The last two years of COVID-19 has made everyone consider their living space a lot more. But while most people may have been finding ways to establish work-from-home office space or a personal gym, senior living has focused on design that was uplifting and pleasing for residents as well as efficient and safety-conscious for staff. 2022’s design trends for senior living focus on the intersection of function and style for designs that elevate resident life.
Designed for Integration
There are more technological integrations in design today than ever before, especially for personal health and wellness. New tools bring wellness into the home, so resident health is part of everyday life.
Innovative tools like VSTBalance, an artificial intelligence-powered fall risk diagnostic device, allow wellness staff to assess their whole community in a fraction of the time needed for a manual fall-risk assessment. The system is light and mobile so staff can bring assessments to specific residents or campuses. But the design is also integrated into resident life with a companion app that guides residents through assigned exercises and tracks their progress.
Designed for Staff
Design in senior living often has staff benefits that aren’t apparent to residents. Updated air filtration may help to reduce the spread of colds during flu season or integrated record-keeping software ensures that each resident’s files are updated efficiently.
Low-profile monitoring systems that detect and alert staff to residents in distress have become more popular than ever. Solutions like VSTAlert, an AI-powered fall prevention solution, monitor high-risk residents for bed exits, so staff can react before a fall occurs. Unlike other monitoring options that use cameras, VSTAlert uses advanced sensors that maintain resident privacy and proactively prevent falls. The solution is completely autonomous and alerts staff immediately when a potential fall is detected.
Elevating design in senior living communities is more complex than repainting a room and updating furniture. But every year new technology, integration, and solutions arrive to make senior living safer and more enjoyable for older adults.
