Service innovation for new care landscapes : a case study on safety in senior living and care

The care landscape for elderly people in Switzerland is changing rapidly. Until recently, seniors in need of care either stayed at home or, when in lack of formal or informal care networks, moved to a care facility. In future, elderly people will have an increasingly broader and more specific spectrum of expectations on how to cope with their growing disabilities. Providers in this field need to urgently adapt their supply chains, processes and business models. Some have already started to create innovative care landscapes. Such modern care facilities are generally more integrated - functionally as well as socially - into their neighborhoods and offer care services in different places. This paper discusses, from a strategical perspective how such new healthcare landscapes with new service models under the premises of a technological shift can be established. The hereafter presented case study is part of a multi-phase consultancy project. The focus lays on the first crucial phase when it comes to selecting the right safety solution for senior living and care. The results are based on expert interviews, future workshops and a Delphi analysis. They indicate, that besides the need for a moderated and structured process - to best incorporate different stakeholders’ requirements into a modernization process – there are four other issues of interest to be further investigated: I) Examining the emergence of new care landscapes that focus on new living and care models, II) increasing the awareness and knowledge of decision makers in senior living and care, III) defining new roles needed when integrating technological solutions, and IV) characterizing the future customer profiles. Lastly, the authors outline their arguments why the role of Facility Managers in that context is a crucial one