Insights into aged care in a post COVID-19 world

COVID-19 has prompted a rethink of design opportunities for aged care facilities in the ways care needs to be delivered in the future under a sustainable revenue model. Lessons learned now can help protect both residents, staff, and families during future outbreaks of contagious infections. These lessons can also lead to changes in facility design and the effective management of income streams.

We will look at these opportunities in our upcoming webinar featuring Cynthia Payne, Managing Director of Anchor Excellence, Nick Seemann, Director of Constructive Dialogue Architects, and Keith Jones, Founder and CEO of Alteris Financial Group.

Aged care facilities of the future

Industry commentators believe aged care homes should be refreshed every eight years and completely renovated after fifteen years to remain compliant and market competitive. A strong business case can be made to invest in a “significant refurbishment”. Nick Seeman from Dialogue Architects will discuss in our webinar how the benefits of this refurbishment can offer tangible aesthetic and revenue outcomes to existing aged care facilities in the current environment and beyond.

Structuring of resident communities

In her recent article, Design Opportunities in a Post COVID-19 era, Cynthia Payne contends design features need to provide for communities to be locked down into smaller sections in the event of an infectious breakout. She said new builds need to consider having part of the home with line-of-sight access and separation for meaningful engagement with one-way-view considered to avoid residents seeking exit.

Small break out areas should be included in all future facility designs to enable active engagement of small groups. This will enable social distancing without complete isolation. Cynthia also believes future designs should incorporate visitation pods within the reception and front lounge area of the home – ideally 3 to 4 pods allowing 2 to 3 people to visit a resident with adequate physical distancing.

The impact of low interest rates on profitability

MPIR has decreased from 5.54% to 4.1% while interest rates in the current environment have fallen to around 1.25%. The impact for residential aged care providers has been painful as residents depart and new residents are admitted. Combine this with the fall in occupancy levels and for many operators, the resultant loss of revenue has been dramatic. This is an opportunity to seek a better return on investment to increase revenue by investigating alternatives to term deposit and bank interest.