By MaryLee Herrmann

What’s for dinner? What is for dinner? Easy enough question to answer, right?

Wrong! Because now it’s 20 minutes before mealtime and your dietary department is being bombarded with calls from family members of each resident asking that one simple question: 

“What’s on the menu?”

Who Has Time for This?

Add up all that time for all these calls every day of the week, and that comes to . . . well, a considerable amount of time your staff is on the phone respectfully describing the menu to each person who calls.

“Yes, today your mom is having herbed chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, and chocolate ice cream for dessert.”

Phone rings again, say it again.

And again.

Another call, say it again.

Do you know what your team members are not able to do while answering these repetitive calls? Everything else they need to get to during their shift. This kind of inefficiency is a huge time-suck.

Makes you wonder, what other departments in your community, such as activities, are also backlogged with time-consuming phone conversations that really could be answered with a simple tap on a phone.

Please Hold

You want the families to connect and be informed, and they want the same. Even something so simple as knowing what their loved one is having for dinner can be comforting.

Being put on hold while your staff answers other callers—not so comforting.

It sounds trivial, but it is frustrating and time-consuming. It SHOULD NOT BE THIS HARD!

Making the Connection

Well, according to Freddie Peyerl, founder and president of Quiltt (a Foresight partner), the solution comes down to better and simpler communication. That’s why they built the app Quiltt and made it super easy to use for anyone, young or old, tech-savvy or not.

You know, so all parties can instantly get and send the information people are calling for: Meal schedules, reservations, activity calendars, photo sharing, message notifications. All these can be viewed by your residents, their families, and your staff in a timely manner—the info is at their fingertips.

Growing Up as a Caregiver

Freddie knows what he is talking about. His parents owned two small assisted living communities while he was growing up. As he did his part mowing the lawns, delivering meals, and sitting and engaging with residents, he also witnessed the many challenges his parents faced. Things that are still difficult today—dissatisfaction as a result of miscommunication, issues with staff retention, low resident occupancy, and needless costs and wasted time.

Eight years ago, Freddie and two of his entrepreneurial buddies developed Alpine Media Tech, a company that uses communication platforms to build community and share information for the ski industry. And then he remembered his folks’ business and thought of who could really benefit—senior communities.

The Comfort of Quiltt

Using the technology already in place as a starting point, the team went about developing Quiltt—an app, a command center, and in-room media—specifically designed for long-term care communities. Everybody stays connected.

Besides delivering info out to phones, tablets, and other mobile devices, since not every resident is using them, Quiltt also offers the ability to deliver important information to common area TVs throughout your community and directly to residents’ own televisions. People who tend to stay in their rooms are able to stay on top of things with real-time info. This connection also helps prevent feelings of isolation.

Similar to the comfort of your great-grandmother’s cozy handmade quilt.

Works So Well

Quiltt’s ease of use and functionality has gotten heaps of praise from subscribing communities, with comments like, “Our families love it,” “A great tool,” and “Life-changing.” That’s exactly what Freddie had in mind from the start—an easy-to-use communication tool connecting people and making their lives easier.

Whether it’s looking up what’s for dinner, sharing a photo, or reading urgent notifications, Quiltt provides it all, from soup to nuts.

Guess you could say, “Quiltt has you covered!” (Come on, you knew that was coming!)

To learn more about the Quiltt suite of communication solutions, visit their website here.