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In today’s digital age, long-term care facilities (LTCFs) have a unique opportunity to leverage healthcare innovations to improve the well-being of senior residents. Many LTCFs are already utilizing improved health tech and telemedicine to improve patient care.
Virtual visiting facilitated through platforms and devices designed for telecommunication can significantly enhance socialization and decrease loneliness, two crucial components of seniors’ mental health.
This blog explores how virtual visits can benefit seniors, references recent studies on the importance of social interaction, and provides you with actionable tips for implementing virtual visiting programs in your LTCF.
Join us on May 05 – 07 in booth #607 at the American Telemedicine Association Conference to see our versatile and lightweight carts for monitors and tablets designed for a wide range of medical devices.
Seniors in LTCFs experience loneliness in three dimensions: emotional, social, and existential. Of the three types, social loneliness manifests more as seniors struggle to adapt to a new setting away from their familiar environment, their family, community, workplace, and friends.
Social isolation and loneliness have been identified as risk factors for a variety of physical and mental health conditions, including:
Virtual visiting allows seniors to interact with friends, relatives, and colleagues online via video conferencing. Video calls help seniors interact with the outside world and maintain social ties with close ones.
Virtual socialization helps seniors maintain their well-being and overall health. Seniors who are able to have regular social interactions can enjoy the following health benefits:
Research by the Great Good Science Center emphasizes the need for social capital for seniors. Social capital refers to the opportunity to create meaningful social connections and foster trust with other community members. A virtual visiting program is a reliable solution for helping seniors build and maintain social capital while they’re in an LTCF. Seniors feel more in touch with their former world because they can catch up with their families and social circles in real time.
Here’s a road map to roll out and maintain your virtual visiting program in three steps:
To ensure seamless virtual socialization for your extended care facility residents, invest in suitable telehealth solutions with robust video conferencing technologies. Begin with a strong internet connection with enough bandwidth to support high-quality video streaming.
Then, invest in tablets or iPads for each of your residents so that they can receive and make video calls at their convenience. You can also purchase supporting accessories, such as the Tryten S1 Tablet Carts, that will allow you to improve accessibility by giving residents a mounted, mobile option for their tablets.
If you already offer remote patient monitoring, your staff will only need basic training to oversee your virtual visiting program. However, your residents need in-depth user training to operate the devices correctly. You may want to check if a senior’s loved ones, who will ideally call frequently, know their way around the virtual visiting tech your LTCF is using. A quick orientation during check-in can help.
While you don’t need a whole team to offer support, you may delegate one or two staff members to help seniors with difficulty using your telehealth technology. Let your residents know they can ask for help anytime they want to use your virtual visiting technology.
Capsa Healthcare has pioneered healthcare safety and innovation in pharmacy automation, healthcare IT, and medication management for over six decades. You can count on us to supply you with the telehealth solutions you need to support your virtual visiting program, from tablet carts to monitor carts.
By embracing Capsa’s telehealth technology, your LTCF can play a crucial role in promoting a higher quality of life for your residents, backed by research underscoring the health benefits of sustained social interaction. Find us in booth #607 at the American Telemedicine Association Conference from May 05 – 07 and explore our telehealth solutions.
Contact Capsa Healthcare today, and we’ll deliver superior telehealth solutions that will help you establish your virtual visiting program.