Though it may not be listed in many facility management duty statements, one of a facility manager’s key responsibilities is keeping the occupants of his facility smiling. After all, her facility won’t be worth much if no one wants to work and/or live there.
Keeping occupants and residents happy on a day to day basis is rather straightforward: keep the temperature pleasant, the water both coming and going, the power on and the garbage out, and its people connected to the outside world. We all know this.
However, the real challenge to keeping residents and occupants smiling comes when there is a disruption to normal routine. People hate that. This challenge is even more pronounced when the disruption to normal routine is prolonged such as when there is major construction going on at a facility.
Overseeing Contruction
This is a challenge that Bill Martin overcame two years ago when leaders at the Texhoma Christian Care Center (TCCC) in Wichita Falls, TX decided to add a 16,000 square foot “Main Street” facility to the nursing care and senior living facility. Martin, the facility’s Maintenance Director, was charged with overseeing the construction project on a daily basis while also keeping it from interfering with the happiness of facility’s 200-plus residents, the majority of whom were at least 70 years.
Like all FMs of nursing care centers must, Martin understood that senior living facilities have their own unique sets of needs. “Initially, the [Main Street] building was going to use battery backup,” said the maintenance director. “But I wanted it to be tied into our emergency generator system. Each existing building on our campus has its own diesel generator for back up power, and I wanted this new building to have the same... Depending on the event, we might need to use Main Street during an emergency, perhaps even moving some patient beds there, so I wanted generator backup to be in place.”
Minimize Disuptions
Likewise, FMs of senior care centers must understand that they cannot allow construction to disturb residents. First and foremost, the safety of the residents must be assured at all times. Temporary walls, bright yellow caution tape and safety cones can be effective barriers separating residents from danger. Additionally, the use of work order software helps FMs schedule tasks so that they are done when they will least disturb the residents nor interfere with the construction. Also, to keep the residents happy, FMs must not allow noisy construction activities during those times that the residents are normally relaxing, sleeping, or having their medication administered.
Communication
However, the physical barriers, work order software, and control of loud activities are not as important as keeping the avenues of communication open between the facility management team, the other staff members, and the residents. It is only by working together that the happiness of the occupants and residents can be assured.
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