Showering Seniors With Safety, Comfort And Style

Sunrise Senior Living and its architects have partnered with suppliers to provide residents with high-quality fiberglass showers that provide the greatest possible safety features, comfort amenities and residential styling in units that are efficiently installed and easily maintained.

Life is golden for many seniors, but as they continue to age, the journey also tends to become more precarious – and dramatically more expensive – when injuries and resulting medical expenditures occur. A fall in the bathtub or shower can result in trauma that add up to tens of thousands of dollars in unplanned expenses for seniors and their families, possibly resulting in painful therapies, increased fragility or permanent disabilities. With those comes the added difficulty to socialize and exercise; hence a downward spiral in the quality of life from an accident that may well have been avoidable.

While showering in a tub may arguably be inherently hazardous for anyone, many shower stalls can also be chancy, especially for seniors and those with even slight disabilities. Moreover, the design of some fiberglass shower "units" can be aesthetically unpleasing and present installation complexities that are expensive and time-consuming. In senior care and other lodging facilities there are the additional parameters of meeting building code and disability act requirements.

"Another critical aspect is the senior's dignity," says Gene Schoenfelder, Vice President, Construction Management Sunrise Senior Living. "They need to get in and out of the shower safely. But if they don't feel they need help, or use a walker or wheelchair, how do they get across an inch-and-a-half threshold?

"How do we provide for them to sit down or have privacy if they prefer not having a caregiver with them in the shower area? How do you handle the water controls and shower wands so that either the caregiver or senior can do it easily? All of those factors go into the planning and implementation at our senior living facilities," adds Schoenfelder.

Partnering for highest standards
As a world leader in senior living, Sunrise Senior Living is acutely aware of the importance of safety, comfort and aesthetic appeal of every aspect of living accommodations for seniors. This applies to the whole range of residents, ranging from those who are capable of independent living to those who require rehabilitative or Alzheimer's care.

Regardless of the level of care required, Sunrise Senior Living insists that its facilities maintain a warm and friendly residential atmosphere, rather than an institutional one. In order to maximize its success in doing so, Sunrise often partners with vendors such as Best Bath Systems, Boise, Idaho, to provide the best solutions possible.

An innovative leader in adaptable access bathing products since 1972, Best Bath has worked with Sunrise and other organizations involved with the planning and development of shower systems that meet the requirements of seniors, acute care patients, residents in rehabilitation and those requiring "universal access" accommodations.

"We have worked closely with manufacturers in designing customized shower units for Sunrise," says Timothy Danforth, AIA partner in charge of construction administration at BeeryRio Architecture + Interiors, a pioneer in the design of senior living projects, including assisted living, independent living and adult day care projects. "Best Bath has always been responsive, stepping up and investing on re-tooling for new designs and product enhancements," says Danforth, whose firm is the primary architect for Sunrise facilities in the U.S.

The result of such collaborations has been shower systems that are in keeping with the Sunrise and BeeryRio philosophies of improved safety, comfort and appearance. Additionally, shower installation and maintenance requirements have also been improved dramatically.

Putting safety first
"It is certainly a good idea to avoid the need for seniors to step over the side of a tub in order to shower or bathe," Danforth says. "Yet, the curb at the foot of a shower enclosure can also present a threatening obstacle to a resident who is frail or can't see well. But you need to have some water barrier besides the shower curtain or else the water will spill out onto the floor, which could also be hazardous."

To overcome those issues Best Bath collaborated with Sunrise and BeeryRio on a unique shower design that includes a low profile, collapsible, neoprene "water dam" at the base of the shower entry. The water dam is highly flexible, and gives way to wheelchairs, walkers or feet, and then reforms its original shape to prevent water from flowing out onto the bathroom floor.

"Most of our residents become increasingly frail over the years of their stay with us," Schoenfelder adds. "So we have worked with our design partners to make our showers adaptable in many residences. For example, some showers have thresholds that are sufficiently low-profile to accommodate many residents, but are removable and replaced with the water dam when the resident grows older and frailer."

Most Sunrise facilities also have attended baths available for residents who become acutely frail or are otherwise disabled.

Well-placed safety and comfort features
When you reach for a grab-bar in any shower, it should be placed within your reach – and hold. Safety devices such as grab-bars and handrails are certainly appropriate in any shower unit; needless to say they are crucial components in senior facilities. At the same time, Sunrise prefers that such items be as unobtrusive and non-institutional in appearance as possible.

It is also important that such safety bars are well placed, in accordance with a resident's size or other needs. In some cases, such as due to injuries or increasing frailty, safety bars should be added or relocated. However, it may be extremely problematic to move safety bars or install new ones unless it is certain that they will hold securely.

Best Bath satisfies those needs by incorporating a heavy, 1/2-inch plywood backing into the walls of its shower enclosures. This permits the installation, relocation or addition of safety bars at virtually any location with confidence that they will hold securely under lateral loads of 300 lbs.

The selection and placement of controls is also important, especially to fragile seniors. In some cases the shower units at Sunrise facilities feature control fixtures of contrasting colors so that they are easily visible to residents.

"Hardware such as handles is selected to provide a ready grip yet not feel rough or otherwise uncomfortable to residents," says Schoenfelder. "Also the placement and design of seating accessories and shower wands is important – including allowance for assistance by a caregiver if necessary."

Quality, residential appearance
One of the most important principals behind the Sunrise Senior Living concept is the residential (non-institutional) appearance of its facilities. "Sunrise's objective is to not make the facility look like a nursing home or hospital," explains Danforth. "So, while these facilities are actually sophisticated commercial buildings, they are hidden under a residential skin, so that when families come to visit the residents they come to a very comfortable home environment, not in an institution."

"We make sure that this residential look is incorporated into the showers," adds Schoenfelder. "For example, the embossed tile look that is available with better fiberglass units has become our standard. Also, our residents' bathrooms are very tastefully designed. We keep it rather simple, and the overall look is coordinated with the showers. In the overall, our bathrooms look like the kind of bathroom you would find in a nice home."

He adds that these units have fiberglass walls and flooring that is designed to suppress the sound of water hitting the unit. "With many fiberglass showers you get a noisy 'drumming' effect when the shower water beats against the unit. Not only does that noise make the shower sound like a bargain-priced one, but it can be very annoying to residents - particularly those with Alzheimer's disease and may be more affected by loud, unpleasant noises. With our units you don't have that drumming sound."

Sound construction easy to install and maintain
We have to specify two companies for every product in a new building spec," says Danforth. "We always tell the builders to buy the best product for the project. That is widely recognized as Best Bath, which is superior in material gauge thickness, design and plumbing preparation."

"The general contractors don't always know that on bid day," adds Danforth. "The plumbing contractors don't always know it because the alternate sourced showers probably sells for $300 less, but it is really a false bargain because you'll spend $500 more working on that shower simply to finish the plumbing on it and straighten it out and put it in the building. So, in the field, the ‘less expensive' shower typically ends up costing you more by the time it's installed."

Hygiene and ease of maintenance are also of critical importance to Sunrise. The fiberglass material used in shower units must be mold-and mildew-resistant.

"Also, these units are free of joints like the ones that tile showers have," Danforth adds. "That is important, because grout absorbs water and promotes the growth of mold. The one-piece fiberglass is accepted almost as the standard requirement, and they are relatively easy to keep clean."

Best Bath Systems include a wide range of commercial and residential models, including the Real Tile, American Home, Whirljet, Access and California models. To facilitate design and engineering tasks, drawings of various packages and fixtures, including printable views and downloadable AutoCAD files are available from the Best Bath Systems web site.

For more information, contact Best Bath Systems, 4545 Enterprise, Boise, Idaho 83705; Phone (800) 727-9907; Fax (800) 627-0929; Email sales@best-bath.com; Visit the web site www.best-bath.com.