Change—as well as the start of a new year—often prompts reflection. The retirement late last year of Rich Schutt, the visionary who helped get CAST off the ground just over 20 years ago,  coupled with more recent CAST developments, brought home the breadth of technology’s impact to our sector and, as Rich believed would be the case, the possibilities that lie ahead.

Consider infection control. Given older adults’ and long-term care residents’ vulnerability, it’s a top concern not only for LeadingAge members, but also for all aging services providers. Many tech-based solutions to address it, from equipment (robotic floor scrubbers, air filtration devices) and software (infection surveillance, control and reporting), are relatively new and fairly sophisticated examples of health care technology—a far cry from what we were thinking about back at CAST’s launch in 2003.

Almost two years ago, we unveiled our Infection Control Technologies white paper and technology selection tool—a useful and valuable resource for ensuring quality care, particularly after COVID-19 hit. A conversation that followed the tool’s release, and the initiative that came from it, highlights how our work, in collaboration with members and business partners, has evolved.

Nathan Tintle from Aquora Research and Consulting, a water management company that tests and analyzes water supplies to help communities make data-driven decisions that can improve residents’ quality of life, emailed me to learn more about the tool and explore a possible collaboration. Aquora’s monitoring system SecureCare, developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, provides early detection of disease outbreaks.

Given our unique vantage point—we’ve got knowledge and understanding of both infection control technologies and aging services communities—we seized the opportunity.

After discussions, I connected our LeadingAge “sibling,” the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston, and Aquora. They partnered on the completion of a National Institutes of Health grant application focused on implementation of a technology system designed to predict infectious disease outbreaks in long-term care settings by collecting and testing wastewater samples. Submitted in December 2023, the grant was officially awarded in July 2024. Nursing homes, including LeadingAge member Good Samaritan Society, based in Sioux Falls, SD, will help advance this growing area of research.

Though the focus is primarily on the most familiar infectious diseases in nursing homes, there’s much more to be studied and, hopefully, eradicated, Aquora’s Tintle told McKnight’s Long-Term Care News. “As [we] refine and tailor the technology, [we] anticipate expansion to a wide range of other infectious diseases and multidrug resistant organisms that would be of high interest to nursing homes,” he noted. CAST, along with LTSS Center researchers, will assist in the project’s evaluation.

This is just one of the many projects we have planned for 2025. We’re diving into new initiatives and continuing to explore key topics shaping aging services technologies, including generative artificial intelligence (AI), digital transformation, and cybersecurity. At the same time, we’ll maintain and enhance the resources you count on, such as updates to popular technology selection tools and toolkits focused on social connectedness, data analytics, and more. The future is full of promise, and we’re thrilled to play a part in driving the sector forward!