Nursing Home Design Guide
2006
Assisted tub bathing, including lift
3.3
Bathing Suites
use
Grooming and hygiene
3.3.1 General
Toilet transfer assistance
Relaxation and healing
Consider the following planning and
Storage of personal products
design factors when choosing to
incorporate a bathing suite into a
Typical staff functions within the bathing
Nursing Home facility.
suite include:
3.3.2 Planning Considerations
Assistance in the hygiene and
grooming of residents
Bathing is a very personal experience.
Skin care
Studies have found that when the
Weighing of resident
bathing suite is recognized as a safe
Sanitation of tub or shower used
place, and where comfort and hygiene
and clean-up between each
are provided in a respectful manner,
resident user
resistance is significantly decreased.
Maintaining personal safety for
Therefore, in addition to technical
each resident
considerations, the bathing suite should
Water management design
reflect a "spa like atmosphere" or an
concerns, which include
atmosphere as close to a home-like
drainage, floor contour(s), and
bathing suite as possible. The dcor,
selection of floor materials.
furnishings, interior surfaces, and color
therefore should appear as
2. Preferences
deinstitutionalized as possible.
Tubs go unused when staff assistants
are unfamiliar with tub operation, when
Challenges include:
re-fill or clean-up is time-consuming,
when staff members feel unsafe during
Space limitations
lift use, and when lifts are mismatched
Fear of falling
to the tub. Consider the following:
Anxiety related to lifting (particularly
mechanical lifts that raise the person
Assisted tubs may be preferred for
up and over a tub)
residents uncomfortable with water
The impact of other room apparatus
splash and spray or with the
and stored items
confining walls of a shower.
Temperature fluctuations
Tubs may be preferable for the care
Water sprayed in the face
of large residents and those with
Unfamiliar appearance of the room
bariatric related needs. Tub use may
and ambient noise.
decline when the capacity for
balance and cognitive functions lead
1. Bathing Suite Operations
to care plan changes.
Typical resident functions within the
Each typical Nursing Home resident
bathing suite include:
should have convenient access to an
assisted tub and a functionally
Assisted showering and/or self-
accessible shower designed with
showering with "stand-by" assistance
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