As modern families see more and more parents in the work force, not only are they leaving at home, or in the care of other people, their children, but also their parents. In 2019 the 65 and over population of the United States stood at 54.1 million people. This large section of our society has been growing and is expected to continue to grow as medical technology improves along with diagnostic measures to extend the length of human lives. Unfortunately, many families are unable to juggle the duties of being care givers to their children and to their parents while also maintaining full time employment outside the home. Luckily, assisted living facilities exist to remove some of that burden. However, gaining the trust of a family to ensure their loved one’s care to a stranger may be a difficult task. One way to provide exceptional care and to exhibit to the families of the facility’s residents your dedication to their loved one’s safety is through exceptional safety and security systems. From fire protection to security systems using video surveillance and access control to advanced nurse calling systems, the options are almost endless as to the protective services available to assisted living facilities or retirement homes used to guaranty the safety of their residents.
Life Saving Fire Protection
Retirement homes face a unique set of challenges when it comes to maintaining the safety and security of their residents. These challenges are unique because of the large number of residents and the various mental and / or physical handicaps that they may face which do not allow them to evacuate a facility during a fire emergency in either a timely manner or at all without direct assistance.
Because of this, retirement homes require fire protection systems that are optimally functioning, regularly inspected, and provide full protection coverage to the entire facility. Proper fire protection systems would include fire alarms, fire hydrants, fire pumps, fire sprinkler systems, fire extinguishers. Each component of the fire safety system offers crucial levels of protection for the vulnerable residents against the severity of a sudden fire.
A Total Solution will work with the facility managers and supervisors from start to finish, top to bottom, to ensure that your system not only meets any budgetary constraints, but most importantly, meets the needs of all of the residents. ATS will handle the installation of all components, the maintenance and repair of all components, and also any federal or state mandated inspections. ATS understands what it takes to gain the trust of families and facility leaders by providing service you can rely on in the face of danger.
Preventative Tips: Security Systems
While fire safety is certainly a key component to any full safety and security system, assisted living facilities also need to safeguard their residents from other manners of danger, including protecting them from themselves as well as from any unauthorized visitors to the facility. Modern technology has afforded us many luxuries, including the ability to fully control access to a facility along with its various areas and also to monitor the facility and its residents and employees remotely. These high tech security systems allow facility operators to go so far as to provide specific protocols for individual residents, allowing certain people access to some areas, while limiting access to individuals who may not be mentally or physically capable of having access to that area, for instance the great-grand father with Alzheimer’s Disease who has a tendency to wander. Naturally, the facility supervisors and the families want to ensure he is not able to wander away from the facility. To that end, facility owners are able to install systems that allow them to provide access to unmonitored areas for some individuals, while limiting access to unmonitored areas to other individuals. All of this is done via a monitoring device that attaches to the patient, which acts as a virtual fence, limiting access to areas that may be deemed dangerous to that specific resident.
Further, a security system that includes access control, remote security control, CCTV, and system monitoring will ensure that the residents are safe in their facility from any possible threats, inside or outside the retirement home. Video monitoring and access control provide constant supervision over pharmaceutical and medical supply areas. Video surveillance provides supervision to all entries and exits for the facility, keeping an eye out for intruders and wandering or lost residents.
Nurse Calling Made Easier
Retirement homes and assisted living facilities rely on nurse calling systems to alert nurses to sudden issues with residents. These systems are important, not only to the health of the resident and the liability of the facility, but also to the resident’s ability to maintain some sort of independence as his or her life shifts to a new daily reality and routine. Nurse calling systems allow residents to have constant access to medical care without the requirement of remaining in bed.
Like most of today’s tech, nurse calling systems can be hard wired or wireless. This wireless technology may integrate with the security system in place to track and monitor residents as they move about the facility. Instead of relying on a hard-wired wall nurse calling button, this method of nurse calling allows the resident to have access to nursing staff anywhere in the facility.
While wireless systems may be all the rage, there is a lot to be said for regular hard wired systems. These systems do not rely on internet access or batteries in order to function. They are hardwired to the wall, typically in resident’s bedrooms and bathrooms. The signals go directly to the nurse’s station, alerting staff to the situation. The hard wired nurse calling system may be ideal for an assisted living facility looking to keep costs low, as these systems are easier and cheaper to maintain.
ATS eases the pressure placed on facility owners to provide exceptional security for its residents. By employing skilled, certified technicians, ATS guarantees exemplary service that does not stop just because the installation is complete. ATS installs, maintains, repairs and inspects most of the top brand fire protection, security system, and nurse calling systems on the market today. Their customer care does not end there. They also provide 24/7, 365 days per year (plus Leap Day when applicable) emergency assistance for any issues that may arise with the systems in place at your facility.
As the safety of your residents is paramount to us, ATS is ready to work with you to ensure you have the right safety and security protocols in place for your assisted living facility. Contact us today to speak with an expert technician.