Advocates for the elderly and for individuals with disabilities, are turning to smart speaker technology to make life better for those they serve. WBGO’s Ang Santos reports from the Voice Summit in downtown Newark, where leaders from two companies discussed the future of such care.
By: Ang Santos
July 25, 2019
Statistics from the US Census Bureau show massive growth in the senior population around the world, with that number expected to double by 2050. In Japan, it’s possible that nearly forty percent of the population will be over the age of 65 in 30 years.
“We just don’t have enough people to care for the older population,” said Derek Holt, president of K4Connect, a startup focusing on technology that empowers older adults and people living with disabilities.
Using Amazon Alexa, the company implemented a system of voice commands that not only makes life more convenient for residents at places such as retirement homes but clears some chores for caregivers already juggling multiple tasks.
Derek Holt, President of K4Connect and Davis Park, Front Porch Executive Director of the Center for Innovation and Wellbeing CREDIT ANG SANTOS / WBGO
“We wanted to teach Alexa about senior living,” Holt said. “To not just control their smart home or call the front desk, but ask what events are today? Request maintenance, request food, understand what the daily specials are, call their neighbor. A whole bunch of really interesting collaborative capability once we taught the technology about the context of senior living.”
Holt says using smart speakers in senior communities has helped residents in ways that may seem like a novelty to others.
“A funny aside you wouldn’t know unless you spend a lot of time in senior living communities, the number one reason people call the front desk is ‘is the mail here?’ By a 3x number over all of the other reasons why they call the front desk,” he said. “So, now they ask, ‘Alexa, is the mail here?’ and Alexa will tell them yes or no based on whether the mail has been delivered.”
Some non-profits have caught on to the potential that comes with voice activated technology. Davis Park is the executive director of the Center for Innovation and Wellbeing at Front Porch, a Southern California non-profit provider of retirement living communities and affordable housing. They created a pilot program used as a case study to judge the effectiveness of smart speakers among the elderly.
United Methodist Communities will deploy K4Connect’s connected-life senior living solution, K4Community. UMC is a provider of residential and community-based services for older adults.
Today, the Raleigh-based startup, which creates solutions for older adults and individuals living with disabilities, announced that it is branching out into New Jersey after forming a strategic partnership with United Methodist Communities (UMC).
K4Connect helps older adults and staff at senior living communities.
UMC is a provider of residential and community-based services for older adults. It will deploy K4Connect’s connected-life senior living solution, K4Community, which offers home automation, connected health and wellness products and social engagement services.
It’s expected to reach more than 1,600 residents and associates at UMC’s full-service campuses throughout New Jersey: Bristol Glen (Newton), Collingswood, Pitman and The Shores (Ocean City).
K4Connect currently serves more than 15,000 residents at over 75 retirement and care communities across the nation.
Advanced senior living technology seamlessly connects residents to health and wellness, social engagement, and home automation tools.
K4Connect, a purpose-driven technology company that creates solutions that serve and empower older adults and those living with a disability, announced today its expansion into New Jersey through a strategic partnership with United Methodist Communities (UMC), an influential provider of residential and community-based services for older adults.
United Methodist Communities will deploy K4Connect’s premier connected-life senior living solution, K4Community, reaching more than 1,600 residents and associates at its full-service campuses throughout New Jersey: Bristol Glen (Newton), Collingswood, Pitman and The Shores (Ocean City).
K4Community is specifically designed for older adults and is the most advanced technology solution in elder care and services today. The comprehensive solution integrates the latest in home automation, connected health and wellness products, as well as social engagement services, ultimately empowering everyone at UMC to live simpler, healthier, and happier lives.
“We’re excited to introduce K4Community to our four full-service campuses. Our residents and associates are eager technology adopters and we strive to meet those interests through the services, tools and amenities we provide,” said Travis Gleinig, Corporate Director of Information Technology for United Methodist Communities. “K4Connect sets us up for seamless, ongoing digital growth and uniquely aligns with us as a mission-based organization. We know with K4Connect, resident value and support comes first – a key point of value for us as a service-driven organization.”
Residents across UMC’s full-service campuses will now be able to control their apartment homes with automation features, such as smart lighting and thermostats, along with enterprise-level voice access to content and community services through their Amazon Alexa devices. The communities will also have access to content creation, management, publishing and digital signage, which streamlines communication, and allows residents to see the latest news and updates directly in their homes and throughout their campuses.
“I think the use of technology in our lives is inevitable and beneficial,” said Anne Bozek, a resident of United Methodist Communities and member of the Bristol Glen Echo Club — a resident driven group that meets to learn and gain a higher level of comfort with technology. “It helps me connect with my children and grandchildren who live far away.”
K4Community will also supply operators and associates with tools to provide the best in care and hospitality. Enabled by K4Connect’s enterprise operating system, FusionOS, UMC will receive comprehensive backend data reporting and analytics that drive operational efficiencies and cost savings, and provide valuable resident behavior insights.
“United Methodist Communities has provided premium care to New Jersey residents for over a century. We’re thrilled to join as their technology partner, continuing this legacy of service through innovative solutions designed to enhance the lives of their residents and associates,” said F. Scott Moody, Co-founder, CEO, and Chief Member Advocate of K4Connect. “This expansion into New Jersey is also an exciting milestone for K4Connect. We look forward to working with United Methodist Communities to continue to evolve our partnership and how we can best serve their communities.”
K4Connect currently serves more than 15,000 residents at over 75 premier retirement and care communities across the nation. To learn more about K4Connect and its current and future technologies, please visit http://www.k4connect.com
Smart technology aimed to make senior living resident’s lives happier, healthier, and simpler will be provided by K4Connect, a senior-specific technology company based in Raleigh, NC, and Amazon’s Alexa.
By: Kaisha Jantsch
June 25, 2019
It’s described as a next-generation “I Love Lucy” meets “The Jetsons” — a senior living facility with smart lighting and heat and other futuristic bells and whistles. mart technology is provided by Amazon’s Alexa and K4Connect, a senior-specific technology company based in Raleigh, N.C. Residents can control the lights and temperature of their apartments via a remote or smart device, socialize, message and call one another through the K4Community application, and even find out the campus activity schedule by asking Alexa.
Senior-focused innovators join forces to bring cutting-edge technology solutions to the rapidly expanding aging population, ultimately empowering them to live simpler, healthier and happier lives.
CHICAGO and RALEIGH, N.C., June 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ —K4Connect, a purpose-driven technology company that creates solutions that serve and empower older adults and those living with a disability, today announced a strategic partnership with the Ziegler Link•Age Fund II, LP (the “Fund”). Through this partnership, K4Connect joins a roster of emerging portfolio companies specializing in technology products and services specifically designed to support the aging and post-acute care market.
K4Connect is the leading provider of enterprise connected-life technologies for senior living communities, currently serving more than 15,000 residents at over 75 premiere retirement and care communities across the nation. The Fund’s partnership comes during a period of significant growth for K4Connect as the company looks to continue to advance its product leadership, accelerate new partner integrations and further expand its customer base.
The Fund is a limited partnership that seeks to invest in companies who are improving aging and post-acute services in the United States and around the world. The Fund seeks to invest in growth companies who are able to dramatically improve the healthcare IT or healthcare services landscape for our aging population. The Fund’s Limited Partners include many the most innovative and progressive senior living providers, healthcare systems and strategic service providers in the United States, Canada and Australia.
“K4Connect is a particularly exciting partnership for the Ziegler Link•Age Fund. Their approach to advancing the senior living industry is anchored in deep technology expertise, while maintaining a constant pulse on the needs of the residents and communities they support. We’re thrilled to add them to our specialized portfolio of companies that are dedicated to providing innovative solutions for this population that has historically been severely underserved by technology,” said Chief Investment Officer of the Ziegler Link•Age Fund, John Hopper.
The aging population is experiencing unprecedented growth and this expansion is quickly revealing shortcomings in support, care, and resources traditionally available to this demographic. The world-wide 65+ population is set to double to over 2.5 billion people by 2050, but affordable senior housing availability is at risk and caregiver shortages are a growing challenge. At the same time, older adults are starting to adopt advanced technology like never before. K4Connect is bridging this gap through comprehensive, scalable technologies specifically designed to improve the lives of older adults, ultimately empowering them to live simpler, healthier and happier lives.
K4Community, K4Connect’s flagship solution specifically designed for senior living communities, is an enterprise end-to-end solution that integrates the latest in smart home automation, connected health and wellness products, as well as social engagement services for senior living communities. With K4Community, senior living staff see returns on productivity with a streamlined dashboard tool, while residents are empowered to live more independently through tech-enabled environments – including voice-activated features through a custom Amazon Alexa integration. K4Community is built upon K4Connect’s patented operating system, FusionOS, an advanced multi-modal edge-cloud architecture and the only of its kind in the senior living industry.
“We share a mission to serve like K4Connect, with a focus on serving older adults, a population that has long been underserved by technology,” said, Ziegler President & CEO and Head of Investment Banking, Dan Hermann. “K4Connect has developed a sophisticated solution that meets the needs of seniors today, while establishing technology infrastructure that will support generations to come.”
K4Connect was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Raleigh, N.C. The company recently announced a Series B financing round led by the second largest insurance firm in the world, AXA Venture Partners, bringing the total funding raised to more than $27 million.
“This support from the Ziegler Link•Age Fund is an exciting step forward for us, during what has already been a fantastic year of growth for K4Connect,” said K4Connect CEO, Co-Founder and Chief Member Advocate, F. Scott Moody. “We’re honored to add the Ziegler Link•Age Fund to our unique bench of investors who value our mission of providing technology that encourages simpler, healthier and happier lives for those we serve.”
To learn more about K4Connect and its current and future technologies, please visit www.k4connect.com
K4Connect was thrilled to announce our partnership with White Horse Village this month. Watch this broadcast segment from Philadelphia’s WPHL News with White Horse Village President Len Weiser and two of the community’s resident super users, Sam and Polly Goldstein!
Premier Life Plan Community completes successful pilot of the most advanced senior living technology on the market; prepares to roll out to nearly 900-person campus
Today, White Horse Village, a not-for-profit continuing care retirement community in Newtown Square, Pa., announced the deployment of K4Community, the premier senior living solution from K4Connect, a purpose-driven technology company that creates solutions that serve and empower older adults and those living with a disability. K4Community will lay the foundation for White Horse Village’s ongoing digital transformation, bringing the latest advancements in connected-life technology to Community residents and team members.
White Horse Village is one of the Philadelphia area’s most revered Life Plan Communities with 30 years of experience providing residents with premium housing, full continuum healthcare services, life enrichment programs, and support offerings. Through this partnership, White Horse Village is institutionalizing technology as a long-term solution to meeting the evolving needs of the 520 residents and 375 team members across its expansive 96-acre campus. K4Community enables this through a comprehensive solution that integrates the latest in-home automation, connected health, and wellness products, as well as social engagement services, ultimately empowering everyone at White Horse Village to live simpler, healthier and happier lives.
“As an active Life Plan Community, we place a high value on creating opportunities for our residents to live extraordinary lives in an environment that emphasizes personal growth, connectedness, and relationships. When we learned about K4Connect and all of the benefits their technologies could bring to our residents and team members, we jumped at the opportunity to pilot it,” said Len Weiser, President and CEO of White Horse Village. “We’re thrilled to now officially deploy K4Community across the campus, enabling all of our residents to live more independently, while staying connected with each other, their families, and our team members.”
This campus-wide implementation follows a successful pilot in which participating residents — several of whom are part of the Resident Technology Advisory Committee that encourages tech innovation and education in the interest of residents — advocated for the technology long-term. White Horse Village will roll out K4Community in phases, starting with content creation, management, publishing and digital signage to streamline information-sharing across the broad campus. Future phases could include implementing new automation features such as smart lighting and thermostats in resident homes, along with enterprise-level voice access to content and community services through Amazon Alexa devices.
“Many of us at White Horse Village are interested in contemporary technology and the potential it has to assist us in our daily lives,” said Sam Goldstein, a member of White Horse Village’s Resident Technology Advisory Committee. “One of the K4Community features that I find truly handy is the voice capability through Amazon’s Alexa. My wife and I both use it to turn lights on and off throughout our apartment, raise or lower the temperature on the thermostat, play classical music when we want quiet time or would like to read, or we ask it for the world and local news and weather.”
In addition to meeting resident demands for more modernized resources and amenities, K4Community will outfit White Horse Village’s team members with enterprise management tools and the advanced analytics necessary to continue providing the best in support services and hospitality. This is all possible through the underlying operating system, FusionOS, a first in the senior living industry. Operators and staff are provided in-depth insights that drive overall efficiencies and cost savings through comprehensive backend data reporting, as well as features that signal trends in resident behavior.
“With the implementation of K4Community, White Horse Village is taking an important step toward institutionalizing technologies that will benefit hundreds of residents and team members today and in the future. From voice-enabled devices to comprehensive backend analytics, our FusionOS enables the integration and expansion of resident-facing technologies and enterprise-level tools that meet the ever-evolving needs of all who live and work in this Community,” said F. Scott Moody, Co-founder, CEO, and Chief Member Advocate of K4Connect. “We’re excited to support White Horse Village with dynamic solutions that can truly transform the lives of all residents and team members at this impressive Community.”
K4Connect currently serves more than 15,000 residents across the U.S. through Smart Home, Smart Living and Smart Wellness specifically designed for older adults. To learn more about K4Connect and its current and future technologies, please visit http://www.k4connect.com
About White Horse Village White Horse Village is a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) dedicated to giving residents age 62 and older the best living experience. The Community is located on 96 acres in western Delaware County, Pa., approximately 20 miles west of center city Philadelphia. White Horse Village is a CARF-accredited life care community, granted its fourth five-year re-accreditation in June 2015. For more information, visit http://www.whitehorsevillage.org
Eskaton Roseville is the first assisted living community in California to provide every resident with an Amazon Echo, thanks to a partnership with K4Connect, a technology company that works to empower older adults.
May 7, 2019
ROSEVILLE (CBS13) — A newer piece of technology is helping senior citizens keep their independence. The small device is helping the elderly in a big way.
Joyce Lynch, 92, is a resident at the Eskaton Village Roseville, a non-profit senior-based living community.
“My children keep thinking I should join the 21st century, and I think Alexa has made it possible,” Lynch said. “She’s really great, she tells me what time of day it is.”
Eskaton Roseville is the first assisted living community in California to provide every resident with an Amazon Echo, thanks to a partnership with K4Connect, a technology company that works to empower older adults.
“We actually started about a year ago testing out home automation, and residents right away told us, ‘we would like to control this with our voice,’” said Sheri Peifer, the Chief Strategy Officer for Eskaton.
The voice command tool was installed in all rooms about four weeks ago and helps residents play their favorite music, hear the menu for the day and news headlines, and in an emergency, Alexa can also contact the front desk.
“I don’t know if it’s lazy or old age or… hahaha… it’s convenient!” Lynch said.
For Lynch, who now lives alone, Alexa also serves as a companion.
“After having a family of five children, it’s peaceful and quiet but I do have a friend here,” she said.
Eskaton said they plan to use Amazon voice across all of their residential living communities.
Eskaton and K4Connect have partnered on this groundbreaking solution to continue revolutionizing the use of voice-first technology in a residential assisted living community.
May 3, 2019
Sacramento Region Nonprofit Expands Its Smart Home Technology to Enrich Older Lives
Roseville, CA, May 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Eskaton, a nonprofit Sacramento-based senior living organization, and K4Connect, a mission-centered technology company, announced an expanded partnership to bring voice assistance to all residents living at Eskaton Village Roseville. Eskaton is the first senior living provider in California to offer the Amazon Alexa to all its residents in one community.
“Eskaton believes in creating adaptive living environments that empower the independence and well-being of all residents regardless of age and ability,” said Sheri Peifer, chief strategy officer.
For Eskaton, the integration of voice control means transforming the way we interact with our environment. “Eskaton believes an environment should be livable at any age and we are leveraging voice-first technology to achieve that goal,” said Peifer. The new voice-first enhancements are built upon existing Smart Home capabilities at Eskaton Village Roseville that enable residents to turn on and off lights, adjust their thermostat, call the front desk and ask for the events of the day.
“Eskaton’s expansion into voice is a testament to this organization’s track record and continued commitment to providing residents and staff with the most cutting-edge tools available today,” said F. Scott Moody, co-Founder, CEO, and chief member advocate of K4Connect. “The Roseville community was our first Eskaton deployment, starting in January 2018 with Smart Home, Smart Wellness and Smart Living capabilities.”
For residents, the integration of voice has been highly anticipated. When Eskaton rolled out smart lighting in 2018, residents asked for voice-enabled control. That dream is now a reality for residents like Fran, who uses a walker to get around. Fran no longer has to stand to switch on and off a light. Joyce, a resident living with macular degeneration, uses Alexa to tell her the time. Mike enjoys asking Alexa to play his favorite musicians, like Bob Dylan. Other residents use Alexa for games and entertainment.
With this latest launch, all of it is voice-enabled through Alexa. K4 provides the overlay platform and the customization for the Alexa voice-enabled platform.
By: Tim Mullaney
April 18, 2019
Kisco Senior Living is bringing voice-enabled smart home technology to its communities, in a bid to gain operational and financial efficiencies while enhancing resident and family satisfaction.
Carlsbad, California-based Kisco joins a few other senior living providers that are implementing smart home technology and introducing Amazon Echo devices into units — and the trend is gaining momentum.
Kisco is making the move through the K4Connect platform, which is able to sync up with Amazon Echo. Linking up these systems allows residents to control elements such as temperature and lighting, as well as sign up for activities and get information such as the day’s menus, simply by asking Alexa.
As of last December, the tech was in place for all 165 independent living units at The Cardinal at North Hills, a continuing care retirement community in Raleigh, North Carolina. Kisco plans to gradually introduce the tech throughout its 20 properties, CEO Andy Kohlberg said on the latest episode of Senior Housing News’ Transform podcast, sponsored by PointClickCare.
