By Pam McDonald
At our Virtual Tech Summit in mid-August, Lori Snow, VP of Strategic Partnerships for Spiro100, got my undivided attention when she said using their streaming content for seniors was “Netflix easy”. What?!! I know how to use Netflix. I do it all the time now. Have I become technologically savvy?
Well, no, but at least I’ve entered the 21st century, and technology has become more and more user friendly!
Lori was a presenter at our Tech Summit along with Josh Studzinski, VP of Marketing for Caremerge. The two companies recently partnered to bring our industry the most complete engagement/communications platform as well as high quality, fitness and wellness content.
Keeping Your Residents Connected
Josh noted that Caremerge enables communities to deploy strategies and tactics for keeping residents connected, engaged, and healthy. The company was launched in 2012 and now has a strong senior living pedigree with over 450 client locations. Their robust, data-driven programming can track and gauge activity and wellness outcomes to better coordinate resources and budget.
And, of course, Caremerge is able to follow and provide alerts about COVID-19 cases, create diagnoses and condition reports, track vitals and symptoms, respond to regulatory changes, and reduce virus spread using EHRs and EMRs.
It’s HIPAA-compliant engagement and communications tool delivers urgent and timely information to residents, families, and staff, both 1-to-1 or in groups. One executive director in an Illinois CCRC delivered 1500 messages a day to all three groups. He would record YouTube videos and broadcast them through Caremerge, then supplement that with email, text, and Alexa.
Communities also can add more flexibility and usefulness by integrating Caremerge with Alexa and AI capabilities. Josh spoke about a low-vision resident named George who lives in a Kalamazoo, Michigan, community. Typically, George needs assistance to use a computer or telephone. But with Alexa in his room, he’s gained more independence.
Keeping Your Residents Active
At the Tech Summit, Lori let us knows that Spiro100 has been serving senior communities since 2015 and has over 500 client communities. It is the leading Web-based exercise and wellness platform with over 100 fitness and meditation videos that have been vetted and recognized by wellness experts for use in senior living. About 30% of its content is also appropriate for memory care residents.
Inactivity is one of the leading causes of disease. The CDC recommends 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week for seniors. Wellness activities enhance quality of life, increase lengths of stay, and decrease cost of care. Keeping residents moving with exercise releases endorphins, helps with balance, and improves sleep as well as digestion.
Classes range from belly dancing to boxing, meditation and yoga, nutrition and wellness, and enough others to allow for 4 to 5 classes a day. There are also specific health management programs like fall prevention that can reduce incidents by 30% in 30 days. The core design was for group engagement using large screen TVs but was quickly adapted for in-room use.
A Community Differentiator
For many families, the quality of a community’s engagement and wellness programming is a significant factor in a placement decision. Lori quoted a satisfied customer who said, “It’s like going from a horse-drawn carriage to a Ferrari.” The system’s analytics assure the appropriate classes are available to individuals at the right time. Spiro100 is affordable, scalable and “Netflix easy”.
Learn more about Caremerge here, visit Spiro100’s website here.
To watch the presentation from Tech Foresight, you can register here.
