Seniors, today, are living longer and fuller lives, and also actively seeking housing options matching with their desires. Surprisingly, those desires don’t include a traditional nursing home.
Most seniors want to live independently with an option of staged help as they would like to call it. Senior living communities are therefore seen as the perfect compromise because residents can benefit immensely from friendlier services, convenient surroundings and social opportunities offered by these communities.
Their lifestyles have also changed dramatically in comparison to the way it was around 10 years back. According to a survey made by the Pew Research Center, about 60% of seniors today go online and, more than 75% have a cell phone of their own.
Although seniors have been relatively slower in adopting technology than younger generations, their tech expertise continues to grow. With technology now becoming a necessity rather than a luxury, most senior living communities are striving hard to cater to the requirements and expectations of their inhabitants which includes building and upgrading facilities with the use of technology in mind. This post will throw more light on the matter.
The Increasing Demand For WiFi
Installing senior living WiFi connectivity is one of the ways communities are catering to the needs of the seniors.
In a 2013 survey made by the Ziegler CFO Hotline technology, it was found that almost 74% of senior living organizations had invested a substantial sum of money in internet connectivity in the last twelve months. Now, standing in 2018, we believe that the number has only increased to a more sizeable value.
Internet accessibility is justifiably a huge priority for seniors primarily because it allows them to stay in touch with their friends, see videos and pictures of their children and grandchildren, and communicate with various other family members spread across the globe.
Certain internet cafés have also become a popular offering in senior living communities, providing residents with a place to go and socialize with others while browsing the internet. These activities allow them to stay connected with the community and continue learning something new about technology every single day.
Technology Is Definitely Not Just For Leisure
Although technology is mostly used for leisure and other fun activities, many senior living communities are integrating their use to improve efficiency and create a safer residential environment for their people. For example,
Nursing facilities can use sensory patches for monitoring the number of time a resident turns in his/her sleep. This monitoring can help the nursing staff determine when medical assistance may be needed during the night.
Technology can also be used to track the location of staff members, estimate response time to a resident’s request for medical assistance, and monitor people coming and leaving from a resident’s room. This data can play a crucial role in reassuring family members that their loved ones are receiving the best services and attention in the country.
And lastly, it has also become critical for automating back-office work, particularly with billing, where sophisticated requirements exist for a more direct use of technology. Using machine intelligence in such divisions can help to increase efficiency and accuracy, resulting in fewer errors in the long term.
How To Get Your Community On Board
Although implementing technology in a senior living community can be a costly process, it is mighty essential to stay ahead of the curve.
To keep up with the demands of senior residents, communities should work hand in hand with partners capable of understanding the associated costs and can help them make the most of their offerings. With that, we’ll bring the post to a close for now. Hope you had a good and enlightening read.
Information shared by InspireWIFI.com
