When we built PioneerCare Center, we created a living environment where people could experience a new model of care and support.
Still, what we know now informs our effort to do even better for the people we serve.
Private rooms are and will increase in demand. This is what nursing home residents and their loved ones want, and for good reason. Clinical evidence points to private rooms as creating improved sleep, enhanced privacy, a sense of home, and a feeling of control. Conversion to private rooms will benefit 16 residents, bringing the total number of private rooms from 85 to 101. PioneerCare will continue to offer a limited number of shared rooms for couples or others who prefer such accommodations
A Place of Her Own
When Jan, a retired nurse, came to PioneerCare the only available room was one with a roommate.
Liz, PioneerCare’s social worker responsible for leading people through admission, notes that most people benefit from having their own private space.
“It’s significant to a person’s wellbeing,” Liz says. “The two who share a room may have very different needs and besides those physical aspects, including those related to infection control, sharing personal space can have negative psycho-social implications leading to anxiety or depression.”
Jan says she dealt with considerable anxiety during that first month of sharing a room. She was worried that if it didn’t work out, she wouldn’t have another place to go. She had already given up her home and wasn’t able to return there anyway due to her health issues.
“We weren’t at the same level of care in that room. And when the physician came in, there was no privacy,” Jan said. She looked forward to moving to her own space as soon as possible when she was told that was an option. “I love it down here,” she said of her new place in PioneerCare’s Birch Lake household. “Within a week it felt like home – and the staff is marvelous.”
Two Ways You Can Help Today!
Learn More About Our Capital Campaign
Download, print, read & share about “Securing The Future”.
Still have questions?
Read our most commonly asked questions about our new and exciting capital campaign.
