DESPITE the tough environment for nursing homes in the country, the Retirement & Healthcare Coalition (RHC) maintains there is a strong potential for investments in that sector.
RHC Executive Director Marc Daubenbeuchel told the BusinessMirror that he considers a nursing whome as a residence for senior citizens.
“Is a nursing home a residence or business? Well, for the homeowners associations it is business,” Daubenbeuchel lamented shortly after the RHC’s Human Touch Program for Nursing Homes awarding ceremony in Makati City.
He then added other concerns, including local government units zoning ordinances, which he believes is also another hindrance toward setting up nursing homes.
Still, Daubenbeuchel believes that, because of the international retirement migration, the Philippines is an attractive place to set up nursing homes owing to the country’s English language proficiency, long history with western cultures, Filipinos famous brand of service and the 300,000 nurses that can be tapped.
However, he said the country lacks a regulatory environment while also having limited knowledge on long-term elderly care nursing and a general unawareness of the geriatric situation.
“The programs, there is no regulatory. No standards on how a facility should be run. That is why standards are very important. It is a home away from home,” he said.
He stressed that the nursing facility should give the best care than can be given.
Daubenbeuchel said the the demand for nursing homes will expand exponentially with the growing population in urban areas and with families busy with their work.
The RHC’s Human Touch Program, a program started in 2013 in partnership with Pflegen & Wohnen Hamburg GmbH, provided an audit and established a quality management system for six selected nursing homes in the country.
The RHC, composed of the American, European, Japanese and Korean business chambers, is looking to develop a regulatory environment for nursing homes in the country in cooperation with the Department of Health (DOH).
They are looking to submit by June this year a recommendation to the DOH on the requirements needed to operate a nursing home in the country that focuses on qualification and development of the staff, implementation of evidence-based nursing procedures, nursing documentation, facility features and hygiene.
Aside from the Human Touch Program for Nursing Homes, the RHC’s Philippine Healthcare Initiative has public-private partnerships for Quality Management Framework on Healthcare Facilities and Development of the Geriatric Curriculum.