Communications of the ACM
Technology Keeps Senior Center Residents Connected During Pandemic
To cope with Covid-19 restrictions, senior-living condo and apartment operators expanded digital services for residents over the past year, from video-chat apps to virtual assistants, live-stream fitness classes, and virtual-reality day trips.
Credit: Chandan khanna/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Senior living facilities, whose residents live in their own rooms or apartments but share common areas, are looking to balance the benefits of technology by promoting social interactions as the pace of coronavirus vaccinations increases.
PA-based Acts Retirement-Life Communities Inc., for instance, has rolled out robot assistants that can deliver meals or serve as mobile devices for visual and audio communications.
It also has inked a deal with software firm K4Connect to employ motion-detection sensors to alert staff to residents getting out of bed and voice-activated controls to allow residents to control their lights, thermostats, and televisions.
K4Connect's Scott Moody said, "What we really want to do is foster that physical engagement."
From The Wall Street Journal
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