Long-term care facilities aren’t meeting the current demand of senior citizens in Canada.

According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) in 2017, Canada\’s population of seniors – those aged 65 or older – will jump by 68 percent in 20 years and those aged 75 or older will double over the same time period.
A Conference Board of Canada study conducted in 2017, predicted that another 199,000 long-term care beds would be needed by 2035, compared to the 255,000 beds available in 2016.

Because of the increase of COVID-19 cases in long-term care homes and retirement homes, the Canadian Association for Long Term Care has requested funding for the construction, renovation, and retrofit of 400 long-term care homes to meet the needs of today’s senior citizens by 2023 – this includes updating their nurse call systems.

Rose Cohen, General Manager at Aquatria, has worked as a nurse for about 30 years in different facilities and environments with call bell systems. About two years ago she had started working at Aquatria and had experienced hands-on what the Zodiac wireless nurse call system was all about.

Zodiac Light Waves Inc. offers a state-of-the-art wireless nurse call system that allows for communication between staff and residents to ensure they are cared for more efficiently and attentively.

“[The current systems] are not at all up to par with the advanced technology that Zodiac is using,” explained Cohen. “I have seen [Zodiac] in a couple of facilities that I was helping set up. So when I came across them I thought, ‘oh my God, this is so unique’.”
Cohen explained that because she had heard so many positive things about the Zodiac System she was ecstatic when she learned that she was going to be working with the system.

“I was in awe of the system,” she said. “So when I came [to Aquatria] a few years later and was told that that was the system that was here, I was elated.”

The Problem with Outdated Systems

“The biggest problem with the older systems is the noise factor you would hear in the corridor,” stated Cohen. “When you\’re working in a hospital or a similar environment, noise can be a trigger for patients.”

Cohen explained that the older systems set off various bells that would ring all throughout the day. Causing stress for residents who suffered from dementia, sensory problems, and staff who would go home every day with ringing in their ears.

Zodiac recognized this as a problem, which is why they’ve removed the noise factor and replaced it with notifications that go straight to the caregiver’s phones.

“It is very important as a nurse and very important as a caregiver to be able to get to that resident where they\’re starting to feel ill or where they start to feel the need for assistance,” she said. “If they start feeling sick and they have to walk all the way to their room in order to pull that pull station; then that becomes a problem.”

Cohen firmly believes that a lot of systems in the medical field are far too outdated for the modern times we live in.

“We were working with a dinosaur-type system, and even when they upgraded the system, the facility did not choose a system like Zodiac,” explained Cohen about a previous facility. “They chose a system similar to what they had. I guess it was a financial decision. But to me, it was not an efficient one. If you\’re going to invest in something, you have to invest in something that will grow. I think I have that with the Zodiac system.”

Adaptable Technology

“What kept me up at night was that we\’re still working with a system that was not state-of-the-art and our residents were still suffering,” she said.

Cohen explained that one of the major benefits of Zodiac is that she gets daily reports sent directly to her inbox every day. This includes how many residents rang for assistance, who rang, the battery status on her resident\’s pendants, and the full report of calls and pendants.

“If you can handle a regular iPhone or cell phone, you can handle the Zodiac system,” said Cohen.

Zodiac: A Modern Solution

“The service at Zodiac is amazing. I get responses right away from them for any issues that I may have, they often check in with me, see how I\’m doing, if there\’s anything they can do. They\’ve really helped us as a young company.” she said.

Cohen stated that even after two years of working with Zodiac’s wireless nurse call system, she has never had a resident or staff member complain about the system. In fact, her staff mentioned that it has made their lives easier and they look forward to coming to work because of Zodiac’s reliability.

“I\’ve recommended the system to other homes even before working with this system, I knew about it and I know a lot of people in the community, other homes, and I would always endorse what I had seen Zodiac do and how it would perform in other homes,” she explained. “And now that I\’ve worked with it, I would continue to endorse it and recommend that other homes put this in their home, it\’s honestly worth every penny.”

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.