Nursing Home Neglect Lawyer Philadelphia | PA Assisted Living Facilities Equipped For Deaf Seniors

“Blindness separates people from things, but deafness separates them from other people.” Helen Keller

With over 1.4 million seniors residing in nursing home facilities in the US, the number is expected to continue to rise dramatically as the baby boomer generation ages. Compounding the rise of the national average of the aging population is the fact that many different disabilities accompany the aging process, and care facilities struggle to accommodate them. One of those disabilities to be addressed are deaf seniors and meeting their care needs as they age.

Addressing Deaf Seniors

According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 25% of seniors over 65 are affected by disabling hearing loss. That number grows to 50% of seniors aged 75 and older. Those providers who are not involved with the issue of deafness may not understand the different accommodations involved when caring for the deaf community.

Deaf assisted living communities in the United States are a fairly recent trend that appears to be increasing with the demand. There are currently over a dozen deaf-exclusive senior living facilities in the US, serving seniors from hundreds of miles around.

Understanding the Issue of Deafness

The large majority of assisted living communities are considered to be deaf friendly, meaning that they accept deaf residents and can provide reasonable accommodations. Complete deaf assisted living facilities are a fairly new concept and are designed exclusively for deaf residents and include the following:

Complete staff is fluent in American Sign Language.
Caregivers are oftentimes deaf, also.
Facility is equipped with alternative alarm systems.
All audiovisual equipment is modified.

Essentially, nursing home facilities designed for the deaf provide a retirement experience where the residents are not separate or feel as if they have experiences different than any other resident.

Available Options In PA

Philadelphia and the surrounding area are fortunate to have available options for deaf seniors.

Elwyn, a comprehensive provider for persons with disabilities, manages Valley View, located in Media, Pennsylvania. Valley View provides housing opportunities for seniors experiencing deafness. The facility is equipped with complete accommodations for the deaf. The facility is one of the first of its kind and is nationally renown for its advances.

In addition, many existing assisted living facilities are taking advantage of advances within the “silvertech” industry that are enabling the use of tech for quality care and accommodations. For example, products like MotionSavvy allow facilities that are not exclusive to deaf residents to effectively accommodate deaf seniors in a way that more seamlessly assimilates them.

Ways Facilities Can Be More Deaf Friendly

In addition, assisted living facilities can adjust for the growing deaf population. Assisted living facilities can be noisy
places since many house hundreds of residents. The staff is oftentimes bustling around coordinating activities, cleaning, cooking, and doing their daily care giving activities. By implementing a few deliberate strategies, assisted living facilities can be much more accommodating to the deaf:

Install throw rugs and draperies to assist with noise for hearing impaired.
Ensure that seniors are able to read lips.
Provide assistive listening devices.
Require staff to know sign language and offer classes for seniors.

Removing the stigma of deafness and providing for the needs of the growing deaf senior population should be a
primary goal for assisted living facilities.