How Hospitality TV Benefits Hospital Patients
Have you heard about hospitality television before? It’s this cool technology that was originally made for hotels, to make it easy for guests to watch TV during their stay. But now, hospitals and senior living places are starting to use hospitality TV too – and for good reason!
Hospitality TV offers a ton of benefits for patients and residents in healthcare facilities. In this little blog post, we’ll look at how it can help keep minds sharp, connect people, provide entertainment, and more good stuff like that.
By the end, you’ll see why investing in hospitality TV is one of the smartest choices a care facility could make.
Sound good? Let’s dive in!
Gaming on HTV Keeps Seniors Mentally Fit
Get this – seniors who play video games on the regular actually get all kinds of great benefits from it! I know, it surprises people, since we don’t usually think of the elderly as being big gamers. But studies show that playing video games can actually push back against the bad effects aging can have on the brain. Wild, right?
In one study, folks over 60 played a specially designed 3D video game for an hour a day, three days a week. Just after 12 weeks, the researchers already saw big improvements in the seniors’ memory and concentration. The parts of their brains that handle navigation, forming memories, and processing information all showed noticeable gains.
By letting seniors access video games through hospitality TVs, healthcare facilities can provide them with fun mental workouts. Games have the power to keep minds sharp and delay cognitive decline. It’s an awesome use of HTV technology for supporting residents’ brain health.
HTV Gives a Cozy, At-Home Vibe
According to a recent study, giving nursing home residents access to a TV helps them feel more at home. Out of all their personal items, like furniture and stuff, the residents said their televisions were the most important for making them feel comfortable. For them, it’s a way to stay entertained and connected to the outside world.
If there’s a TV in a shared living space, it also gives people a chance to bond. Even just getting together for a simple movie night gives the seniors something to look forward to doing as a group. Though it’s a pretty basic activity, these kinds of shared viewing experiences really help create a feeling of community.
HTV provides a touch of normalcy and connection that people might worry they’d lose by moving into a facility. It’s a small but meaningful way administrators can help the place feel homier for their residents.
Sports Bring Excitement into the Lives of Seniors
Get this – most seniors totally love watching sports on TV! They really enjoy actively cheering on their favorite teams playing on the screen. There are some pretty neat facts about older folks viewing sports that show how big of an impact it can have:
- Some seniors watch golf just to relax and fall asleep. There are benefits to passively viewing sports too.
- Sports can be great for the elderly by giving their minds and emotions a boost. They probably went to games in person when they were younger, but can’t now because of limited mobility.
- With today’s high-def broadcasts, viewers get super close-up, front-row views that weren’t possible with older TVs. The best seat in the house has shifted from the stands to the couch!
Given all this, making sure seniors have access to a TV is so important. Following sports gives them an emotional lift and provides a way to bond. HTV makes it possible for care facilities to consistently bring this experience into their residents’ lives.
HTV Lets Residents Stay in the Loop
When they have smart televisions available, seniors can easily keep up with all kinds of important happenings. We’re talking about community events, medication schedules, doctor appointments, and more. Relying on an alert on the TV screen is way more effective than trying to keep track of a printed calendar.
While smartphones can also give reminders, their small size makes them pretty easy to misplace or forget to charge. But if a notification pops up on the TV, you’re guaranteed to see it as long as it’s switched on. That makes it the ultimate backup reminder system! Plus, TVs are nearly impossible to lose, and important info is easier to read on their large screens versus tiny mobile devices.
HTV gives seniors a helpful and dependable way to stay on top of their daily responsibilities. Facility staff can trust that residents won’t miss critical notifications when using the television prompt system.
HTV Can Help Seniors Save Money
Nowadays, a full cable package costs a whopping $200+ per month. Individual streaming services tack on an extra $10-15 per month for each one you add. That means many households spend way more on TV than essentials like electricity and water!
Given that today’s seniors watch a lot more TV than previous generations, it makes sense that cable is probably a big needless expense for them. HTV lets senior care facilities help cut costs for residents on fixed incomes.
The special hospitality television packages cable and satellite companies offer to facilities save individuals a ton of money. Without HTV, it’s likely many seniors would get their own personal TV plans. Centers can ensure residents enjoy a good standard of living by including cable, satellite, or streaming in housing fees.
TV Can Assist Seniors in Reaching Fitness Goals
For elderly folks and sick patients at healthcare facilities, having a TV can be super helpful for recovery. Fitness-focused videos are popping up more and more online and on streaming sites. They offer a fun, engaging way for anyone to meet their fitness goals through specialized programs.
Research shows seniors are way more likely to stick to exercise routines tailored for their age group versus conventional fitness classes. This makes TV the perfect vehicle for senior living fitness initiatives. Just on Amazon Prime alone, there are over 300 fitness movies and clips available.
The great thing about video workouts is you can do them at your own pace while maintaining good form. Viewers can stop, rewind, or fast-forward whenever they want. Many people also love the non-judgmental aspect of virtual classes. HTV gives seniors flexible, customized tools to stay active without leaving their rooms.
TV Provides Companionship for Isolated Patients
Some folks might be confined to their rooms due to mobility issues that keep them from taking part in group activities. Having access to a television helps fight the loneliness of being socially isolated for these patients.
One way to help is through TV-based communication apps. For instance, if your care facility hosts a Christmas party in a community space, a patient stuck in their room could still join the fun remotely through their TV.
Video chat tech on smart TVs allows isolated seniors to feel connected to what’s going on in the facility. HTV makes sure they don’t miss out just because they can’t physically attend events and programming.
HTV Enables Quarantine-Proofed Rooms
The COVID-19 pandemic really highlighted why hospitality TV is so vital in senior living places and medical facilities. Many patients found themselves alone and bored in mandated isolation. Occurrences like this demonstrate how crucial TV is in these settings.
Televisions provide way more than just entertainment. They enable video chat apps so hospital residents can connect with loved ones. Senior care centers need to ensure residents can use these important services even if quarantined to their rooms. HTV should be a top priority for care facilities even after the pandemic.
Hospital Patients Watch Around 11 Hours of TV Per Day
Folks who find themselves hospitalized all of a sudden have a ton of free time on their hands with not much else to fill it. A television can provide a comforting touch of home that visitors often miss when staying somewhere unfamiliar. It also gives patients an outlet to take their mind off discomfort or symptoms. On top of that, it reduces anxiety around upcoming procedures.
Hospital patients watch about 11 hours of television per day, compared to 3-4 hours for the general population. That really shows how much value patients place on having good TV access during their stay.
For hospital patients nowadays, access to great television is one of the biggest markers of a high-quality healthcare experience. HTV allows hospitals to meet this expectation and positively impact the patient journey.
A Look at the Future of Healthcare TV
The healthcare industry has only recently started to grasp TV’s potential to improve patient experiences. The huge rise of telehealth services – which let users connect to caregivers at the push of a button – is one area where this is clear.
Cloud-Based Patient Care Apps Enable Remote Caregiving
Cloud patient care apps allow caregivers and patients to interact remotely. There are many options available to enable this through a smart TV. A resident could initiate requests to contact a caregiver using the same remote they use to change channels. This removes the need for multiple devices and remotes, cutting down on confusion.
HTV Provides Access to Telehealth Services
The telehealth field was already growing quickly even before the pandemic, with use increasing by about 60% between 2016 and 2017. Telehealth services include routine checkups, mental health support, and management of chronic illnesses like diabetes.
With these exciting advances coming down the pike, now is the perfect time for senior living and healthcare sites to invest in smart TVs and related tech. Partnering with the right service provider unlocks awesome potential to revolutionize care through hospitality TV.
HTV Fosters Better Doctor-Patient Relationships
Hospitality TV also enables stronger communication between patients and healthcare workers. Doctors can record short informational videos to play on patients’ TVs. These can share diagnosis details, explain upcoming treatments, provide medication instructions, and more.
Patients retain information better from viewing videos versus just hearing spoken instructions. TV also lets them rewatch clips as many times as they need to solidify their understanding.
Seeing and hearing their doctor onscreen creates a stronger human connection too. This personal touch helps patients feel more informed, empowered, and listened to during their stay.
TV Provides Stress Relief and Supports Healing
Multiple studies confirm that access to TV can actually help patients heal faster. Watching television lowers blood pressure and brings down anxiety levels. This helps the body relax, which is key for restorative sleep. Better sleep and less stress allow people to bounce back quicker.
TV also gives a positive distraction from pain and discomfort. In one study, 92% of patients said TV took their mind off symptoms really effectively. Additionally, exposure to natural scenery on TV reduces the perception of pain compared to a blank screen.
The clinical benefits of HTV are crystal clear. Admins of care facilities should think of it as an investment in better patient outcomes, not just entertainment.
Streaming Content Integrated Into Hospital Stays
Today’s smart TVs make it a piece of cake to incorporate popular streaming platforms like Netflix into the patient experience. Far from just mindless entertainment, viewing certain content offers clinical perks:
- Comedies – Laughter from comedies lifts mood and decreases stress.
- Nature shows – Relaxing scenic footage reduces anxiety and blood pressure without overstimulating.
- Music programs – Listening to mellow music measurably improves pain tolerance.
HTV allows hospitals to tailor content recommendations based on each patient’s needs. Streaming opens the door to a wealth of programming with therapeutic value.
Final Thoughts
It’s clear hospitality TV provides way more than amusement in care centers. Since TV tech continues to advance, so will its applications for enhancing holistic patient care. Hospital admins seeking to deliver top-tier patient experiences would be disappointed not to invest in HTV.
Why? Because this innovative tech has so much potential to improve experiences and outcomes for patients.
