5 Ways to Achieve Connected Senior Living That Benefit Residents and Staff

Connected systems can not only improve workflows and communication between systems and staff members but also bring the freedom and flexibility for residents to manage their daily routines, according to Keller. For team members, the technology brings less paperwork and better coordination.

Here are five ways senior living organizations can better connect technology to support their staff and residents.

1. Invest in Integrated Systems

Integrating multiple systems can be a headache for senior living staff, but intuitive technology ensures a smooth experience and higher satisfaction, Keller suggests.

“Interoperability doesn’t have to mean chasing complex integrations,” he says. “Sometimes it’s about giving team members and residents a more consistent, intuitive experience across systems they already use.”

At Erickson, for example, team members have streamlined tools so that they can work on scheduling, timekeeping and HR tasks all on one platform.

“Instead of managing multiple systems with different logins and workflows, they have a single place to go, whether it’s to check a schedule, request time off or update information,” Keller says. “That consistency reduces friction and helps teams focus on what really matters: serving residents.”

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He says Erickson’s electronic health record platform offers built-in telehealth capabilities in a system that the clinicians already trust.

Service platforms such as Amazon Web Services also integrate well with other applications and support extensibility, Keller says.

Integrated systems are needed and must support the personal devices of residents, including phones, tablets and wearable health devices. Juniper Communities, for example, which has senior living communities in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Texas and Colorado, is exploring newly developed fall monitoring and reduction software that integrates with EHRs.

“You need to understand the integration capabilities of software applications before you purchase them, instead of trying to create workarounds on the back end,” says Donald Breneman, COO at Juniper Communities. “They have to connect and talk to each other as much as possible.”

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Juniper has integrated its EHR platform into its assisted living environment. Now, the organization can scale its EHR platform across its portfolio. In addition, vendors now offer better application programming interfaces to integrate major platforms for data sharing, Breneman says.

“Initially, if I had done a Venn diagram, it would have been 30 bubbles of different vendors all doing their own thing with segregated data,” Breneman recalls. “It was very difficult.”

The ability of Juniper’s EHR platform to communicate with hospitals, residents and families helped reduce unnecessary transfers of care, according to Breneman.

Using a data lake helps Juniper connect the data and understand how the facility is operating.

“The data lake has been important, because capturing all this data and having it in a workable format is essential for a senior living provider to understand what’s going on, and the data points are innumerable,” Breneman says. “There’s so much going on.”

2. Implement Robust Wi-Fi Infrastructure

“Without reliable connectivity, everything else is just a wish,” Keller says. “A strong network is the foundation for any connected system.”

Erickson serves as the internet service provider for half of its campuses and uses nationally known ISPs for the others.

“Reliable, high-speed Wi-Fi has become just as essential as electricity or hot water in nearly everyone’s home, including senior living,” Keller says. “Residents rely on it for everything from streaming and video calls to using their PCs in their homes or mobile apps that support their daily lives.”

Breneman notes that two decades ago, Wi-Fi wasn’t available in its senior living community.

“That was really important to set up in a manner by which you could be safe and operate in a way that facilitated regulatory effectiveness and overall security for the environment,” he says.

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3. Invest in Strong Partnerships

Strong partnerships help ensure a better tech experience for residents and staff as well as external vendors.

“I think senior living is sometimes underestimated as a healthcare partner. We’re one of the best because of the information we’re capturing now, and we should leverage that as an industry to show our outcomes and highlight our effectiveness,” Breneman says.

Senior living brings many departments together, including IT and HR.

“The best technology outcomes happen when IT, operations, HR and resident life come together around a shared vision,” Keller says, adding that Erickson has integrated its HR and workforce management applications both technically and functionally. That enables team members to use a unified, intuitive system to help with their day-to-day workflow.

Juniper has partnered with Amazon to install Alexa Echo Show devices in every room and integrate it with their Connect4Life program. It broadcasts when meals are being serviced and helps mark staff birthdays. Residents also use Alexa devices for “passive check-ins,” Breneman says. Alexa reminds residents to check in and confirm that they are present and healthy.

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4. Create a Culture of Human Connection

Keller stresses the importance of creating an environment in which residents and team members are comfortable using technology.

“If they’re not at ease, adoption, satisfaction and overall value will suffer,” Keller says.

As part of this culture at Erickson Senior Living, the staff implements “tech bars” to allow residents to connect with support staff. They provide one-to-one support to help residents connect their devices and navigate apps, according to Keller.

“Our goal is to ensure that residents feel comfortable and confident integrating technology into their daily lives, no matter what device they’re using,” Keller says.

Erickson provides staff with communication, training and feedback loops to ensure tech tools are actually supporting their work, Keller adds.

Juniper sees telehealth as an opportunity to grow the business. Breneman notes that Juniper has a special room for telehealth to allow clinicians and residents to connect remotely.

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5. Stay on Top of AI

Building AI and automation capabilities into platforms the team already uses works well for Erickson.

“That’s the kind of smart, incremental progress we look for — building on a strong foundation rather than constantly starting from scratch,” Keller says.

Meanwhile, Juniper uses robots to boost the workflows of employees in dining areas.

“These robots travel in between the dining room and the kitchen, picking up meals and bringing them to residents, and what we’ve been able to document and show is higher dining satisfaction outcomes through the use of these robotic devices,” Breneman says. “It looks like an R2-D2 with four trays. It goes back and forth.”

AI and robotics have not been a threat to staff jobs, Breneman adds.

“We haven’t used it to reduce staff or take work away,” Breneman says. “We’ve used it to supplement, enhance and promote better, more resident-centric tasks and behaviors from our team members.”

As senior living communities connect multiple devices, maintaining communication will be key to enhancing workflows, according to Breneman.

“It’s all about communication — how communicative can the device be through the workflow that will enable better outcomes,” Breneman says. “If you’re not connecting all those together, it’s a problem.”