This article is prompted by another client request. It is one that I have been putting off writing so that I could do additional “research”. In fact, I have been struggling to complete this article because I was looking for exactly the right answers. After working with another client yesterday, and helping that client make TV selections, I had a revelation! THERE IS NO “RIGHT” WAY TO DO THIS! No matter what decision you make, some aspects of the decision are likely to be compromised.
OK, now that I have gotten that out of the way, let’s get productive and talk about making the “BEST” decision.
CATEGORIES OF TELEVISIONS
TV’s are manufactured for specific applications. All of us have gone to Best Buy or Costco and gazed at the array of BIG screen, flat panel TV’s that are offered in plasma, LCD and now LED … All of those TV’s were made specifically for the RETAIL market. Retail TV’s are designed with features you and I want so we can use them in our homes. What is generally not understood is that there are also special televisions made with certain features for other applications; for the hospitality market, the long term care market and for use in hospitals.
I’m not going into a lot of detail here, but I do want to address some of the differentiating features.
Let’s start with “commercial” TVs. The commercial TV evolved from the demands of an industry that has been buying and using TV’s for more than 50 years, the HOSPITALITY industry (hotels and motels). Hospitality buyers have forgotten more details about buying and owning TV’s than the health care industry (a relatively new participant in this market) has had the opportunity to absorb. We can take some hints from the hospitality industry’s experience though and cobble onto some of the features on which they will not compromise … and by the way, the hospitality industry has NEVER been know for “wasting a dollar” so it is safe to assume that their standards are steeped in value.
Features of commercial TV’s are:
- Special software that allows you to program one TV and then “one touch program” all the other TV’s with that same remote. Think about this feature in the health care context of having “pre-tuned” a control for a foreign language preference, one for sports and one for programs of medical interest. When a new patient/resident moves in to the facility, you can “one touch” the TV to be specific to that patient/resident’s preferences.
- Warranty. Some commercial TV manufacturers who “toughen” their commercial product also offer special extended warranties in the commercial environment. In almost all cases, delivering a retail grade TV for use in a commercial environment VOIDS the manufacturer’s warranty. BEWARE!
- Limits on sound adjustments to avoid noise pollution.
- The TV always turns “on” to a specific channel. This is a great feature if the facility has invested in a personalized channel receiver and uses the channel for daily announcements and other information. Individual patient/resident schedules can even be displayed on a specific TV screen only. This is similar to the ability to check your hotel bill from the TV in your room.
The” Long Term Care TV” is a relatively new addition to the line-up of TV choices (as is the LTC industry in providing TV’s for residents). Two features have been added to the commercial television to create the LTC TV:
- A simplified hand control for a less “sophisticated” user.
- Discrete IR which eliminates “cross talk” between two television remotes in the same room.
The” Acute Care” TV (hospital grade) has all of the above features and adds a PILLOW SPEAKER option and better INFECTION CONTROL by utilizing a “sealed” cleanable case for the monitor. There are also some higher end features available (read higher priced) that also allow for DC powered systems and eventual conversion to touch screen and interactive applications.
SCREEN SIZE
So, putting all the “this is a guy thing” jokes aside, screen size is a function of the distance of the patient/resident to the television screen. There are formulae on the internet to readily help you calculate correct size screen. There is one additional important twist that everyone needs to understand about screen size and that is that when television went “digital”, the aspect ratio changed from 4:3 to 16:9 (we went widescreen). Almost all NEW flat panel televisions have been sized to optimize the 16:9 ratio. Some older flat panel television such as the 20”, now render a much smaller picture (for the 20” TV, about the equivalent of a 16-17” monitor) because the 20” TV was designed to optimize the 4:3 ratio.
MOUNTING THE TV
So now we have selected our TV … what else is there left to do besides setting it up?
Oops! Did I forget to tell you that we don’t recommend that you select the TV first? We need to figure out HOW and WHERE to mount the TV, and AFTER THAT pick the best TV option. My analogy for the commercial TV selection process (and to a lesser degree, buying a TV for your home) is taken from the early days of personal computing (and yes, I was there…). Often, people would rush out to buy a computer only to learn later that the software they wanted to run was not compatible with the computer they had just purchased. The same problem now arises with commercial TV’s … If you buy 22” TVs and then find out that the only practical place to mount them is clear across the room, you will be disappointed with the result because no one can see the picture that far away.
There are lots of TV mounting options to consider and then, once you select the option you want, there are then multiple styles of mounts; wall mounts, ceiling mounts, fixed mounts, articulating mounts, adjustable mounts, you name it mounts, to consider. Space available and construction of your building dictate the best choices for mounts. And even though almost all TV’s come with a table base included, we do not recommend using the table base in a commercial application. The table base is not secure from theft and is prone to being knocked over. WARNING: Some TV mounting systems can cost more than the television. Much more!
NOISE POLLUTION
The hospital grade unit has the only “built in” solution to noise pollution by providing the pillow speaker option and commercial and Long Term Care Grade TV’s can be programmed to “cap the volume”. There are a number of third party products that look like they have some promise to provide” personal sound” alternatives while working with other than just the hospital grade TVs. It is a little too soon to name any one of these the “panacea” for the industry. Keep in touch with Health Care Source and we will let you know as soon as we have a remote speaker product to endorse.
OTHER COOL STUFF
Don’t forget to ask us about single patient use hand controls.
AND LEST WE FORGET! THE REGULATIONS
In California we must take OSHPD regulations into account. If you are adding televisions as part of an OSHPD approved remodel, they will want details about the TV and the TV mounting device you have selected. As a point of reference, most 26” or smaller commercial TV’s weigh less than 20 lbs.
More important to regulatory considerations in the long term care use of televisions are the new CMS “Home Like Environment” guidelines. The long term care industry was beginning to trend toward an “acute care” approach to mounting their televisions on “swing away” mounting arms attached to the wall or the ceiling.
Unfortunately, the swing away arm mount is not anything that you would ever see in a home like environment. They are, oh how can I be kind here?…. quite ugly, invasive and very institutional in nature. I do not see now how this mechanism could be disguised, and so, given the new CMS guidelines, I don’t think the “articulating arm” is a practical mounting application for a Skilled Nursing facility’s televisions.
CONCLUSION
So now do you see why I said; “THERE IS NO RIGHT WAY TO DO THIS”?
We think the “BEST” way for our client to make a good decision regarding TV selection is to establish values and then measure the choices against those values.
Why are you purchasing the TV’s for the facility? Is it for competitive marketing reasons? Is it for patient/resident satisfaction (an amenity)? Is it to offer diversion to the patient/resident? Is it some other reason/reasons?
If the client has weighed their values to determine what is most important to them and then shares that decision with one of our HealthCare Source staff, then with our expertise and experience, we can together quickly identify the “best solution” and opt for the “best value” in televisions, mounts and accessories.
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