Music programming can relieve isolation while still enforcing safety measures. By Amy Jeffs, Status Solutions Before the pandemic, senior living residents were already dealing with the burdens of social isolation and loneliness. One study even found that over half of residents without cognitive impairment reported feeling lonely. And now that residents are more isolated than ever, it’s only gotten worse. The effects are more than emotional, but can cause many negative consequences such as increased risk of “cognitive decline and progression of Alzheimer’s disease, recurrent stroke, obesity, elevated blood pressure, …
Technology
HOUSTON — Kare, a digital labor marketplace for post-acute and senior care based in Houston, has hired Steph Kolbo as chief growth officer. Kolbo joins Kare after a decade at NRC Health, a healthcare customer intelligence company. She led growth strategy for the company’s post-acute care division (including senior living) and most recently helped lead customer strategy for health systems. At Kare, Kolbo will help build on the company’s customer and geographic growth, while also building alliances with nursing and vocational schools.
Technology, Wellness Define Seniors Housing of the Future, Say Exclusive Webinar Panelists
by Jeff Shaw
As the seniors housing industry prepares for the incoming wave of future residents — the oldest baby boomers are now 74 years old — operators are adapting their strategies. “Being able to pivot your business is really key,” says Kelly Keefe of seniors housing software company MatrixCare. “There’s been an increasing shift, more of a light put on wellness initiatives.” Keefe’s comments came during a webinar panel she moderated on Sept. 17 titled “How the Pandemic, Baby Boomers and Technology are Changing the Senior Living Business.” Presented by Seniors Housing …
In a September 17 Seniors Housing Business webinar: How the Pandemic, Baby Boomers, and Technology are Changing the Senior Living Business, panelists discussed how the senior living industry is shifting. Wellness trends, including specialized diets like Paleo and Keto, are increasingly requested by residents and their adult children — and the requests are anticipated to grow as more Baby Boomers move into seniors housing residences. New uses for health-related technology, such as real-time data collection, show promise in terms of improving resident health and preventing hospital stays. Technology is also changing …
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — OdessaConnect, a seniors housing technology platform based in Louisville and formerly known as myFamilyChannel, has hired Jessica Heck as chief business development officer. Heck was most recently chief strategy officer for Blake Management Group. She has already started at her new position, and led the rebranding effort of the company. Heck joins the team with nearly a decade of experience in the senior living industry. Beginning with Atria Senior Living, Heck went on to work for Elmcroft Senior Living and Milestone. She serves on the board of …
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Unigue, a Nashville technology provider and the parent company of seniors housing tech platform Touchtown, has acquired Visitor & Community Television Corp. (VCTV), which specializes in communication technology. The combined VCTV and Touchtown team will operate under the Touchtown brand led by current senior vice president of senior living Mike Rethage. VCTV’s technology solutions will be merged with Touchtown’s, providing a product range including mobile community apps, resident room entertainment, common room technology and support services.
Seniors housing operators have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic through a variety of changed procedures, such as increased infection protocols, limited visitations and meal deliveries. Now, the next step is to make sure those procedures are sustainable for the long term, as the virus shows no signs of going away in the near future. “I think back to when we were first realizing COVID-19 was really going to affect us. If we all locked down for a few weeks, the curve would flatten and we could all go back to …
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Webinar: Tips for How Operators Can Thrive in the Evolving Seniors Living Market
On July 23, Seniors Housing Business hosted a panel discussion called “Tips for How Operators Can Thrive in the Evolving Seniors Living Market” where four seniors housing industry experts joined to talk about how they are addressing COVID-19 challenges, adapting and promoting communities in spite of obstacles. Click here to watch this engaging webinar. The seniors housing world has shifted dramatically in the past few months, explains Steve Lampa, Founding Parter at Kensington Living, a Washington D.C.-based operator. “The number of leads is definitely down, but on the other hand a lot …
COVID-19 resulted in a sudden increase in demand for internet connectivity in seniors housing — catching some operators flat-footed. By Jeff Shaw The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on seniors housing were sudden and dramatic. We’ll likely continue to feel them for years to come. As communities closed themselves off from the outside world to protect residents, a new challenge emerged: How do we keep our residents healthy and safe without isolating them from friends, family and entertainment? The answer came in part from the web, as operators looked to …
Industry leader Brenda Bacon, CEO of Brandywine Living and former Argentum Board Chair, offers expert insight into the industry-wide response to the COVID-19 health crisis and how senior living can apply those lessons going forward. Listen to Episode One of the Seniors Housing Business series Executive Insights to learn how Bacon and her team are protecting and promoting resident health, acting as educators and advocating for assisted living industry as a whole. Executive Insights is an exclusive interview series in which Seniors Housing Business interviews top thought leaders in assisted living. See …