Services in the facilities
To make the stay of the guest and his or her family members as professional and comfortable as possible, all six senior care facilities of the City of Lugano provide a range of services, medical and otherwise.
The six residences for the elderly of the City of Lugano have medical management provided by a chief physician, a deputy chief physician and by assistant physicians who guarantee 24-hour availability. In addition, each home has a chief doctor. This does not exclude that each resident may, if requested, continue to use the care of his or her own doctor, provided that the latter subscribes to the doctors' regulations. The medical management makes use of the advice of all specialists according to the needs established by the attending physician.
The costs are assumed by the health insurance fund.
The residences are equipped with in-house pharmaceutical service, operated in cooperation with a consultant pharmacist.
The residences benefit from the cooperation of ward managers, nurses, social workers and care assistants with an educational profile recognized by the Swiss Red Cross.
Nurses are particularly responsible for:
- creating a good interpersonal relationship with residents and fostering their relationships inside and outside the nursing home (with other residents, relatives, acquaintances, volunteers)
- provide for the well-being of residents through the recovery and maintenance of their psychophysical resources while respecting, as much as possible, their habits and rhythms of life
- observing and communicating to the immediate supervisor changes in the general condition of the elderly person
- perform technical nursing services for which they are trained
- participate in daily ward meetings by updating nursing documentation
- cooperate in the training of nursing students and auxiliary staff
- collaborate in research for the improvement of care and its cost-effectiveness
Each institute has a properly equipped physical therapy service run by a licensed physical therapist, who in some cases collaborates with a medical massage therapist.
In particular, the service is responsible for:
- observing and, if necessary, activating - together with the ward and ward managers - the search for appropriate solutions to promote the guest's physical autonomy and regularly checking that they are correctly implemented by the nursing staff
- perform specialized care based on medical indications
- assist the physician and care team in finding solutions that correspond to the resident's needs
- perform technical operations (by manual and instrumental means) as part of the rehabilitation of bodily functions
- instruct the nursing staff to ensure adequate movement of the resident
The need for physiotherapy-type care is determined by the physician.
Costs are included in the monthly fee.
In the residences for the elderly, visitors are welcome; in fact, the presence of relatives and acquaintances is particularly welcome since it constitutes an important support from a relational, affective and psychological point of view.
At any time, relatives can obtain information on the health status of their loved ones, on the care and treatment provided, as well as on any aspect concerning activities within the institutions.
Visiting hours are free, although for reasons of peace and security the houses remain closed from 9 PM to 7:30 AM: during this time, access to the facility is possible for justified reasons, upon request to the head of the facility. In special cases, the management may restrict visiting hours for relatives and/or friends.
The residences for the elderly can be visited by anyone who is interested, after making an appointment with the secretaries.
Each home has an animation and occupational therapy service run by qualified staff, who collaborate with some external figures for specialized activities and volunteers.
The animation service is particularly responsible for:
- promoting activities to occupy residents' leisure time
- propose activities to meet the needs of self-sufficient and non-self-sufficient people
- varying recreational activities to meet the diverse interests of residents
- building relationships with all residents
- collaborate with staff in other areas of the facility, especially caregivers and housekeepers
Additional activities, of a specialized nature, are managed by outside caregivers (e.g. pet therapy, singing, dancing, etc.).
Various socialization and leisure activities are offered in the facilities, including:
- occupational therapy workshops
- music therapy
- cultural activities
- birthday parties
- birthday lunches with family members
- film screenings
- theatrical performances
- occupational therapy activities
- organization of parties
- visits and trips to places of interest with an equipped vehicle
- newspaper reading
- board games
- entertainment and musical afternoons
- meetings with children
- meetings with seniors from other residences
- library
- internet
Beyond the activities that take place in the home, outings to the theater, cinema, circus, shopping and trips are regularly organized. In general, the management steps in to cover part or all of the costs of these external activities.
In every residence for the elderly, the services provided by the kitchen and the hotel sector are very well taken care of: special attention is given to the variety of meals and the quality of the food, also taking into account individual medical needs (low-calorie diets, diabetic diets, etc.). As far as possible, the requests of individual residents are also taken into account. At lunch and dinner, two courses and a dessert are normally served.
Dietitian cooks and assistant cooks work in each kitchen; menus are defined in cooperation with the advice of the dietitian nutritionist. For a fee, visiting residents can eat meals together with the residents.
Treatment of residents' personal linen (laundry and ironing) is ensured in the facilities, excluding chemical washing.
Care of the residential environment, cleanliness and hygiene of rooms and common areas are ensured. Caretakers also work in each house to ensure general maintenance.
It is possible to request services that are not included in the fees and are therefore billed separately. These include the resident transport service, on request, and the pedicure and hairdressing service, on a regular basis (schedules are posted at the entrance to the premises where they are performed).
In order to ensure greater security for residents, the institutes have video surveillance systems in the communal areas (this is obviously excluded in areas for private use).
However, it is suggested not to keep personal valuables and/or large sums of money with you: the management is not liable in the event of theft.
The English version of this page was created with the aid of automatic translation tools and may contain errors and omissions.
The original version is the page in Italian.