The United States’ demographics are changing rapidly.  Our citizens are living longer, and enjoying an active retirement for many more years than previously.  Beyond their active years, many are now choosing to live in a community living environment, rather than age-at-home, as has been the preference for many years.  And the children of these senior citizens are often encouraging them to move to an elder-care facility for many reasons: loss of a spouse, or the children live far away, or their parents need specialized care, or simply to allow them to live a more engaged and less lonely daily life.  As a result, the senior care industry is booming, with many more facilities opening up every month across the country.

Photo ID Badging is an industry ‘best practice’

Well-run senior care facilities follow many medical best practices, and one of them is to ensure not only that their staff are all highly qualified, but that they can be clearly identified when performing their jobs.  Many states now require healthcare professionals, including those at  to always wear a photo ID card, and most care providers consider a professional ID card program to be an industry “best practice”.  The major healthcare providers have long recognized ID badging to be a low-cost, highly visible means of demonstrating their professionalism.

Photo ID cards clearly identify the bearer’s qualifications and the name of the organization he or she represents. They especially make elderly patients more comfortable with their caregivers and help them remember their names. Cards reduce the discomfort of a patient needing to ask “Who are you?” or “Are you a doctor?” And they reassure loved ones that their eldercare provider is actively promoting accountability and fighting potential identity theft.

Providing badges in skilled-nursing facilities mirrors the broad trends in the medical sector, where it is now common practice in most developed countries.  Most responsible companies providing care services, and even insurance companies and  other related companies, choose to issue their employees ID cards for healthcare industry.

Senior care facilities need in particular to combat the possibility of elder abuse through misrepresentation. Unfortunately, as our elder population rises, and with their vulnerabilities, they become targets for scams and “snake-oil” salesmen. Requiring all healthcare professionals to clearly identify themselves is an easy and powerful method to help limit security risks.

The case for Photo ID Cards

There are several reasons why a senior care facility should require employees to wear photo ID badges.

Firstly, it helps to ensure the safety and security of residents. Photo ID badges make it easy to identify staff members and ensure that only authorized personnel have access to restricted areas of the facility.

Secondly, it also helps to promote accountability and transparency. Staff members wearing photo ID badges are easily identifiable, making it easier to hold them accountable for their actions.

Thirdly, it helps to promote a professional image. Staff members wearing photo ID badges clearly identify them as employees of the facility, which can help to promote trust and confidence among residents, families, and visitors.

Finally, photo ID badges can also be used to track staff attendance, and to quickly identify staff members in case of emergency.

Requiring employees to wear photo ID badges can help to ensure the safety and security of residents, promote accountability and transparency, promote a professional image, and aid in emergency situations.

Outsourcing Card Printing

Professional photo ID cards have come a long way. It used to be that a laminator and an ink-jet printer were enough to produce an adequate ID card. But, taking the easy route today creates results that are clearly inferior to the plastic credit-card-format ID cards we’ve grown accustomed to seeing on TV shows like “House, M.D.” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” Particularly in eldercare facilities, a professional photo ID card immediately communicates “expertise” and “competence,” whereas an inferior card, or the lack of an ID badge altogether, does just the opposite. This will be among the first thing a visitor notices as he or she comes to have a look at your facility.

Printing your own plastic ID cards requires an investment of several thousand dollars in hardware and software, plus training someone to run the machine. That’s no longer necessary, thanks to cloud services. Today, an online outsourced photo ID card service like InstantCard allows even the smallest organization access to top-quality cards on demand. InstantCard even guarantees same-day service for all ID card orders, even for a card ordered for a single new employee.

The benefits of outsourced ID card production multiply for aged-care organizations with multiple offices. They can completely avoid the hassle of receiving photos and data, producing cards, and sending them back out to the right location. Each location can order its own cards online and have them delivered directly. InstantCard can even drop-ship individual ID cards, along with badge holders and lanyards, to employees’ homes.  Click here to review specific concerns in issuing cards when your company has more than a couple of different elder care facilities.

Printing a professional photo ID card in-house can vary in difficulty depending on the equipment and software you have available. If you do not have the proper equipment or experience, it can be quite challenging to produce a professional-looking card. Some common challenges include ensuring accurate color reproduction, achieving proper alignment of text and images, and ensuring the card is durable and long-lasting. Other challenges including acquiring the data and photos in usable format, and distributing the cards out to where they are issued to staff members.

If you are considering re-newing your current ID card program, you may to speak with an expert to get up to speed on all the options available to you.  You may also want to review a portfolio of typical healthcare card templates, so you can find a layout which meets your requirements.  Click here to see many sample card designs which you can filter in various ways to focus on those of most interest to you.

In summary, professional ID badges prevent clients questioning the legitimacy of your employees and promote your brand in a subtle, effective manner. Now that they are so easy to order online, there’s no reason not to require all caregivers to wear their photo ID card at all times.