REFERENCE CASE:
DJUPÄNGEN RETIREMENT HOME The existing retirement home was too small, so Hammarö municipality decided to build a new one. The Djupängen planning phase gave an opportunity to think about functionality and aesthetics, from scratch. With the help of the Kinnarps Next Care® concept, Djupängen now has a physical environment that improves the quality of life of the elderly residents, frees up time for staff to dedicate to nursing and gives the municipality a reason to feel proud of their investment.
Hammarö municipality has been discussing the need for
“Getting there has been a long-term journey in-house. The
a new elderly care facility since 2013. The first plan was to
municipality was excellent at getting all involved to understand
renovate an existing residential care home, but when inves-
why we were building and furnishing the way we were for the
tigated, it proved to be a much too short-term solution as
sake of the elderly and those with dementia,” she says.
the elderly population was growing and it would not provide enough space. “Actually, I think everyone was aware that renovation wouldn't be the optimal solution. We would not have been able to achieve the feel we were after – a warm, welcoming care environment that radiates respect, empathy and dignity,” says the municipality's project manager Annika Lückner. For Kinnarps Karlstad, it all started with a meeting with the working group for Djupängen. At the meeting, the group described their vision for the facility and were clear that they wanted suggestions for solutions, not a list of products. This suited Kinnarps as they are always eager to share knowledge in their projects. With the Next Care® concept, Kinnarps has developed a method of mapping and analysing care environments before the interior design solution is drawn up. It was natural to use parts of this method in the Djupängen project. Based on the
There were days I spent training builders and interior designers on our thought process and our vision for what we wanted to achieve. We were also very particular about listening to the Djupängen staff’s thoughts and opinions so as not to miss any important details. K ARIN BOSTRÖM, SILVIA NURSE IN HAMMARÖ MUNICIPALIT Y
customer's wishes, Kinnarps Karlstad tailored a process that included a workshop for collecting stakeholder expertise and
She continues: “There were days I spent training builders
for engaging everyone involved in the project.
and interior designers on our thought process and our vision
Karin Boström, Silvia Nurse in Hammarö municipality and
for what we wanted to achieve. We were also very partic-
specially trained in the area of dementia at Sophiahemmet in
ular about listening to the Djupängen staff’s thoughts and
Stockholm, emphasises how important it was to base every
opinions so as not to miss any important details.” Karin
detail of the Djupängen project on knowledge.
Boström expresses that Kinnarps listened very carefully and
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