Top-notch senior living facilities provide a wide range of senior activities for their residents. Working out helps resolve common old-age issues. The benefits of physical activity for older adults are far-reaching, and include:

A good assisted living community maintains a schedule of senior activities for its residents. It considers their patient’s physical limitations as it motivates them to stay active with routine workouts.

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Interesting activities for residents

In addition to physical activities, a good assisted living facility will have a range of other exciting activities in daily living. It will provide different kinds of social, educative, and interactive activities. Skilled nursing facilities that offer various social activities are more likely to help senior residents overcome loneliness and feel like part of a group. These activities should accommodate the need of each individual – which can be diverse in this setting.

Comfortable and clean environment

You can tell a lot about a senior care home by just looking at its surroundings. But beyond that, there are a few critical details that you need to pay attention to. For starters, you want to check out their units and ensure that they are designed for long-term care. Then, you want to check the doorways and hallways to confirm adequate lighting and observe any obstacles or safety hazards that might exist. The spaces around the home should also be clean, tidy, and well maintained. There should be no semblance of odors like feces or urine. Most importantly, the residents should be well-groomed and their quarters should appear clean and tidy.

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The best-skilled nursing facilities invest a lot in keeping the facility as welcoming as possible. You'll see the manicured ground, safe walkways, shady and sunny areas, and outdoor seating. Their rooms are spacious and with plenty of natural light. They also have functional HVAC systems. In many cases, these facilities allow residents to bring their furnishings and family pictures to decorate their spaces. They also have common spaces where residents can interact with each other and their families too.

Safety and security

Safety and security are the most common concerns for friends and families who admit their senior loved ones into living facilities. With abuse and theft cases hitting the headlines every so often, it's essential to assess the security and safety measures that a facility has in place to protect their residents. Top-notch senior care facilities have a maximum staff-to-resident ratio to avoid overworking staff members. This reduces the neglect and abuse cases that arise due to nursing facility understaffing. It also ensures that residents don't wander or elope out of the facilities. Moreover, the best facilities also have surveillance systems to monitor all activities inside and around the premises.

Amenities

The best-assisted living communities have a wide variety of amenities to cater to their residents' vast needs. They will have a library, computer access, and a health and wellness center with personal trainers. Some even have barbershops and salons within the facility, making it easy for residents to groom their hair. Older adults also love it when they look good and can engage in activities that make them feel valued.

A strong sense of community

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You can gauge the quality of care in a home by looking at how the nurses and other staff members interact with residents. They call the residents by their name, treat them with respect and engage in conversations. The staff also encourages residents to socialize with others to enhance their quality of life. You can also rate nursing homes by looking at how welcoming it is to you and other family members. A facility where loved ones are welcome makes it easier for seniors to transition smoothly and feel comfortable in their new surroundings. Staff attention and minimum restrictions to make you feel part of the community can improve seniors' quality of life and make the home more welcoming.

Utilizes modern technology - software & wearables

A best-in-class assisted living community will often employ the latest in technology, like SeniorSense, so it can detect falls and moisture levels even as they happen. The innovative software can allow the community to see where staff is and track their progress as well as monitor conditions such as room and water temperature. It can even monitor battery life levels on wearables, smoke detectors and CO2 detectors.

 

Decision-making opportunities

Last, but not least, your loved one should have the freedom to air out their opinions regarding how they wish to sleep, dress, participate in activities and even receive care. Find out if they are allowed to socialize or dine together with other residents. Speaking about dining, top-notch senior care facilities serve visually appealing food. They also change the menu from time to time and consider the residents' health issues and their ethical and religious needs.

 

 

 

6 Products To Get You Through COVID Liability

Businesses worldwide face challenges, including lawsuits, as they struggle with the way that the novel Coronavirus has disrupted their operations, supply chains, and workforces. The litigation wave is gaining momentum, and from the look of it, no industry is immune. With that in mind, we will examine some products to get you through COVID liability concerns in this article.

Employers across the country are facing lawsuits by Coronavirus victim and their families. These victims and their loved ones contend that workplaces failed to implement measures to ensure safety on the job. Meat processing plants, nursing homes, and cruise ship operators have been sued the most during the crisis. Other companies like Amazon, McDonalds, Safeway, and Walmart have also faced charges alleging they did not do enough to protect employees.

Of course, most employers argue that they have enforced all the recommended guidelines to ensure workplace safety. They have attempted to educate and promote good hygiene and infection control practices to prevent exposure on the job. Some even remark that it’s impossible to know where or how their staff contracted the virus, considering it is in the community.

But still, COVID-19 lawsuits are ripe, and employers ought to be careful. The last thing that one wants to deal with, on top of the thinning profit margins, is costly legal fees, among other expenses that a lawsuit attracts. Indeed, COVID-19 suits may not form the basis of personal injury cases. After all, the victim may not prove that the employer passed the infection to them. With the virus widespread in so many communities and easily transmitted, this level of proof is nearly impossible.

However, this doesn’t mean that employers won’t face the consequences if they act negligently or recklessly during the ongoing public health crisis. Bad choices during these times of declared emergencies can expose them to legal problems. To minimize the pandemic's impact on workers, businesses, customers, and the public, employers need to plan adequately and integrate effective products, some of which we will discuss in this article. Before we do that, let’s ensure that we are on the same page regarding COVID-19 in workplaces.

Workplace Coronavirus exposure

The COVID-19 virus is a respiratory illness that’s easily passed from person to person. The virus has spread quickly across the US, with 10.4 million cases and 244,044 deaths reported by November 9, 2020. Although many people have lost their jobs, some are left with no choice but to work amidst workplace COVID-19 exposure fears. Employees deserve protection from the virus at work. Employers are required to take measures to protect staff from potential exposures.

With that in mind, let’s now look at how you can protect your employees. We’ll do this by listing 6 products to get you through COVID liability.

1. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

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PPE supplies are critical for preventing specific COVID-19 exposure – mainly when used alongside other prevention strategies that we’ll discuss in this article. Examples of PPE supplies are face shields, goggles, face masks, gloves, and respiratory protection. Recommendations for PPE specific to job or occupation may change based on current risk assessment for employees, geographical location, and information on its effectiveness in preventing the virus's spread.

As an employer, you should keep checking the CDC and OSHA websites for the latest recommendations of PPEs. In a nutshell, PPE supplies should be:

2. Disinfecting tunnels

wytcote disinfectant portal
wytcote disinfectant portal

Disinfecting tunnels (or sanitizing tunnels) are placed at the entrances and exits of commercial buildings to fog/spray sanitizer or disinfectant onto those entering or leaving the building. So, someone goes through a semi-enclosed area, pauses for several seconds for disinfection before entering the building.

The reasoning behind disinfecting tunnels is that, since the Coronavirus is a contagious illness, disinfecting a person’s clothes and body can protect them from contracting the virus. Spraying helps contain the pathogen’s spread.

There are many concerns about the effectiveness and safety of these tunnels. A WHO report even warned against their use because of the chemical disinfectants used. According to the report, spraying people with chlorine and other dangerous chemicals could lead to skin and eye irritation. Luckily, not all disinfecting tunnels are created equally. Some use a specially formulated solution that sanitizes individuals without affecting their physical or physiological health.

3. Sanitizing lighting

Sanitizing lighting is a great product that can help save you from potential COVID liability. It uses nanometer light to deactivate and destroy bacteria and other micro-organisms. The UVC lights (or LED in some cases) excites certain molecules in disease-causing micro-organism through photo-activation. This produces reactive oxygen species that destroy and kill the harmful cells.

UVC, a type of Ultraviolet light, is effective at killing viruses, including the SARS-CoV-2. A study by the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC) revealed that exposure to UVC light completely inactivated the Coronavirus in nine minutes.

4. COVID test kits 

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The COVID test kits allow you to perform routine internal Coronavirus testing. This means that your employees won’t have to go to the hospital to get their tests done. Having test kits handy can ensure that any case is discovered on time, thus avoiding further spread. This is especially critical during an emergency.

The good thing about COVID-19 test kits is that they are first, accurate, and convenient. You only need to be careful to find a trusted dealer – one who’s kits have Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), been independently validated, and with specificity and sensitivity of at least 95%.

5. Check-in kiosk

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wytcote kiosk

check-in kiosk is a fully automated hands-free self-check kiosk designed to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. For instance, in an airport or booking office situation, the booth allows people to scan and print their tags without touching anything other than their phones. A self-service kiosk in any environment can minimize in-person interaction, lowering the risk of transmission of virus between employees and guests or patients.

Before the pandemic, clients would walk right to the reception or front desk. But this is considered a risky practice now. A check-in kiosk minimizes the risk by negating the person-to-person interaction. When a client walks in, their first stop becomes the kiosk. They can then scan their ID or insurance card or even update information like email, phone number, and address at the booth.

Installing a check-in kiosk is a great way to show your team and other related parties that you have strengthened your hygiene protocol. These kiosks also allow you to monitor everyone who enters the facility and ensure that the workplace remains COVID-19 free.

6. Wellness kits

Wellness kits provide your employees with items for well-being. The kits include hand sanitizer, face coverings, stress ball, sleep kit, and more. Note that these items may vary depending on where you got your kits from.

 

How are Cloud Computing & IoT Related?

Cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT) are two very closely-related internet technologies that complement each other. The convergence of these two distinct technologies has derived numerous benefits, including better infrastructure, enhanced performance, and increased scalability.

Cloud computing and IoT have a complementary relationship and work best as inseparable cohorts. Cloud-based IoT allows for smart usage of information, applications, and infrastructure cost-effectively. But to understand the relationship between IoT and cloud computing, we’ll need to look at each technology separately.

What’s IoT

IoT is an ecosystem of connected devices that are accessible through the internet. With an estimated 50 billion devices connected to the internet by 2020 – and more than 75 billion projected to be in use by 2025 globally – IoT is a top consideration for forward-thinking enterprises.

IoT features different components, including:

The devices are fitted with actuators and sensors that gather data from the environment and transfer it to the gateway for pre-processing. The gateway serves a security level for the network and transmitted data. Once the data is collected, it is sent to the cloud, which is often a set of serves linked to the internet 24/7. The information then undergoes processing and becomes available through different user interfaces.

IoT bases its model in smart devices which intercommunicate in a dynamic infrastructure and global network. It facilitates ubiquitous computing scenarios. The Internet of Things is characterized by widespread devices with limited storage and processing abilities. These devices are prone to issues regarding privacy, reliability, performance and security.

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What is cloud computing?

Cloud computing is an on-demand delivery of computing power, applications, database storage, and IT resources. It allows companies to use computing resources, like a virtual machine, rather than deploying a computing infrastructure in-house.

Cloud computing is characterized by aspects like:

Cloud computing comprises an extensive network with unlimited computational power and storage abilities. It offers a flexible and robust environment that facilitates data integration from different data sources. Cloud computing has the potential to resolve almost all IoT issues.  

Cloud computing has four types of deployment models: Public Cloud, Private Cloud, Hybrid Cloud, and Community Cloud. Since businesses have varied needs, they may have to choose a cloud computing service that fits their preferences. Examples of these services include Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).

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A closer look at the relationship between cloud computing and IoT

The Internet of Things (devices, machines, and sensors) produces extensive quantities of data per second. And as we discussed, cloud computing helps in the analysis and management of this data so that companies can reap the most benefit out of their IoT infrastructure. The goal of IoT is to connect and enable communication between people, processes, and things. Cloud computing facilitates this collaboration to create greater visibility.

The fundamental idea behind cloud computing and IoT is to optimize the daily tasks, without affecting the quality of data stored or exchanged. Since the relationship is symbiotic, the two complement each other successfully. The IoT becomes the source of information, while the cloud becomes the destination for the data to be stored.

Cloud computing, with its vast models and implementation platforms, allow enterprises to analyze and manage data, improving overall efficiency and working of the IoT system. It also allows data storage and transfer through the internet or with a direct link that facilitates uninterrupted data transfer between applications, devices, and cloud.

This explains why almost most companies (96%) use cloud computing in one way or another. And with the rise of cloud platforms like Google Cloud Platform, IBM Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Services, we can only expect to see a surge in the uptake of IoT solutions. Experts believe that we’ll see lots of growth in cloud services for devices in the coming years, much of it from Google, AWS, and Microsoft, along with purpose-built clouds that device makers may share or use exclusively.

A successful partnership between IoT and cloud computing

IoT is powered by the cloud, meaning that the collection of sensor-enabled devices depends on the strength of specific cloud computing techniques to thrive. This need makes IoT a critical element in the adoption and growth of cloud infrastructure, and vice versa. Companies need to employ a cloud strategy that enables them to support IoT development if they want to leverage the new applications that will be created and delivered through cloud-based platforms.

How cloud computing augments the growth IoT 

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Increases efficiencies

One of the main ways cloud computing complements IoT initiatives is by increasing efficiencies in daily tasks. IoT generates large amounts of data, and the cloud offers a pathway for this data to travel.

Data storage

Data storage in the cloud allows IoT enterprises to adapt quickly and distribute resources in different areas. And with the emergence of big data, the cloud is now an appealing option for many companies.

Providing infrastructure

Integration of IoT and cloud enables public cloud services to grant third-parties the power to access infrastructure. This, in turn, helps IoT data or computational modules running over different devices.

Augmented performance

Big data generated by extensive IoT devices need robust performance to interact and connect with other devices quickly. The integration of IoT and cloud can offer connectivity that’s vital to share data between devices and obtain quick meaning from it.

Enhanced scalability

IoT devices need plenty of storage to share data for critical reasons. Cloud services like IBM Watson, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, etc. are some of the IoT-based cloud systems that provide consumers with greater storage that can be increased or decreased accordingly.

Remote computing power

Thanks to this technology, enterprises can expand their infrastructure and network without deploying extensive hardware. And with faster networking technologies like the 5G, teams can now accelerate the creation of real-time applications and access remote cloud computing services with a few clicks.

Pay-as-you-go

Pay as you go (PAYG) is a cloud computing payment method that enables consumers to pay for the data they store. The PAYG model allows businesses to expand their usage according to need. They also won’t have to spend money to buy provision servers or other infrastructure, thus saving on cost.

Conclusion

IoT devices generate a massive amount of data, putting a strain on internet infrastructure. Cloud computing comes in to help store, process, and transfer data in the cloud rather than connected devices. IoT and cloud computing technologies are closely associated, and when combined, can deliver powerful innovation that will continue to change the way we interact with our devices, with each other as well as how we store, manage and consume information.