Your Guide to Retirement Home
and Aged Care Facility
Maintenance Programs

Retirement homes and nursing home facilities frequently experience wear and tear due to a number of factors. To keep your property in good condition and maintain a safe environment, retirement and nursing home maintenance services are integral. Aged care facility maintenance solutions help preserve buildings and keep everyone on the property safe from harm. 

Although aged care facility maintenance may fix current problems, these services could also entail preventative maintenance. Through preventative maintenance, you can address smaller issues before they have the chance to develop into more serious ones that cause extensive damage and put occupants at risk of injury. Routine preventative maintenance will make sure any potentially serious issues are identified and fixed. This maintains the property while helping save you money and resources on costly repairs.

Some of the common types of retirement and aged care facility maintenance include:

• Interior and exterior painting
• Grounds maintenance and landscaping
• Electrical repairs and plumbing
• Rust removal and water damage repairs
• Replacing or reconditioning structural concrete or timber
• Repairs to wall, flooring, and ceiling damage
• Maintenance of boundary markers such as walls and fencing
• Repairs to recreational spaces, including pools

A good maintenance program for retirement and aged care facilities will help keep them consistently safe, clean, and functional, all while maintaining compliance with laws and regulations. 

Some specific advantages of maintenance programs for these and other buildings include:

• Saved money — Maintenance plans maximise the lifespan of different properties and assets, which reduces the need for costly replacements. Maintenance teams can also accurately identify and address structural issues early on, eliminating the need for emergency repairs that might otherwise disrupt both staff and residents.
• Happier residents — Preventative maintenance programs make for a safer and healthier environment for residents and staff alike. This keeps residents more content while impressing visitors and new prospective residents.
• Reduced risk of injury and liability — Over time, wear and tear can cause minor to extensive damage in retirement villages and nursing homes, leading to worn electrical systems, broken equipment, and other hazards that put people at risk of injury. If a resident or staff member is injured on your property, this will tarnish the property's reputation and culminate in steep liability costs. Sufficient preventative maintenance can prevent these issues from arising and help minimise the risk of injury.

Keeping these benefits in mind, you may want to consider outsourcing your retirement or aged care facility maintenance to experienced contractors.

Your property's specific needs will dictate whether you should rely on in-house teams or outsource to contractors for maintenance. In some cases, retirement villages and aged care facilities may use a combination of in-house and outsourced maintenance.

Ultimately, the right choice will depend on the tasks you need to perform. You might have an in-house team to complete everyday maintenance jobs to maintain the property on a day-to-day basis. On the other hand, you might need to outsource maintenance to free up your in-house team if you require more extensive maintenance. The right contractors will have specialists available to provide strategic maintenance services that yield the results you want.

Outsourcing aged care and retirement facility maintenance can also relieve the administrative burden around bringing on new employees. It also helps you avoid some of the potential legal issues that might otherwise put your business at risk.

Depending on your individual requirements, you may benefit from contacting a maintenance service provider for once-off projects. The problem with hiring a provider on a case-by-case basis is the potential cost of doing so. The following are some pros and cons of contracts and once-off projects.

Once-off projects

Many retirement village and nursing home managers opt for once-off contractors when a long-term contract seems unnecessary.

The Pros

• Working with multiple maintenance contractors may help managers gauge whether these companies are a good fit for their facilities. Hiring contractors for once-off projects gives managers a feel for how the companies operate and their level of professionalism. 
• Facilities may also only require occasional emergency repairs without the need for a long-term contract.

The Cons

• Once-off projects may appear to be more cost-effective. But the lack of preventative maintenance could actually culminate in higher costs. Without the ability to spot and address issues early on, they could develop into serious issues that warrant emergency and extensive repairs. Additionally, you may miss out on the opportunity to receive discounts on long-term contracts.
• Hiring maintenance contractors for once-off projects may also result in incomplete or substandard work that fails to fix critical issues.

Retirement and aged care facility maintenance contracts

Although some managers may prefer the freedoms that come with once-off projects, maintenance contracts offer added reliability.

The Pros

• Maintenance contracts help you stay within your available budget while significantly reducing the risk of unanticipated or emergency repairs. In turn, you can save more money and keep your facilities fully functioning. If maintenance work is insufficient for any reason, providers will also perform the necessary procedures at no cost to you.
• Long-term contracts also come with reduced financial and legal risks. You'll benefit from work of consistent quality through a long-term relationship. Contractors are licensed tradesmen, meaning they bear legal responsibility for every project.

The Cons

• Providers may feel like they're unable to get out of their contracts after signing them. However, contracts could include language around cancellation and renewals, which enables you to exit the contract if needed.
• Through a long-term contract, you can form a long relationship with contractors as they get to know your facilities in and out. While this is often advantageous, some managers may prefer a more transactional relationship.

Which to choose: contracts or once-off projects?

Signing a contract with the ideal provider will give you a single dependable contact for all maintenance needs. This will reduce your workload and free up resources. Through preventative maintenance and repairs that maintain your property, you'll benefit from contracts that ultimately help you save money and avoid disrupting stakeholders. Even if the freedom of once-off projects appeals to you, you can benefit hugely from the security of long-term contracts.

In addition to these two options, managers of retirement and nursing homes have the option to work with an internal team to complete various maintenance tasks.

Working with a contractor can give you more peace of mind and ensure your facilities remain in peak condition. A good contractor will clearly indicate what requires repairs and maintenance long before performing these tasks. Also, they'll work based on your budget. The key to entering the ideal contract is to find the right contractor for the job.

To help you select a contractor, here are some helpful tips that will get you started:

1. Search for an all-in-one solutions provider — A good provider will be able to cover every aspect of maintenance. This includes plumbing, electrical work, painting, and much more. With a single contractor behind every solution, you won't need to work with multiple contractors.
2. Check for qualifications and expertise — Maintenance contractors must be backed by plenty of qualifications, registered, and police-checked. Your contractor should also have sufficient insurance coverage.
3. Consider work schedules — To avoid disturbing residents and staff, contractors need to work on a schedule that works for everyone.
4. Only work with a provider with a solid reputation — Look for good and detailed testimonials from happy clients, which will give you a good indication of whether you can trust the contractor. Also, ask about previous work with other retirement or aged care facilities. Reach out to these clients for recommendations.
5. Make sure the contractor performs all necessary maintenance tasks — Your maintenance provider should be able to handle a wide variety of maintenance issues. Ask about exclusions lists that detail tasks that other contractors aren't likely to perform.

When switching to a new maintenance provider or developing a new preventative maintenance plan, there are some steps to take to ensure a smooth transition. These steps include:

1. Requesting an onsite assessment — Your maintenance contractor should be able to visit your facilities and conduct an evaluation to determine their unique maintenance requirements. This will help establish the overall scope of your maintenance program.
2. Negotiate the contract — Make sure the contract is both flexible and consistently transparent, with an exit clause that works in your favour.
3. Work begins — The maintenance provider should then set a date with you to inspect for defects. After this inspection, the contractor will notify you when tasks are completed and deliver warranty documentation once they receive payment.
4. Assess the value of your provider — Give the contract a few months before evaluating your experience with the contractor. At this point, you can decide whether the workmanship meets both your and your industry's standards. You can also identify any issues that maintenance could cause for residents or staff.
5. Exit the contract if necessary — If a contractor fails to meet the required standards, talk with the service provider to see if they address these issues. If the contractor continues to underperform, trigger the exit clause and search for another provider.

Preventative maintenance plans are integral for meeting legal responsibilities while keeping retirement villages and aged care facilities in consistently great condition. With the right services behind your facilities, they'll remain safe, clean, and desirable places to both live and provide care. If you want to relieve the administrative burden and get optimal results from maintenance services, turn to a reliable maintenance provider that offers all-in-one solutions.

The professionals at First Response have worked with a variety of retirement villages and nursing homes to help maintain their facilities. We can meet your maintenance requirements, whether you need a long-term contractor to provide regular preventative maintenance or want to work with us on a once-off or emergency basis. Our long-term partnerships enable us to learn everything there is to know about your facilities and unique requirements. As a result, we can serve as your go-to contractor to help you preserve your property and save you money.

When you connect with us, we'll discuss your facilities' maintenance requirements, from basic preventative maintenance tasks to more extensive repairs. Based on your unique needs, we'll provide an accurate quote that gives you a clear idea of what to expect. We'll develop a maintenance plan that enables you to maintain your facilities and reduce maintenance costs in the long term. Subsequently, you'll benefit from a partnership that eliminates the need to work with several contractors of varying reliability. Instead, you'll be able to work with experienced professionals who consolidate all maintenance services to optimise cost-effectiveness and efficiency.

If you would like to learn more about the aged care facility maintenance solutions we offer at First Response, we offer free, no-obligation quotes for every contract. To request a free quote or reach out to us with any additional questions, get a quote today or contact us online.