Managing a senior care facility presents a series of challenges. From providing homes for the increased number of senior citizens in Canada to ensuring the safety and security of staff and residents alike.
In Canada, there are 5.9 million people over the age of 65 who currently need or will need care. This is an increase of 20 per cent since 2011 – a significantly greater increase than the five per cent growth experienced by the population as a whole.
Due to these obstacles facing retirement facilities, many general managers and owners are on the lookout for a nurse call system that can adapt to new challenges and provide safety and support for the increased number of senior residents. Nurse call systems allow communication between staff and residents to ensure they are cared for more attentively and efficiently.
“What we found was that there are so many different systems out there,” explained Nancy Barreira, General Manager and Co-Owner, at Manoir Rockland Manor, a retirement home situated in Clarence-Rockland, Ontario.
In 2015, Barreria was involved in the selection process for a nurse call system that would provide the flexibility and adaptability she needed to ensure the safety of her residents. She explained that she and her team had done a comparison and analysis of the various systems available, and found that the Zodiac wireless nurse call system was superior due to the quality of the product, the flexibility, its availability to update and add, as well as the constant availability/support their staff provided.
“Like any other retirement home, residents can come in quite independent, but then their needs change – and as their needs change, Zodiac is able to help with that,” she said. “[With the Zodiac system], they feel safe, they like knowing that they can just press a button and somebody will come right away. If there’s a problem, it’s resolved immediately.”
Due to her prior experience with other systems, Berreria explained that they chose Zodiac because of the quality of the product, the flexibility, its availability to update and add, as well as the constant availability/support their staff provided.
Reliability Is Key
“When it came to the system itself, it was nice to know that we can always add to it or improve it as we grow,” said Barreria. “I think that it’s a plus for us.”
Barreria explained that the Zodiac system provides a lot of flexibility, and on top of that, their support is easy to reach.
“They are always a phone call away, and you’re not waiting because it’s always a quick response,” she said. “When we call they actually answer the phone or they call back in a few minutes. That’s important to us – especially since we worked with seniors. We want to ensure their safety and security is a priority.”
According to Barreria, she and her team receive alarms and notices on their phones about the status of their residents, updates, or anything going on within Zodiac’s system.
“Sometimes they call me before I actually call, saying ‘The phone call system is down. We’re going to send somebody out to be able to work right away.’” she explained. “Technology is technology, so it’s nice to know that they’re watching as much as we’re watching.”
When Manoir Rockland Manor was first established in 2015, Barreria stated that her experience with Zodiac has been nothing but positive. Now in 2020, she said that Zodiac still continues to provide that same reliability they had from the start.
“Zodiac is always ahead of the game,” she said. “They’re always looking for new Innovation, new ideas. They have approached not just me, but my team and my nurses because they’re looking to say ‘Okay, what works? What doesn’t work?’ Which allows them to improve their system, add to it, or give us suggestions and ideas.”
For more information on the Zodiac wireless nurse call system click here
To learn how you can implement the Zodiac system into your facility call us at 1-888-745-0107