We like to showcase digital signage uses which aren’t ubiquitous or obvious to all. One such excellent environment for digital signage which not many think about are senior care homes. Senior care homes have many areas with different audience types. For a start, the content can be aimed at residents with the goal to structure and enhance their day. Visitors can be informed on the daily proceedings, directories, or other important information they could require. There are also benefits for staff members! Ultimately, all benefits are aimed to make senior living more comfortable.
Display daily/weekly schedules
Useful for both visitors and residents, schedules provide a clear outline of the day. Display activities shared by the majority, such as meal times, as well as the available dishes on today’s menu. You may even highlight upcoming events during the week, allowing everyone to anticipate and prepare for it. These updates can be useful for visitors, too, giving them ideas for when to drop by and join in on activities with their loved ones. Use the Cafeteria app to construct a clean overview of daily menus or upcoming activities, enhancing the quality and enjoyment of senior living!
Introduce staff members
Staff recognition is an excellent way of using digital signage in any business. It becomes even more useful in senior living where some residents need a little longer to remember names and faces. Highlight staff members who work directly with residents, focusing on their abilities, interests, or fields of expertise they focus on. Let everyone know which workshops, hobbies, or activities are managed by which staff members. This information is particularly useful to new residents and their families to know whom to engage with, particularly with more sensitive residents who need special attention.
Entertainment
Set up a loop of content for residents to enjoy while lounging. Play nature live streams, TV shows, or cooking demonstrations. It all depends on their interests. You may even organize movie nights where the same film is played on multiple displays for everyone to enjoy together.
Digital signage can also help in organizing successful and engaging workshops. For a cooking demonstration, for instance, digital signage can display ingredients, step by steps, and fixings. You may organize hobby spotlights where you invite residents to try something new, or showcase what they’ve created. These can include arts and crafts, gardening, book clubs, baking, photography, writing, music, and so on.
Images from the community
A great way to bring a sense of belonging and unity is to show images from the community which surrounds and fills the home for the elderly. Take images of residents partaking in activities, their successes or achievements. Invite the residents and their families to share images online, then compile a lovely collage of images to loop on your displays. This type of content is perfect for promoting upcoming workshops or socials. Simply use the highlights from previous events to get people involved.
Puzzles and brain teasers
Remember that digital signage software can section up a display into multiple areas. Next to the main entertainment, set up fun puzzles or brain games for anyone willing to give them a try. This promotes cognitive functions and it’s a lot more fun to do it together. If not for the purpose of finding a result faster, then for the competitive spirit. These can be word puzzles, math quizzes, or anagrams, for example. If residents are more engaged with physical puzzles, such as jigsaw puzzles, a mention can be a welcome suggestion. This information is also useful for visitors.
Hobby tips
Depending on which hobbies are most common among residents, show some exciting tips for gardening, arts and crafts, or bring up new ideas to stir new interest. Suggestions of any kind is an excellent way to overall enhance senior living with digital signage. For example, promoting new books in popular genres or music / movies / series of potential interest.
Guidelines for visitors
Digital signage is an excellent tool to inform new visitors of any policies or safety regulations. If you have set up visiting hours, schedule your displays to change to this content at precisely that time. Inform about safety tips, hygiene practices, and any other guidelines you may have which your facility follows.
Display information on which areas of the complex are accessible to visitors. For instance, if a visitor wants to take someone for a stroll in a nearby park, inform them on what the guidelines are and whom they must inform beforehand. Naturally, the point of such information is not restrictive, but simply ensuring that staff is aware and certain that every resident is taken care of appropriately.
Suggested activities for visitors
Complementing guidelines and house rules, compile a content loop to suggest activities for visitors. These can include activities that are immediately available, such as visiting lounges, cafeterias, or any available entertainment. It can also include upcoming workshops, entertainment, or activities visitors can do with their loved ones. Apart from providing quality content for your digital signage, these suggestions will inspire visitors to return on a more frequent basis. It also helps if you suggest that they sign up for an upcoming event, making their plans even more concrete.
Tips and suggestions
Another bit of content for new residents and their families is to provide small tips and tricks that will make stays and visits more comfortable. For instance, pay attention to the times of day which have the highest number of visitors. Maybe it would be beneficial to suggest visiting during key times of the day or the week. On the opposite end, highlight quiet hours, when residents are resting or having meals. At these times, they may prefer minimal disruptions to their daily routines.
Anything can be a visitor tip, really. It just depends if it applies to you. Parking information, best snacks to bring, or even gift suggestions, such as books or puzzles. Ask the staff what they regularly get asked. This can be neatly packed into digital signage content.
Create accessible content
Relying on digital signage software, set up content which is accessible by both visitors and residents. Apart from the content ideas we discussed above, there are additional ways to enhance senior living with digital signage.
Any content aimed at residents should be easy to read. Thus, increase font sizes and simplify styles as well as color combinations, to ensure all content is pleasant on the eyes. For more complex content, such as providing wayfinding to visitors or answering questions, set up interaction through touchscreens. With OnSign TV, you can customize how users interact with displays. Furthermore, there are many content templates to choose from. Try it out!
Cover image by Christian Bowen.
