How to market safety without making implied promises.

By Pam McDonald

Because resident care is so important to senior living and one of its primary selling propositions, we shouldn’t be surprised to see marketing statements like, “Our residents are safe and secure,” right?

Well, not so fast! I’m no lawyer, but Joel Goldman is – in fact he’s one of our industry’s pre-eminent attorneys – and he warns against such verbiage, stating that it could have negative legal consequences if a resident were injured or worse.

Avoiding Implied Promises

Joel is a partner with Hanson Bridgett LLP, which provides legal representation to owners, developers, and operators of senior care communities. He focuses on issues involving operations, licensure, regulations, risk management, and residents.

He recommends that instead of stating in marketing materials that residents will be safe, which could be viewed as an implied promise, communities describe the practices and technologies they use to enhance resident well being. Blue Willow Systems (BWS), a Senior Housing Forum partner, is a perfect example of such technology, and Joel serves on its advisory board.

A Computer Brain-Learning Device and System

BWS was specifically designed to detect and automatically notify staff of such critical care occurrences as falls and elopements and provide real-time location maps of residents and staff.

The features of this system that client communities can tout in their marketing materials include the following:

  • The end-to-end system is comprised of state-of-the-art, patent-pending technology

  • Its unobtrusive, lightweight wearable devices, called Blue Bands, contain multiple sensors that underwent almost 50,000-laboratory fall sets so engineers could program them with an algorithm that detects and recognizes falls versus other movements in unlimited possible scenarios

  • The proprietary algorithm is based on neural network computer brain training and artificial intelligence (AI) processes

  • The BlueBands send a signal on an ongoing basis, 24/7, at a rate of 300 milliseconds

  • Engineered BlueHub receivers, placed in residents’ living space and throughout the community, pick up the signals and transmit them to the Blue Cloud

  • The digital, Internet-based BlueCloud triggers wander and fall notifications and location maps, which are sent in real-time to caregiving staff via mobile devices and desktop computers

  • Movement information, including step-count, and temperatures are tracked until staff reaches the resident

  • An automatic incident report is generated and relevant data stored for staff workflow management and risk management assessments

  • The system evolves and ‘learns’ each resident’s movements so it is more accurate in understanding what is a fall for individual residents

  • Patterns of falls and movement as well as times of day when falls or elopements occur may become discernable

  • In cases of fire, evacuation or other emergencies, Blue Willow Systems’ location screens show if every resident and staff is safely out of the building, providing invaluable intelligence to community managers and first responders

  • The system’s reports – a virtual breadcrumb trail – give management a definitive way of knowing where staff and residents are and assessing if staffing is adequate to care levels and in alignment with resident care plans.

This impressive list of safety-enhancing features makes it clear – without the necessity of spelling it out – that resident safety and security are of utmost importance to a community.

For more information about Blue Willow Systems, call (877) 789-9657 or visit their website by clicking on the button below:

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