By Robert Michaels
One of the biggest problems that nursing homes and assisted living facilities (ALF) face is the problem of odors permeating throughout their facilities. Let’s face it, some residents are going to lose control of their bladder or bowel functions. Those control problems, coupled with less than complete attention to proper bathing and regular changes in clothing and bedding all add up to stale smells. The sad truth is that nursing homes and ALF should not smell of urine, feces, vomit, or other bodily fluids; however, sadly enough, this is all too often not the case.
When I was a boy, I delivered newspapers to a nursing home where I usually had about 15 papers to deliver. I would stand at the nurses’ station and write the names and room numbers of the people who would receive the paper, so that they could be delivered by the staff. I dreaded going into the nursing home because of the terrible odors, and always left that portion of my route until last. I never thought to mention anything to anyone about this, because I assumed it was just “the way things were” and never going to change. Many nursing home and ALF residents, mostly senior citizens, have suffered a loss of dignity and self-respect living in these circumstances, so they just accept the situation and keep to themselves about the problem. It is usually the families of the residents who are the advocates for the residents, and these folks are not happy when they come to visit mom or grandpa, only to find them residing in unpleasant environments. These people are also usually the ones who are making the decision on where their loved family member is going to reside. So, frequently, nursing homes are losing residents because of odor control issues, and this means a loss of revenue for the nursing home or ALF.
The U.S. Government Accounting Office has acknowledged industry-wide issues relating to hygiene and cleanliness, which, of course, contributes to the odor problem. Nursing homes and ALF have also tried for years to address these issues, using non absorbent materials for bedding, and any of dozens of cleaners and sprays to mask or attempt to cover the odors. These sprays and chemicals are usually ineffective. Usually, the combination of the odors along with the chemical smells produced by the sprays is worse than it had been before using the spray! As a result, directors of these facilities, maintenance supervisors, residents and their families remain frustrated with these problems.
Until now, there has been no resolving these issues; however there is one company whose product has finally found the solution, and that company is Zontec, which has figured out a scientific formula through physics, that will completely eliminate these odors. Zontec has created a machine that circulates millions of molecules of air into the room where the odor is, attacking the odor at the molecular level, and destroying it. So, instead of smelling stale smells of urine, feces, and chemical cleaners, the environment smells sweet and fresh, just like the air does after a thunderstorm. A thunderstorm is nature�s way of cleaning the air, and that is what the Zontec machine does, it literally reproduces what is done naturally to clean the air that we breathe everyday. Because it mimics what nature does, it is also a green solution to the problem, there are no chemicals emitted into the air.
With the Zontec solution, the odor problem is eliminated for good, and as a result, the environment in the nursing home or ALF is pleasant, and residents are much healthier and happier. Their families are also happier, and resident retention is greater, all of which add up to increased profits for the nursing home or ALF.
