Jerome Home Introduces New ‘Spa’ for Residents’ Comfort and Safety
By Editor at February 19, 2024 | 8:15 am | Print
Residents of Jerome Home are experiencing a safer and more pleasant bathing or showering experience thanks to a new bathing environment that recently opened. Jerome Home, located at 975 Corbin Ave., is a 120-bed not for profit member of Hartford HealthCare Senior Services and offers skilled nursing, short-term rehabilitation, residential care, memory care and assisted living.
A ribbon-cutting and check presentation to mark the first of three bathing areas to be renovated was held Feb. 4 led by Lori Toombs, Jerome Home executive director. Among the guests was Kimberley Fontaine, grant coordinator for Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority, which provided a $75,000 grant toward the project.
The renovation was designed around the concept of resident/person-centered care, a long-term care model that focuses on individual choice and a home-like environment while also meeting medical needs. Jerome Home residents provided suggestions as to what they would like, Toombs said.
The North Unit bathroom was transformed into a “spa” featuring a special soaking tub, private dressing areas and improved lighting as well as new toilets, sinks and accessories within a more spacious floor plan designed for wheelchair traffic. An emphasis was placed on privacy within the therapeutic and inviting atmosphere to improve the residents’ quality of life. The rooms were painted in soothing tones in accordance with senior-friendly design recommendations.
The goal was to create a calming environment for residents who need extensive assistance with their activities of daily living, intensive therapy and nursing care. The results were immediate, Toombs said, with residents more comfortable with bathing and staff finding it easier to assist them.
Two additional bathing areas will be renovated consecutively, to minimize the disruption to residents and staff. “I’m so glad that we could do this for our residents,” Toombs said.
