Communication remains as one of the keys to the optimal management of assisted living facilities. Much of this really hinges on the given fact that assisted living facilities are essentially communities unto themselves. And what can better hold a community together than consistent, steady communication? In senior living communities this persists as a continuing challenge unless viable and efficient solutions like digital signage software are utilized.
These digital signage solutions, after all, focus on enriching the social aspect of any community, group, or establishment. That is the very essence of their conception, as proven by their myriad applications. To highlight this, we will discuss how digital signage software improves communication in most assisted living facilities.
But before we do so, we need to outline the exact communication gap problems that most assisted living facilities have to put up with regularly. Indeed, the healthcare industry always places importance on consistent communication, but let us find out why it is all the more crucial in a senior living community setting.
Communication Hurdles that Assisted Living Facilities Normally Need to Overcome
- Most elderly tend to lose their hearing as their age. These hearing impairments greatly impact communication, with caregivers being tempted to raise their voices just to inform and interact with their patients. This is never a recommended route to take. Consequently, this underscores the need to rely on visual cues more.
- While visual mediums of communication may be more effective, the possibility of some of the seniors having poor eyesight should not be overlooked as well. Make sure that measures are taken to ensure that they will be able to easily see the information you are relaying.
- It can also be hard to deploy communication aids without relying a lot on technology. How will you be able to ensure that you will be able to cover the entire facility when dispensing vital information? How will you catch the attention of senior citizens without having personnel talk to them face-to-face? These can be difficult without the help of more advanced solutions.
How Digital Signage Solutions Can Narrow the Communication Gap in Senior Living Communities
Knowing the communication issues prevailing in assisted living facilities, it should give you a good inkling as to why it can be hard to address them. That said, senior living digital signage solutions definitely serve as one of the most effective tools that you can use to fill the said gap. To prove this, we outlined how facilities have benefited from their applications:
1. Allows information to be easily spread.
As an administrator, you can, for instance, use digital signage software for Smart TV positions in your facilities. You can place these monitors in spots and areas that your residents regularly go to on a daily basis.
his way, when you make an announcement through them, you will not have to worry that someone might miss your message. This applies to whenever you are trying to relay important announcements, changes in activity schedules, or information related to health and treatments.
2. Can include various forms of media like images, videos, and slideshows.
This effectively solves the second common communication problem said above. Images and videos can relay information better than walls of text. At least, this applies to most seniors who would prefer not to strain their aged eyes while trying to understand what you are communicating. Slideshows, on the other hand, showcase a natural smoothness in transition, with speeds that are easily adjustable to make more senior-friendly.
Overall, these media engage the residents more as well. It’s not for nothing that digital signage corporate communications also use them. They can easily arrest the attention of anyone, regardless of age, as good as any great public speaker can. The fact that you won’t have to hire someone to do this for you only underlines the perks that they impart.
3. Makes the community more interactive and fun.
And what could encourage better communication more than mixing it with a bit of interactivity? Certain TV menu board software can be modified to not only reveal the current menu that will be served for the day but present it in a manner that is more interesting too.
The same goes for when you are announcing activities and for every succeeding day. Feel free to experiment on how you will be dispensing this information to the residents. Administrators can introduce twists in such a way that the seniors will look forward to the announcements. It encourages them to talk and be excited about these activities, to the point that they will eagerly wait for every announcement you make.
Even as we write this, AI digital signage options are now available that cater to the more personal needs of the residents. These immediately adapt to various changing demands for more seamless communication. While most seniors may struggle with touchscreens, an equally growing number do prove that they are willing to learn how to use them. And experts suggest this will only grow as the younger generations continue to age. This only paints a clear picture of what assisted living facilities will look like in the future.
4. They are highly scalable.
Thanks to the way that they were developed, most digital signage software can adapt to your facility’s various needs over time. What’s good is that, as said above, most digital signage solutions are smoothly evolving along with the communication challenges that they are built to overcome.
And, the icing on the cake is that they are pretty much guaranteed to be cheap as well. No other technology better exemplifies this than most cloud-based digital signage software. The fact that digital signage solutions freely harness the power of these modern-day, rapidly-growing technologies only goes to show that they are built with the future in mind.
Conclusion
It becomes readily apparent that digital signage solutions not only greatly aid seniors in assisted living but their caregivers and managers as well. They serve as bonafide cost-friendly, accessible solutions to possible communication problems that might spring up in your day-to-day management of senior living communities.