Real apartments with a kitchen where each resident feels at home and lives at their own pace, retirement homes that take care of the elderly living nearby: this may be what the nursing home of tomorrow will look like.
These proposals were presented this week to dependency professionals, directors of accommodation establishments for dependent elderly people (Ehpad), persons in charge of personal services or local authorities, during the National Assises of Ehpad, in Paris.
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These nursing homes are being called upon to redefine themselves as they prepare to absorb the demographic shock of the arrival of the “
grandpa boomers
”, the generation born after the war who will be 85 in 2030 and 23 in 1968. . "
They will revolutionize old age as they revolutionized society
", affirms Luc Broussy, co-author of the study "
The nursing home of the future begins today
" of the think tank Gray matters. “
The nursing home must adapt to the expectations of the individual, who must be able to choose what he does, who he sees, what he takes for lunch. The nursing home must meet its medico-technical needs by letting it manage its life
», Estimates Didier Sapy, general manager of the Fnaqpa, the national federation of management organizations of nursing homes and home services.
“
There are 7,500 nursing homes currently: there should be 7,500 different nursing homes.
Instead of imposing their organization on individuals, they will have to adapt to the organization of individuals,
”he says, while during the health crisis, families suffered from seeing establishments restrict the freedoms of residents.
The goal is to say to new residents "
welcome home
" and no longer "
welcome home
", according to Mr. Sapy.
A retirement home where one feels at home, for the architect Fany Cérèse of the AA firm, is to have a home with a kitchen, currently absent from the rooms of some 21 m2 on average with bathroom most often. offered to users.
"
Having apple juice in your fridge to offer when you have visitors instead of running behind an employee, it's like feeling at home
", observes Ms. Cérèse.
In Denmark, as explained by Annette Bertelsen, in charge of health affairs at the embassy of this Scandinavian country, residents live in real accommodation of 40 to 60 m2 including bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchenette.
The property's restaurant is open to city residents.
Open to the neighborhood
The nursing home of tomorrow will be open to its neighborhood, receiving free time universities or associations, and will even be responsible for the elderly living on its territory. While the government plans to build less expensive nursing homes and to promote home support, retirement homes could find a new role in helping seniors stay at home as long as possible. 69% of French people live 5 kilometers from an nursing home, according to the Gray Matter study.
In this “
Ehpad platform
” of services or “
Ehpad resources
”, retirees can go to participate in a workshop or get help to fill out their tax form on the Internet. “
For example, a nursing home can bring meals to the homes of retirees or accommodate them in its restaurant. She can invite them to fall risk prevention workshops and go to their home to adapt it to their loss of autonomy,
”explains Anna Kühn Lafont, consultant for the Gray Matters think tank. “
We have a secretary to do administrative procedures, digital advisers to help order by internet, telemedicine rooms that can be used by seniors living at home
», Explains Jean-Marc Borello, president of the SOS group.
To transform in a systemic way, these professionals hoped for a Grand Age law on dependency, announced in 2018, but which the government finally abandoned.
“
To change the model, we need a law.
The regulatory framework is sclerosing and prevents transformations.
This is why a great age law is essential to provide more flexibility,
”said Didier Sapy, regretting that the government finally gave up on passing a law before the end of the five-year term.