Digital Signage for Senior Living Communities
The United States is home to about 28,900 assisted living communities that cater to a rapidly aging population. Most of these communities have yet to adopt digital communication tools, and they still use posters and traditional whiteboards to share information with residents, staff, and guests. The amount of time required to update these manual mediums can be substantial, leaving employees overworked and overwhelmed.
Seniors are also increasingly tech-savvy, with over 60% of Americans over 65 owning smartphones and having broadband at home. As such, senior living residences must adopt new technology to suit the changing needs of residents. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the need to promptly deliver crisis messages to enhance retirement communities’ health and safety.
Digital Signage for Long-Term Care Residences
Digital signage uses LED, LCD, projection, and other display technologies to televise visuals for marketing or educational purposes. In senior living communities, the technology describes the strategic positioning of digital screens in game rooms, hallways, lobbies, dining rooms, living areas, and other locations to communicate with dwellers and employees.
Typically, senior living communities have robust activity schedules. Digital signs are the ideal platforms to inform residents of upcoming events and make them feel like part of a community. Overall, digital signage creates the perfect opportunity to streamline communication within long-term care residences.
Use Cases
Digital signage solutions have numerous applications in senior living residences, whether you want to improve internal communication with staff or enhance your residents’ quality of life. These applications include:
1. Digital Lobby Signs
Your lobby makes a critical first impression among guests and potential staff members. Digital signs at the reception area modernize your brand and give you a competitive edge.
Furthermore, lobby signs show customized welcome messages that calm first-time residents and loved ones. By streaming virtual tours, video testimonials, and a slideshow of your well-trained team, families are more at ease with leaving their seniors in your living facilities.
2. Wayfinding Signs
Navigation is vital in care facilities because some residents have memory issues and need to get to different rooms without worrying staff. Thankfully, digital wayfinding signs empower senior residents to explore their surroundings via turn-by-turn directions. Place these signs in high-traffic areas like hallways, game rooms, welcome areas, and around elevators.
3. Digital Building Directories
A digital directory at the entrance displays the building layout and helps guests find residents’ rooms, offices, caregivers, and amenities. As a result, guests quickly find their way around without bothering employees.
Digital directories are easy to update, meaning that the displayed information is always up to date to reduce confusion among guests. Consider touchscreen kiosks if you have a sprawling, multi-floored facility for wayfinding since they allow visitors to explore virtual tours and map their way to their destination.
4. Digital Menu Boards
Digital menu boards keep residents updated on the day’s menu and promote specials. Updating menus is effortless with a content management system, and you can schedule menus for future dates if your offerings change daily. In addition, you can add nutritional information to help residents make healthier choices and comply with legislation.
5. Breakroom Signs
Digital signage is an excellent internal communication tool since it provides a direct line to share information with staff. A successful and profitable senior care facility needs a highly-organized and motivated team.
You can easily communicate standard procedures, best practices, company values, training opportunities, and upcoming events with breakroom signs. As a result, team members receive the information required to do their jobs effectively and provide excellent care to residents.
Content Types
Digital signage technology lets you push any content to different screens to keep staff and residents educated and involved. This content includes:
1. Daily Activities
Typically, senior living communities offer numerous daily activities to keep residents active. For example, residents can choose between dancing, gardening, swimming, yoga, chess, field trips, and outdoor excursions. However, new and existing residents don’t always know the available activities if your facility doesn’t have proper communication channels.
Digital signage for senior living broadcasts activity schedules and encourages residents to sign up. With a recall rate of 83%, digital displays ensure seniors are always up to date with classes and activities.
2. Healthcare Tips
Digital signage is an ideal platform to reinforce health and hygiene tips. For instance, remind seniors to stay up to date with screenings and vaccinations, eat vegetables and fruits, take supplements, enjoy the outdoors, and maintain good sleep habits.
3. Personalized Welcome Messages
Family members experience a lot of anxiety when leaving their loved ones in nursing homes and senior care residences. Moreover, new residents may not know what to expect in your community.
Thankfully, digital welcome boards let you customize welcome messages, share your brand values, and introduce your staff. In this way, residents assimilate quickly while loved ones leave your facility at ease because you demonstrate that their seniors are in good hands.
4. Resident Milestones
Digital signs spread joy in senior living communities by celebrating residents’ special occasions. Birthdays, anniversaries, and volunteer tenures are great content ideas to make seniors feel loved and appreciated. Further, celebrating milestones encourages interaction between residents as they keep learning more about each other.
5. Daily Menu
Seniors are more likely to make better food choices if you inform them of all their options. Traditionally, a whiteboard listed the day’s menu, but there were often legibility issues. Instead, deploy digital menu boards in meal rooms to show seniors what’s for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
6. Entertainment
Digital signage can be fun too, by live streaming social media feeds and community events. Also, include funny YouTube videos, weekly fun facts, movies, and soothing music backgrounds.
7. Emergency Notifications
Emergencies occur unexpectedly. Getting emergency information to staff and residents as soon as a fire, gas leak, or intrusion happens is critical to keeping everyone staff.
The ability of digital signs to show real-time notifications makes it invaluable during emergencies. In practice, emergency messages override the usual digital signage content, directing everyone to safety and offering life-saving tips.
Benefits of Senior Living Digital Signage
The major advantage of digital signage over printed signs is that you can update it as often as you wish. This convenience brings about numerous benefits, such as:
1. Streamline Internal Communication
Proper staff communication is critical in senior living communities because dwellers have unique lifestyle needs. Fortunately, digital signs streamline employee communication by sharing shift schedules, health and safety protocols, training opportunities, and internal metrics. Further, patient information boards in residents’ rooms showcase a senior’s allergies and medications to help caregivers deliver exceptional care.
2. Effective Advertisement
Like any other business, senior living communities must market their services to attract new residents. Digital lobby signs engage visitors with virtual tours and a slideshow of your standout activities and facilities. Further, digital displays highlight your team and their qualifications.
3. Reduce Expenses and Workload
Senior care residences spend a lot of money to print flyers and posters that quickly become irrelevant. In comparison, digital signs eliminate the expenses required to design and print paper flyers and offer revenue streams since you can sell ad space on your screens. Moreover, employees enjoy more time and reduced workload since they don’t have to create new daily flyers.
4. Promote Community Culture
Lastly, digital signage encourages interaction among residents by highlighting upcoming events and classes. Keeping residents happy and active is the best way to boost cohesion in your facility. So, use dynamic content on vivid screens to inspire seniors to get involved, share family photos and videos, and broadcast local news.
Senior Care Benefits Greatly From Digital Signage
Digital signage makes it easier for care providers, residents, and family members to access important information. To get started, invest in powerful digital signage software, media players, and high-quality screens. Then, experiment with different content, such as social media feeds, videos from community events, wellness tips, and event schedules.
