Thinking Outside of the Old Paradigm
By: Ron Orlando
As I have kept my finger on the pulse of the evolving senior living market, the question I have been asking myself recently is how technology is going to improve or change the senior living sector. Thinking outside of the old paradigm is not always easy or convenient, but it challenges us to reinvent our current practices and develop our points of view for the better; innovation can contribute to process improvement and new and improved methodologies.
Xandar Kardian Inc. is a great example of a company driving evolved technology in the senior living market. With 23 years of experience in the health monitoring industry, they have developed a new version of the Xandria solution, which provides best-practice monitoring, combined with proactive resource planning, to provide the Senior Living industry with an improved technology to simplify monitoring of Assisted Living clients.
Their XK300 device, which installs on a wall, ceiling or even under a chair, detects the micromovements of the human body such as the beat of the heart or a pump of the lungs, and doesn’t require any wearables, patient reporting, or staff engagement.
Managing Director of Xandria, Sam Yang, Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Ashwin Gopalan, and Director of Clinical Care Management, Linda Mayhue, joined Senior Housing News, a publication and leading source for news and information covering the senior housing industry, to discuss how this radar technology can be applied in senior housing and long-term care facilities to improve client care through early detection, ease staff workload, improved wellness monitoring, and more. An excerpt from their conversation is below:
Consumers now expect advanced technology offerings. Residents and families are looking for choices. A robust tech platform that allows residents to access Netflix and YouTube, meals to-go, or a Zoom interface giving residents an easy-to-use option to connect with family, can be a real selling point. It really all boils down to choices and ease of use. Enhanced services in the Senior Living environment will contribute to a greater demand for this lifestyle.
Senior Living is moving towards providing Health Maintenance and Promotion and a Value Add to this segment of the population. If a family member who resides in an Assisted Living or a Memory Care unit has on-going documentation of their general health status this will allow issues to be addressed sooner than later. A daily Client Health Profile could be incorporated into AI software to generate a weekly Wellness & Safety report. This would be a convincing marketing idea to entertain; adult children want to understand how mom and dad will be kept safe.
According to Senior Housing News, occupancy rates are improving despite the emergence of new COVID-19 variants. Senior housing occupancy increased to 80.6% in the first quarter of 2022 in the 31 NIC MAP® Primary Markets, a 0.2 percentage point increase from the fourth quarter of 2021, and a 2.5 percentage point increase from a pandemic-related low of 78.0% in the second quarter of 2021, according to NIC MAP data, powered by NIC MAP Vision. This is now the third consecutive quarter of increasing occupancy.
At SVN Cornerstone, we go to great lengths to understand your Real Estate needs and to provide a value add to our clients. I look forward to getting to know you and sharing my ideas with you.
Ron Orlando is an Associate Advisor at SVN Cornerstone. He specialize in the Senior Living Industry and has expert knowledge of Independent Living, Assisted Living, Memory Care, and Skilled Nursing facilities including CCRC (Continuous Care in Retirement Communities).