Demonstration Site Engagement: SE Health


Developing a Housing Concept:

SE Health has spent a significant amount of time exploring the seniors housing landscape and considering what role the organization might be able to play in providing a greater supply and range of housing options for low and middle income older adults.

Before working with the Building with Mission team, the organization had already developed a prototype of what a seniors housing project could look like.  With a physical prototype in hand, the next question became “what type of service or programs might we offer to tenants?”.  


To begin to answer that question, we engaged in several prototyping workshops with SE Health.

I. We began by developing a comprehensive list of possible programs and services that could be offered to tenants.  This included clinical services as well as programs focused on enhancing overall-well being.  

II. Next we mapped each of the programs and services to four personas, hypothetical tenants who might live in an affordable seniors housing development, to identify who might benefit most from different types of support. 

III. We also mapped each of the programs and services to four different service models:

  • “Self-serve” programs / services (no in-person support required)

  • “Self-serve with a supportive resource” (some initial in person support required)

  • “Facilitated” programs / services (led/managed by non-clinical staff)

  • “Professionally facilitated” programs / services (led/managed by a health care professional)

 

Examples of program ideas that emerged

“Self-Serve” Programs

  • Social Meetups: Providing suitable spaces, like a cafe or lounge, to encourage organic social interactions. Maybe post a sign up sheet, set a specific meet up time and provide tea & coffee.

“Self-serve with a supportive resource”

  • Guide to Resident-Led Programming:  Create an easy “how-to-guide” to make it easy for tenants who want to start a club or run an activity to do so. The guide would include info like: how to book space, how to promote the activity, how to set up and clean up, who to notify, how to ask for help from staff, etc.

  • Launch a “Human-Library” Program: “Where people are the books on loan for a chat” Identify individuals within the building with interesting stories/experiences that they are happy to share with others and create a sign-up mechanism so tenants can schedule 30 mins conversations with these people and learn from the “human-library” about a range of topics (e.g. “Growing up in Cameroon”, “My Life as a Pilot”, “Travelling across the US in a Motorhome”)

  • Provide a Virtual Community Navigator: Locate tablets in common spaces / by elevators that tenants can use to look for programs and services they may need (e.g. get tech support, order food, care navigation, access to health services, maintenance requests, social activities, etc.). Create an easy to use portal that tenants can access on personal smartphones/computers. A live person could be on site occasionally to help tenants navigate the portal (e.g. one morning / week).

“Facilitated”

Check in service: An opt-in service where tenants receive a call or visit to check-in. Might just have a chat or might provide reminders about upcoming events/appointments. A simple check-in service serves as a great “front door” to other programs / services.

Home Modification Service: Make it easy for tenants to request a home modification (e.g. adding grab bars) that is managed by the building maintenance team. Step 1 - make a retrofit maintenance request (tenants or caregiver) Step 2 - complete an assessment with an OT Step 3 - select from list of options provided by the building (e.g. building could keep an inventory of popular items like grab bars) Step 4 - building manages funding rebates, etc on behalf of tenants.

“Professionally Facilitated”

Memory Care Package:  Offer a package of extra services available to tenants and/or their caregivers that would include things like safety monitoring (falls, wandering, leaving stove on), memory enhancement services (pet therapy, reminiscence therapy classes), professional services (facilitator/navigator on-site, peer support).

 

IV. Next we developed three lo-fi prototypes of housing + support bundles that could be offered and created a high-level service blueprint detailing the step-by-step experience of tenants throughout their housing journey.

These workshops led to the creation of a lo-fi prototype that can be shared internally and with external stakeholders for further refinement where questions of staffing models, pricing, etc. can be explored further.