If you could build your perfect Nursing Home......how would it be?

Iwould have a nursing home each room of side of room the eact replica of there bedroom,also lets have a couch or loveseat lets make it home and the outside let there be a alz garden with shredded tires as walkway to prevent injury, how about friendly dog or two to visit residents,how about this a building for assisted living a cottagetype area for independant living and transitional ltc home setting what about those eletric fireplaces too and why must the staff wear uniform how about jeans and tshirts with logo on it with a name tag to desinate your professional area rn,lpn,cena,cota etc. how about a central area in dining with the kitchen prepartion in the center like franks house in tupulo miss. You can make these things a reality you make have to te boomers dont ant to live in instituational like setting they want there doggone internet too, believe me times wll be a changin go for your dream talk is cheap you can make it happen.

Better staffing ratios. 30 residents to 1 nurse and 3 CNAs on day shift is crazy. We are not able to meet the residents' needs by a long shot. Managers that acually care about the residents and staff. Social Service that asks the nurses about whether a new admit is apprioriate for the facility or even the room mate that they are going in with.

To the OP that stated no residents out in the hallway: There are several residents on my hall that likes to sit in the hall an watch the staff work. They enjoy this and so does the staff. We joke around and visit with these residents all the time. Most of the time these resident choose to sit out in the hall rather than an activity. Also, there are many times that my dementia residents have to come out in the hallway and sit by my cart or at the nurse's station for their safety. They will stand unassisted and they will fall if they are in their room. There just is not enough staff to allow for 1:1 most of the time and these residents will not remember to ask for help, so we do what we need to do for their safety.

One of my biggest priorities would be to require that the central soiled linen and trash collection areas would be taken to an outside receptical q4h during each shift. The CNA's. nurses, wound care etc would simply walk into rooms with a bag and bag things up after any procedures and walk out with it to dump in receptical. This throwing nasty stinking soiled Depends in the residents trash can in their rooms left for 8 hrs or more is just rotten. Get it out of the building and reduce the urine/feces smell that builds up especially with all those stifling hot rooms and no fresh air coming in. This would be a marked improvement for the residents, family members, employees and anyone wishing to do a walk through to not be assaulted with "that nursing home smell."

I have thought of this many, many times. I think more CNAs are a must, and they have to be well paid. I want the staff, everyone from the nurses to the cooks, to housekeeping, to be proud that they work there.
Many places say they are resident focused, but I would truly try to be. I would like pets and live plants. Trips to favorite, local spots for those that can. More activies. Nice wheel chairs and geri-chairs. I know much of this sounds like "looks", but staffing would be so important to me. I don't want anyone to be rushed with the residents and I would want staff that really enjoyed working with the elderly.

Sounds like some of us need to start our own nursing homes! Great ideas. I have just resigned from a nursing home where I have worked for the past 10 yrs, most recently as the DON. We have had pets that whole time, big dog, lap dog, cat, birds, rabbit, hampster, etc. My employees were allowed to bring their kids to work if they behaved. The kids thought the nursing home was a great place to go to play. Some of my residents loved sitting in the hallway, however. Seemed to be their form of entertainment. I begged corporate to make a way for residents to go outside and be safe, even the most confused. They said it was too expensive. Maybe someday they'll be in a nursing home and remember that they said that. I have to have fresh air. And I hate all those medications. If there were more activities that the residents really enjoyed, they wouldn't need so many meds. As for staffing...I agree, lower ratios would be great. But my state pays so little for care that it is hard to afford. Corporate has decided to make the home less homey and more institutional. I quit because of that decision.

Everything everyone has said so far! I especially agree with flexible mealtimes (and meals...buffet-style, maybe, with several main options), flexible wake-up and bedtimes, and the Eden philosophy. Not just a couple of fake plants here and there, I want this place to be ALIVE! Edible/safe plants all over the place, and animals.
To stay away from allergies I'd have a couple of ultra-friendly resident bichon shih tzus (hypoallergenic, they have hair instead of fur and are awesome awesome dogs!) that would like to visit with people. Really nicely done up fish tanks. Arrange for lots of visitor volunteers so people get one-on-one time. Depression analysis and psych's coming in regularly to talk to the residents. Gorgeous outdoor gardens that have lots of trails to wander on. Huge windows for lots of sunlight. Single rooms.

Lots and lots of outings! People can tell you whether or not they feel like going and there could be picnics, restaurant trips, tours of the city, scenic drives, maybe trips to the mall or something...just something to get them out. Regular walks around the neighborhood for those who care to go. Travel50, I love your idea of bringing kids to work! That's really brilliant. Once I've been working at this place a bit longer (I'm fairly new) I hope I can bring this thread in to work and show them some of our suggestions! Or maybe I'll steal a suggestion sheet from work and pretend I'm a resident's daughter full of good ideas >

And I would incluse the Eden Alternative philosophy.

OH YAY! What a fun post!!!

Ok so first of all I would definitely increase the staffing ratio by A LOT. Each CNA would have 5 residents and each nurse responsible for about 10. (Not 40). This solves A LOT right here.
The residents would have the option to have a bath whenever they want one. Not just once a week and then a sponge bath the rest of the time. Then a hair salon right on site where they can go get their hair done andn nails whenever they like.
Also at night time every Resident gets a back rub with lotion if they would like.
There would be a on staff physiotherapist that helps people remain mobile as long as possible and that also provided daily range of motion to the immobile residents.
The rooms would all be private, very spacious with an INCLUDED tv and sofa for everyone. Also every room would have a very large window so the Res can see outside.
Breakfast would be chose from a menu by the Resident at the beginning of the week, there would also be an option on the menu to choose the time they would like their breakfast. The time that they get up could be coordinated with that time. Then all lunches and dinners would be take from a Restaurant style dinner. There would be one that has a menu with different selection they can order from any time of day. There would be several hot meal options as well as a variety of cold items they can have any time they like. There would also be a pub style restaurant on site where Residents can go have a drink and a meal. Oh and warm milk and cookies nightly!
Also FAR more activities are needed!

Oh and defiantly a house cat and dog for each wing of the building.

AND FAR less focus on "being sick" , "oh are you feeling sick today" blah blah blah. Much more emphasis would be put on wellness.

And no pushing pills on Residents for absolutely everything.

I could go on and on here but this is a good start

There is an awesome book called "Life Worth Living". It is about the Eden Alternative, the people who launched it, and the success stories the program has had. It is a quick read...I don't think I put it down once (mind you I am NOT a reader). If you have time pick it up, it is well worth it