Facilities that cater to the elderly may require repainting on occasion. Just like any other medical environment, these facilities require extreme care and special precautions to be taken. The level of care needed will often be determined by the type of facility that requires painting. There are three primary types of elder-care facilities that nursing home painters may be called in to paint.
Choosing a professional nursing home painter like re:fab can help facilitate all the needs your facility requires. We understand the special circumstances that encompass these facilities and have the knowledge and tools to handle the job efficiently and with care.
Types of Nursing Homes and Care Facilities
The blanket term that seems to be used to describe facilities aimed toward the elderly is “nursing homes.” Not every facility is a nursing home, though. Some facilities are for more active elders, and others work with those who cannot move at all. Taking the type of facility into consideration can help when we come into paint.
Independent Living Communities
Much like the name implies, these communities offer the least amount of healthcare and the most freedom. Living arrangements in these communities can range from condominium-style apartments to small houses. Staff help to ease the daily burdens that the occupant may need help with, such as:
- Housekeeping
- Lawn and home maintenance
- Calendar of events and activities
- Cooking and on-campus restaurants
These communities are for those elderly individuals who need minimal health care but still need a little extra help to take care of their needs. These communities often offer no onsite health care. These individuals are classified as fully independent.
Assisted Living Facilities
Assisted living facilities offer more help to those who need it. While still somewhat independent, these elderly individuals need additional supervision and help with bathing, dressing, and meals. Many assisted living facilities won’t offer onsite health services, but many do have emergency first aid or pharmacy services.
Skilled Nursing Facilities
Next on the spectrum of elderly care facilities is skilled nursing. These are the facilities that are true “nursing homes” and provide 24-hour health care from LPNs, RNs, and CNAs. Generally speaking, most residents here are short-term, often coming for rehabilitation reasons. Some facilities provide long-term care for medically-necessary cases. Due to medicare and Medicaid providing coverages for these types of facilities, inspections are required.
How to Choose a Nursing Home Painter
When you are looking for a painter to come in and paint a nursing home or elder-care facility, there are specific characteristics you should look for. Not all commercial painters have the same qualities, so meeting with and discussing what you want will benefit your project.
- Project Experience – You don’t want to hire just anyone to handle your nursing home painting project. You want to hire painters who follow through with their projects from start to finish and have the most knowledge of painting these facilities. As a medical facility, special care must be taken when handling the painting process.
- Friendly and Professional – There may come a time when your painting professional will cross paths with patients, families, and staff. You want these painters to be friendly yet professional enough to handle the circumstances. Not every family is looking for a friendly stranger to talk to. Many of these patients and their families are looking for respect and privacy.
- Organized – A painter working in a facility with elderly patients needs to be organized and clean up after themselves. The painter cannot pose a risk to the facility’s patients with tools or excess paint unattended.
- Punctual – Part of working in a medical facility is the ability to handle the flexibility of the schedule required to complete the project. There will be times when it is optimal for painting and other times when it isn’t. With patients and their families in mind, a nursing home painter needs to be willing to go above and beyond, being on time for whatever the schedule may demand.
Requirements for Painting a Nursing Home
Different facilities will have different requirements, especially when it comes to the needs of their patients. Some facilities will require a different set of requirements when it comes to the paint quality, color, and other significant features. There is a lot of care that is required when handling the painting within these facilities, and the right nursing home painters will be able to accommodate the facility and patient needs.
Flexibility in Scheduling
Handing a nursing facility’s paint job may require flexibility in the schedule of the painter. The patients’ health in the facility is the priority, not the painting project. Thus, it may be required that the painting happen one room at a time or during hours where lower foot traffic occurs.
Some facilities will block off sections that are not being used during specific times to allow for them to be painted. This action helps keep fumes and other odors away from the inhabitants of the facility and the staff members working.
Paint Selection Matters
Since these facilities are listed as medical facilities, it may be worth investing in paint types that are made specifically for this purpose. Many paints contain volatile organic compounds or VOCs, which are photo-chemicals that become activated in room temperature conditions. The VOCs are where you find the harmful fumes and odors most associated with paint.
In medical settings, the recommendation is to use low-to-no VOC paints. These are specifically designed to have little to no fumes or odors that could be hazardous to the patients’ and staff’s health.
The paint selection could be taken a step further, though. Some paint manufacturers have specialized their paints to include antimicrobial and microbicidal varieties. Antimicrobial paints help to make it resistant to microbes. Microbicidal paints are resistant to infection-causing bacteria.
Choosing Paint Colors
When handling an elderly care facility’s painting, color is just as important as the type of paint used. There is a fine line between mental well-being and physical well-being in these facilities, so the right color makes all the difference. When you look at the “psychology” of color, it is conjectured that color can make people feel different emotions, ranging from happiness to extreme sadness.
If you have ever been to one of these facilities, you will find that many of the color schemes are warmer and neutral. These colors can provide a feeling that is more like home. This comfort can do a lot of good for those residents who are staring at these walls day in and day out. Unlike other paint colors, neutral colors are less likely to offend the patient’s senses.
Being Tidy
When handling painting projects in a nursing home, tidiness is important. The reason for this is for the safety of everyone in the facility. If tools or other items are lying around, they can create health and safety hazards – all of which can be devastating to elderly patients in the facility. Keeping everything out of reach and out of the way, becomes an essential part of the job when painting a nursing home or assisted living facility.
Why You Need re:fab for Your Nursing Home Painters
re:fab creates a custom process for your painting project. Because all aspects are important in a medical and nursing home setting, we use our three-pronged approach to get the job done.
First, we begin with a thorough discovery call. This call is used to help document the needs and define a plan that will deliver your project successfully, on time, and within the desired budget.
Second, our project managers will provide clear insight into the project, providing total transparency. You will always know what is happening during your project. Our delivery process allows us to work around YOUR needs, whether that means weekends or nights – minimizing disruptions.
Finally, our goal is to provide you with the highest level of quality and service during your project. We perform a quality assurance check when the project is completed. This ensures you are completely satisfied with the work that has been completed.
If you are ready for an estimate on your nursing home painting project, you can begin the process online by starting the online quote process. Just click here for your free estimate!
