LeadingAge CAST has updated its Social Connectedness and Engagement Technology Selection Tool, which helps providers choose the best technology solution for their organization. The updated tool includes 11 new products from 10 new vendors in the online selection tool and product matrix, as well as eight new case studies!

New Vendors

The Social Connectedness and Engagement Technology Selection Tool now offers information on 39 vendors and 48 products. The new vendors are as follows:

• LeadingAge CAST Patron AARP Foundation
• Commun02
• GrandCare
• MemoryWell
• OneClick.Chat
• Oscar Senior
• PARO Robots, Inc.
• Sagely
• Soundmind
• ZVOX AccuVoice

New Case Studies

Eight new CAST case studies share the many benefits that social connectedness and engagement technologies are bringing to senior living providers.

Avatar Program:

At Element Care, a pilot program used 12 care.coach™ avatars to provide psychosocial support and health coaching in the home for high-risk older adults. See how the program saved costs, decreased evening and weekend companion and nursing visits, diverted unnecessary visits to the Emergency Room, and decreased participants’ anxiety in “Improving Participant Satisfaction and Quality of Care With Engagement Technology.”

Digital Wellness:

Using the Wellzesta Life app, LeadingAge member Bridgewater Retirement Community streamlined its communication in one easy-to-use digital platform. Residents gained equal access to sign up for the community events, improved connections with others and with community groups, and gained motivation to pursue new wellness programs. Learn more with “Transforming Daily Life at a Life Plan Community through Digital Wellness and Communication.”

Enhanced Therapy:

Using a system from LeadingAge CAST Supporter It’s Never 2 Late (iN2L), LeadingAge member Presbyterian SeniorCare Network enables therapists to create a rehabilitation experience that centers on what is meaningful to the resident, helps the resident to perform better, and streamlines therapists' efforts. Learn more with the CAST case study, "Increasing Engagement, Satisfaction, Physical Performance and Team Efficiencies through Social Engagement Technology." 

Resident Engagement:

Brookdale Redwood City, a premier senior living community, was largely paper-based before Cubigo. Now it tracks which residents attend what activities, how residents use transportation, and which excursions residents prefer. The data is improving services and increasing resident engagement and satisfaction, says “Streamlining Services and Increasing Resident and Family Engagement Through an Integrated Platform for Senior Living.”
 
Cascadia Senior Living and Development had been tracking its resident engagement for group and individual activities on paper. After implementing LifeLoop, staff could better capture and share resident activities and behaviors. Year-over-year comparisons show a substantial rise in resident attendance and personal activities. For details, see the CAST case study, “Enhancing Resident & Family Engagement Through Technology.”
 
Silver Bluff Village is using Linked Senior, a digital engagement platform, to optimize resident engagement and enhance person-centered care. Outcomes include reduced social isolation, reduced use of antipsychotics, and increased resident engagement and satisfaction. In one year, its engagement of long-term care residents rose by 172%. Read the CAST case study, “Increasing Resident Engagement through Person-Centered Technology.”

Robotic Pets:

At Alacare Home Health and Hospice, a Companion Pet Pilot Study found that hospice patients with anxiety due to dementia and patients at risk for social isolation reacted well to animated, robotic pets. Agitation, social isolation, and expressions of sadness dropped among the study participants, according to “Using Robotic Pets to Improve Interactions, Behaviors, and Quality of Life, While Reducing Anti-psychotics in Hospice Dementia Patients.” 

Voice-Activated Technology:

LeadingAge CAST Patron AARP Foundation initiated a recent pilot of voice-activated technology that brought senior housing residents more social interaction, more perceived availability of support, and less loneliness. Read more in our article on this case study, or go directly to the CAST case study, "Reducing Social Isolation in Affordable Senior Housing using Voice Assistant Technology."