The mission to keep seniors active has never been more acute. Research has shown that seniors who are active and engaged are more likely to live a healthier and more satisfied life. Additionally, feedback from some ALFA and LeadingAge member communities suggest prospective residents and their families place a great emphasis on assuring that communities keep their residents involved in activities as a prerequisite to consideration as a home for seniors.
For senior living communities, the findings of these studies are far-reaching. It now requires that staff members must do whatever is necessary - including making numerous phone calls to residents and knocking on their apartment doors to cajole and encourage them to come to activities. Unfortunately, these forms of communication are costly and an inefficient use of senior living communities limited staff resources. A VoiceFriend study found that communities spend an average of 6.2 hours per day on routine communications — equating to over 2,200 hours per year.
Is there an affordable solution to the communications challenges senior living communities encounter each and every day — reminding residents to attend activities and follow care plans — and do they work?
New firms - such as VoiceFriend - offer an easy to use solution using sophisticated automated telephone technology. VoiceFriend's solution frees up staff time by making routine reminder calls automatically - and calls are only directed to groups or individuals interested in receiving reminders.
The success of solutions such as VoiceFriend is in its use. VoiceFriend management encourages clients to use its automated messaging solution for routine reminders only - so staff can be freed up to spend more time in more value added interactions with seniors and others in need of help.
Senior living communities that are using VoiceFriend have found that attendance at activities increases by up to 40%, reminder and notification costs have been reduced by up to 60%. It lets staff members have the time to devote to more quality interactions with residents and family.
Automated reminders solutions do work. So keep encouraging and reminding your Residents to remain active and engaged by participating in community activities and following their care plans. Be sure to research an automated alternative to the mundane manual communications methods that are currently used at most senior living communities.
Bruce Baron is the chief executive officer of VoiceFriend. For more information, please contact VoiceFriend at 781-996-3123 or email us at sales@voicefriend.net.