“A connected community does take planning, but the end game is worth it, ultimately creating a nearly self-sustaining community ecosystem that works for everyone.”

By: Cindy Phillips | Managing Partner, K4Advisors

August 21, 2020

Yes, and it will happen faster than expected.  As the CEO of K4Connect, Scott Moody, recently described it, the “connected community will enable senior living operators to integrate disparate technologies and unite their key stakeholders.  It will create new channels for communication, engagement and improved service delivery by linking together everyone from residents, to staff, to family members and even service providers.”  These benefits are much closer to reality than ever before, thanks to COVID-19.

Natan Linder wrote in a recent Forbes article that one of the few saving graces during this pandemic has been the existence of mature digital technologies. Staples of daily life right now like video calls, social media, collaboration tools, and shared storage are allowing us to keep working and living under difficult circumstances. Even “the Cloud” was not as prevalent just a decade ago, and without this basic infrastructure the quarantine routines of today would not have been possible. The same is true in senior living, the widespread use and accelerated deployment of digital technologies has brought the realization of a connected community even closer, but we still have a way to go.  

The key to keeping our momentum is two-fold. First, we need to close the gaps in any underlying infrastructure gaps revealed during COVID. A sound broadband network is an obvious step, but also some internal or contracted support to sustain it. Most would agree, Wi-Fi is on par today with water and electricity in most households.

Second, but equally as important right now, is to not add to the current disparate architecture of systems that currently exist in most senior living communities. If we are ever to reach the vision of a truly connected community, integration must start now.

For example, as communities pursue a near-term need for visitor management and screening, look for one that integrates with your census data or an already existing resident directory. Otherwise, your staff will have to manage data in both places. Additionally, if you have a resident app (like K4Community Plus), the resident can be automatically notified when their visitor arrives. As visitors sign-in, they could also be automatically entered into your sales and marketing or donor databases to keep them connected to your community. You can see the holistic thinking and planning that goes into a truly connected community.

Consider telehealth, for example – now certainly expected to be a part of any community’s long-term strategy. It’s important that any platform selection incorporates into your existing resident scheduling or calendar tool, somehow ties into a notification or reminder system (like the app mentioned above), and is made easy enough for residents or families to utilize so your staff is not spending their time getting it set up each time. While all these features may not be available at initial implementation, your integration partner should be helping you design it with that in mind.

A connected community does take planning, but the end game is worth it, ultimately creating a nearly self-sustaining community ecosystem that works for everyone. Pick the right solution partners and look for ways to integrate wherever you can. At K4Advisors and K4Connect, we are committed to a future where senior living communities can realize the benefits of technology and be truly connected. Call us if you need help!

“The role of a Sales and Marketing Director at any senior living community could not be any more important than right now. Here are the top five things I believe each director should be thinking about, planning for, and acting on.”

By: Cindy Phillips | Managing Partner, K4Advisors

June 16, 2020

Many communities are beginning to re-open and are allowing new resident move-ins after almost 35% (from Ziegler CFO Hotline survey) had closed this down during the worst of the COVID-19 outbreak. Other surveys project occupancy has dropped slightly, but recent news, especially in IL, shows some positive news that inquiries are rising again.  

Additionally, Covid-19 reportedly followed “I’m not ready yet”, “I’m uncertain about the effects on my finances,” and “I don’t want to leave my home,” as reasons for not moving to a senior living community. A lot has changed, but some things never do. 

The role of a Sales and Marketing Director at any senior living community could not be any more important than right now.  Here are the top five things I believe each director should be thinking about, planning for, and acting on (if you are not already): 

1. Messaging/Proactive Public Relations – The last few months, the negative press around death rates in nursing homes has affected everyone’s reputation in the senior living industry. While unfair (in my opinion) to nursing home operators, this characterization must be met head on with a clear and consistent message from your sales team.  It should be shared proactively with prospects and their families, and include such topics as your community approach to safety and communication, services you provided during COVID (not available to them at home), precautions taken, stories of the staff heroes, the emphasis on social engagement even in stay-at-home times, and how the community overcame and learned from all of this to keep resident and staff safety as the #1 priority.
   
   There are a lot of very good stories out there, and it is incumbent on all of us to make sure they get heard. Every community, every team will have a unique message, but the Director must ensure it is assembled, updated as needed, and shared consistently by the sales team as well as other key staff across the organization. Everyone is a sales person right now. Good references on prospect sentiment can be found in survey results here and here.
2. Lead Generation & Prospect Management Strategy – Most data points to a decreased sales pipeline of as much as 20%. If you were without a wait list pre-COVID, you are likely scrambling to re-evaluate your method of lead generation. Even if you did have one, where will your future leads come from? Couple this with the old paradigm of large events, tours, luncheons, and stayovers being no longer viable in the COVID-era. Sales teams must re-think their entire approach, including how to nurture prospects virtually – emails, blogs, webinars, etc. This may not be comfortable for either party at first, but even our prospects are getting good at Zoom these days. At K4Connect, we are exploring how the K4Community App can reach and engage with Prospects, please let us know if that is of interest to you.
   
3. Staff Morale and Confidence – The two items above are enough to discourage any sales associate. It is essential to be mindful of their psyche and motivation in the face of declining commissions, and the potential fear or anxiety around their abilities to sell virtually.  For many, those skills were not needed previously, in fact their face-face skills may have been their strong suit. How will they pivot? What tools and training will you provide them? Will some have to change roles? Your ability to motivate and keep things positive will be put to the test, and no matter what great ideas emerge from #1 and #2, a Director’s ability to hold together the sales team will be the key to success.  

4. Move-in Policies – As part of the messaging to prospects, or even to those who had already planned their move in 2020, you need clear expectations after move-in. How are you handling new residents? Will there still be quarantine periods? What will trigger those? What services will be available to them during this time? How can you engage new residents in creative ways to ensure they integrate despite the circumstances? You have been through this to some degree, but what have you learned and how can you make this difficult time more tolerable?  Perhaps even a member of your team is assigned this role if you did not have a designated Move-In coordinator. The uncertainty of a COVID-19 reoccurrence will make this policy fluid, so a timely and clear communication channel is key.
   
5. Streamlining Paperwork and Payments – As an on-going advocate for using more technology in the sales process, I see no better place to start than the document signing and paperwork steps. Leveraging this virtual environment to incorporate cloud-based document review and storage tools, in addition to electronic signature software for contracts and disclosures, and credit cards or EFT payments for deposits or entrance fees. These keep the process moving, reduce time to drop out of the sale, and enable your sales team to focus on more valuable relationship building steps. Make the case and see if we can get it done!

These are not the only things a Sales and Marketing Director has on their mind right now, but I believe they are some of the most important. Work to limit your priorities, otherwise you will get overwhelmed by the challenges of our day. The future of Senior Living is still bright, and I am sure the team around has accomplished amazing things during these past 100 days. Tell the story – it deserves to be told!

Look for a future article with the 5 Things that Every Senior Living Activities/Wellness Director Needs to Think About Right Now. As always, you can reach me at Cindy.Phillips@K4Advisors.com, or (910)477-1556.  Keep doing good work!

“There will be a short window this summer to re-examine your digital infrastructure and technology tools before another round of COVID-19 returns.”

By: Cindy Phillips | Managing Partner, K4Advisors

May 26, 2020

A colleague recently said to me, “COVID hasn’t change the world, it has accelerated it.” At first I wanted to argue, but the more I thought about it, so much of what we are witnessing is the normalization of technologies that were once used only by a minority.

I am not downplaying the significant (hopefully temporary) changes to our daily life, but what is remarkable is the accelerated use and adoption of technology around the world, by all age groups and across all industries. We have seen it in the way we work, consume entertainment, deliver education, participate in faith-based activities, provide healthcare, and talk to our friends and family.

In just 3 (long) months, so much is different, and yet so much remains the same. In October 2019 K4Connect introduced its model of Digital Transformation in senior living and how we help communities on the aspirational journey to become a Smart Senior Living Community.

Little did I know COVID-19 would soon appear and be the unwelcomed reminder of the importance of technology and basic digital infrastructure. Now, several steps of that journey are critical to navigating these uncertainties and being a COVID-ready community.

Right now, senior living community leaders are appropriately focused on the protection of their residents and staff, trying to meet the ever-changing regulatory requirements, planning for the careful lifting of restrictions on dining, wellness and activities, all while also working to re-start the move-in process. However, while doing this, many will recognize the need for strengthening their Wi-fi networks, improving communication channels, setting up YouTube for streaming content, and better preparing staff to engage residents using technology.

At K4Connect, we continue to believe senior living has reached a crossroad with technology and innovation. Our recent experience has only cemented that belief. We have increased the velocity of our own product development and leap-frogged to items in our longer-term product roadmap – all to meet the COVID-ready needs of our customers.

I am suggesting senior living operators need to be doing the same. There will be a short window this summer to re-examine your digital infrastructure and technology tools before another round of COVID-19 returns. Whatever gaps emerge, this is the time to address them.

If you need help, K4Connect has several resident-centered technologies that solve many of these challenges, and K4Advisors can share the best ways to integrate them into your current workflow. As always, you can reach me at Cindy.Phillips@K4Advisors.com, or (910) 477-1556. Keep doing good work!

“Without the proper tools, these operators are either under communicating or wasting critical staff time getting the message out the old-fashioned way.”

By: Cindy Phillips | Managing Partner, K4Advisors

May 13, 2020

In a previous article, I talked about the mass notification tools that have become critical during COVID-19, moving from nice-to-have to must-have. For every community that is using these effectively, there is another that is struggling to keep their residents, families, and staff informed and updated. K4Connect’s K4Community Hotline service is the fastest way to improvement.

Without the proper tools, these operators are either under communicating or wasting critical staff time getting the message out the old-fashioned way (photocopies, emails, letters, elevator posters.) Even worse, as documented in a recent McKnight’s survey, fielding hundreds of phone calls from residents, family, or even staff, wanting to know the same information.

The K4Community Hotline is just what it sounds like – a recorded message line that keeps callers informed on the latest information and frees up staff from repetitive phone calls. The Hotline accomplishes two things that are critically important right now; first, informing residents and families about the latest COVID-19 information and second, offsetting the time staff is spending fielding those calls.

This need for a process and a tool for timely mass communication in senior living is certainly not limited to COVID-19. If you look back just the last few years, there are many other scenarios that a tool like this would be critical for communications, especially to external audiences:

• Regulatory compliance (including COVID-19)
• Severe weather alerts/evacuations
• Active shooter or bomb threats
• Radiation leaks/incidents at Nuclear facilities
• Abuse or negligence charges
• Theft or significant drug diversions
• Records breach (HIPAA)

If you are lucky enough not to be facing some of these, there are many other internal uses for mass communication tools. Some of those are as follows:

• Road closures
• Restaurant closures
• Event cancellations
• Power outage information
• Temporary suspension of shuttle service
• Last minute changes to services such as trash pick-up 

Bolstering your communication tools is a must right now, and there is an opportunity to implement the simplest of these tools – a K4Community Hotline. It is not the complete engagement solution, but it works for you 24 hours/day, can be set up in a few hours, and immediately improves the quality, timeliness, and transparency of communications. 

Additionally, our current hotline clients have routed thousands of calls to these numbers in just the past 30 days, saving hundreds of labor hours that are better directed to resident care.  

If your residents would benefit from voice-enabled access, we have many communities providing access to hotlines, not through a telephone only, but through our Amazon Alexa integration. They simply ask, “Alexa, call the Hotline.”

Here is how simple it is to get started:

1. Contact K4Connect – Call at Support at
   (855) 876-9673  or CovidInfo@K4Connect.com for setup and pricing.
2. Select the # of Hotlines – We recommend two to start, one for residents/staff, and an additional one for external stakeholders such as families, volunteers, and vendors. If you are a multi-site operator, we do recommend each community has its own hotline, and suggest a single hotline be set up for centralized messaging.
3. Determine your Hotline Usage Plan – Who will record the messages; what is the intended message stream; and how often will you be updating it. K4Advisors will be publishing best practices around this in another article.
4. Develop your Strategy for Publishing Hotline Telephone #’s – Getting the hotline numbers and the update intervals out to residents and staff should follow your normal communication channels, including elevators and bulletin boards initially. For external audiences – using existing email lists, donor lists, Facebook and Linked-In pages, or any other social media platforms seem to work best.
5. Record your First Hotline Message – We recommend writing it out, practicing it, and then recording it. The whole process takes about 10 minutes, and you are ready to go!

It really is this simple. A mass notification tool like K4Connect’s Hotline can mean the difference between a crisis or incident that is controlled and one that threatens your community reputation, resident or staff morale, regulatory compliance, and your marketing and sales efforts. Why wait to take advantage of this simple solution?

As always, contact me with questions or ideas at Cindy.Phillips@K4Advisors.com, or to learn about technology that supports the safety, well-being and engagement of older adults, go to www.k4connect.com.

“While the full impact of COVID-19 remains unclear, we are beginning to speculate on how senior living as we know it, may be changed forever. “

By: Cindy Phillips | Managing Partner, K4Advisors

May 7, 2020

Like any disruption or crisis (Covid-19 included), there are always new ideas that emerge, but in some cases those ideas can be contradictory, making it even harder to decide what to do or how to emerge smarter, more agile and better able to serve your customers.

While the full impact of COVID-19 remains unclear, we are beginning to speculate on how senior living as we know it, may be changed forever. As I spend time doing that, what I am finding most interesting is that many of the changes I foresee are almost opposite of the existing norm. This provides a catalyst for innovation by way of resolving the competing sides of a paradox. 

Paradox is not a word we use in everyday life – but it seemed to fit perfectly. Merriam Webster cites under the definition – The ancient Greeks were well aware that a paradox can take us outside our usual way of thinking. They combined the prefix para- (“beyond” or “outside of“) with the verb dokein (“to think“), forming paradoxos, an adjective meaning “contrary to expectation.”

Here are 8 paradoxical contradictions I believe will drive change in our industry:

1. Dining-In vs. Take-Away – This was a budding trend in 2019, and COVID-19 has locked it in.  Whether it has seasonal swings, there will be a segment of residents wanting both dining options. If communities add more “spacing” to venues, either by reservation times or less tables, some will not want to risk it nor may want to wait for an available time. Carry-out and grab-n-go will follow the trends of the larger U.S. population, and the industry needs to invest in tools for on-line ordering, packaging for grab-n-go, and resources for delivery.
2. Virtual vs. In-person Community Activity – While born of necessity, virtual events, classes and religious services have become a norm in senior living programming. Why would this change? Hard to estimate the percentage split, but virtual should be part of the mix and offer residents the choice. It would naturally follow that at least one member of the activity or wellness staff will be dedicated to this modality.
3. Content Curators vs Content Creators – Following the same thread of #2, we have seen some very engaging and popular online content, especially appealing to older adults, emerge during this social isolation period. Automating familiar games or activity, but also providing new educational material, how-to videos, virtual trips around the world, etc. For years, community staff have been responsible for designing and creating things to do, maybe their roles are evolving to “curators.” It opens up a world of possible content and reaches a much wider audience of residents.
4. Virtual Sales & Marketing vs. Group Events & Community Tours – It has been commonplace in senior living to rely on leads to convert to event attendance to convert to private community tours to ultimately convert to move-ins. Things have changed. Most sales team are re-thinking their entire approach, knowing that social media marketing will be even more critical, and leveraging current resident networks to drive referrals. Telephone selling and closing skills will be paramount, and higher quality virtual tours (drone footage for larger campuses) will be a must-have.  Appointment setting and information sharing may go through a website chat-bot, so more staff is available to run small group events for the “hottest” leads.
5. Self-Service vs. White-Glove Service – Several years ago we started seeing an infusion of a hospitality mindset in senior living. In my opinion, it has improved the overall look and feel of many communities and has improved our image. However, the use of self-service kiosks in hotels and airports, voice-activated or AI customer agents and driverless shuttles are finding a place in the service spectrum. No longer seen as a cost-cutting measure, they can increase efficiency and provide “no-touch” engagement with customers. Think of how much faster you could re-open your business today (with Covid-19) if some of it was self-service. Both service types will be critical to future success.
6. High-Touch Care vs. Focused-Touch Care – In assisted-living, and even in independent or retirement living, often a selling point is the quality of care, the amazing staff, and the attention a prospective resident will get. But the realities of a caregiver shortage, combined with the infectious disease protocols that require quarantining and excessive PPE use, maybe we should be looking for ways for limited but focused-touch care. Using wearables to monitor temperature or blood pressure or using personal video devices to gather data without entering a room or apartment, enables staff to monitor residents without using PPE to provide hands-on care for only those who need it. Analytics and predictive health monitoring will enable providers to quickly identify who needs help first, and likely before it becomes an acute event. Some worry technology could de-personalize caregiving, but I believe it can increase the attention and targeted care we offer.
7. Reactive vs. Proactive Communication – Residents and families have always asked for open communication, it has been the #1 action item on almost every satisfaction survey. COVID-19 has demanded a regular cadence of communication and we will never go back. Why should we?  The topics will change, but the pattern of having a daily or weekly social feed of information will bring comfort to many. A more engaging dialogue has been started and the successful communities will not let it end. 
8. Separated vs. Connected – The physical separation dictated by COVID-19 has forced us to address the hole it created in the social and emotional well-being of residents – especially if future waves are expected later in the fall. By what has been overlooked, is that social isolation was an issue before COVID hit us. A joint University of Michigan-AARP study released almost exactly a year ago reported “1 in 3 adults over age 50 lack regular companionship, and 1 in 4 say they feel isolated from other people at least some of the time.” We need to look beyond the creative stopgap measures we have put in place during COVID and keep looking for ways to create more connection and engagement opportunities for seniors. Through all eight dimensions of wellness, the use of technology, and with the help of families, volunteers and residents themselves, we can raise our game here!

In the end, this virus and its impacts are not going away. Senior living has changed forever, and our choice is how we react and position ourselves to leverage that change. A paradox is not resolved easily, and certainly not by choosing between one way “or” the another. Instead, it forces us to think in terms of “and” to find the best from the old and the new. 

Creating the next normal is never easy, but we will survive, maybe even thrive, if we take control of shaping our destiny. Every operator, every provider that serves this industry must start mobilizing around these changes, keep innovating us forward, and ready us to weather future disruptors. I know that is what we are doing at K4Connect and K4Advisors. Join us!

As always, contact me with questions or ideas at Cindy.Phillips@K4Advisors.com, or to learn about technology that supports the safety, well-being and engagement of older adults, go to www.k4connect.com.

“Senior living needs some disruption, beyond just lifestyle changes for older adults, we need disruption and innovation that will lead to exponential progress in caregiving.”

By: Cindy Phillips | Managing Partner, K4Advisors

April 27, 2020

Caregivers are the heroes in senior communities across the country, and COVID-19 has only made that more visible. Especially in assisted living, personal care, and nursing homes, they are an integral part of everyday life and a lifeline for many residents. 

The current challenge is really two-fold. One, there are not enough of them and that problem has been prominent in our planning with predictions from entities like Argentum and Leading Age for almost a decade – and it’s forecasted to only get worse. And two, their pay scales fail to or barely reach a living wage, and the alternative jobs at the same scale are often easier or more flexible. 

Even worse, during COVID-19, shamefully some are blaming these caregivers for igniting the spread of this pandemic in nursing facilities. They point to a common practice of aides or nurses working in multiple communities, which might be true, but those claims fail to also recognize the realities this workforce is experiencing. They are simply trying to make a living and this practice has been essential to ensuring facility staffing levels are met.

Going forward, it is not clear whether this negative publicity or stress will make the caregiver shortage even worse, but it is evident that the solution is multi-faceted. It cannot be solved by simply more recruiting or more training. 

Senior living needs some disruption, beyond just lifestyle changes for older adults, we need disruption and innovation that will lead to exponential progress in caregiving. The COVID era has showcased the value of technology in driving that progress. Here are a few examples:

Voice Enablement – Many stories are being played out on television or the Internet showing older adults using voice assistants such as Alexa and Siri to listen to music, play games or engage with families or friends. Sadly, some even to find companionship in their last hours of life. But they are also being used by residents in senior care communities to get COVID information, community updates, or to reach a remote caregiver at the front desk. These interactive communication assistants are being welcomed by seniors, they empower them to get what they need, when they need it, and in the end enable staff to redirect their time from answering repetitive questions to more critical caregiving duties.

Smart Home Technology – Just like at home, over 100 senior living communities across the U.S. have embraced this technology. With the support of K4Connect’s Home Automation package of smart lights, a thermostat, and a motion sensor have been installed in resident rooms, apartments or cottages. These devices not only provide convenience and safety (especially when tied into the Voice feature above), but also the ability to passively monitor the movement (or absence of it) of an independent living resident who may live alone. This daily “resident check-in” feature is always valuable, but during COVID-19, it has been an incredibly helpful safety net to identify unusual patterns while we are social-distancing. Without a system like this, many community caregivers would have to be making many more daily calls or visits to all residents versus helping those who really needed it. 

Wearables/Vital Sign Collectors – The Internet of things (IoT) has brought us so many useful devices and wearables, even to those in the 65+ market. Beyond simple fitness trackers, many seniors are using devices to collect and report their weight, blood sugar readings, and heart rhythms. The COVID-19 outbreak has shown the value of having a wireless personal device to take daily body temperatures and pulse oximeter reading for those with COPD. They now can collect and report this data to a remote nurse or a medical provider. All of this is ultimately saving hours of caregiver time in accomplishing the same, if not more, through remote data collection, monitoring and oversight. 

Telehealth – Telehealth has been on our radar as an industry for quite some time and is possibly one of the silver linings of COVID-19. We are finally getting some regulatory relief to use video conferencing to connect older adults to their medical providers. Especially during stay-at-home restrictions, technology is providing a safer, easier screening tool. It is also reducing transportation challenges – which can be unavailable or unpleasant for frail patients and saves caregiver time eliminating a need to accompany them to an appointment.

As a recent Zeigler Senior Living Z-News email confirmed, telehealth can help operators “optimize their workforce” and “direct residents to the most appropriate caregiver for their condition.” Using telehealth goes a long way in ensuring providers and caregivers, both in short supply, are utilized in the most efficient way and it can be a more pleasant experience for the patient.

Maybe talk of digital caregivers or robots seems futuristic, but the scenarios above are not just ideas, they are available and in place today, helping many communities keep their residents safe and they are helping caregiver staff focus their talents and energy on those that need it most. If they can provide relief when the demands on staffing are high, then we are making some progress!

Contact me with questions at Cindy.Phillips@K4Advisors.com, or learn about tools to support older adults and caregiver staff at  www.K4Connect.com.

“It clearly feels like we’ll be forced to find, or hopefully define, our ‘new normal‘.”

By: Cindy Phillips | Managing Partner, K4Advisors

April 16, 2020

As we begin the difficult discussions on how to reopen America, and subsequently senior care communities across the country, we know there is still so much more work to be done, and so many more lives to be saved. We are nowhere near finished, and I wonder if we ever will be?

Finished, I mean. This pandemic is not like any other situation I’ve experienced. It combined the worst of them all, demanding greater levels of physical, emotional and intellectual energy than ever before, and will likely bring lasting changes to the way we live and engage with one another. I am sure we will never be “back to normal” again. Although some may struggle to hear that, it clearly feels like we’ll be forced to find, or hopefully define, our “new normal.”

That said, if one of our lessons learned from this is ways to keep people healthier and safer, especially our most vulnerable older adults, then I want the new normal. If other lessons are that we need easier ways to quickly communicate and keep people informed, ways to digitally connect them with their friends and family, ways to provide virtual access to medical professionals, ways that everyone, no matter your age or socioeconomic class, can have these options, then I want the new normal.

Look, I am not trying to trivialize or minimize the all-out war we are waging against this virus, but I do believe in senior living we’ve recognized (maybe cemented) the need and importance of being prepared to fight something like this in two ways. 

First, the medical one, bringing to bear all the resources, knowledge and expertise we have in stopping the spread of the virus, and in finding a treatment for those who get it. At the community level, all senior living operators have been doing their very best to adhere to critical policies and procedures, even though they are changing day to day. They have demonstrated an amazing ability to improvise with limited resources, still able to serve, protect and prevent the spread of COVID-19 on their campuses. While there are some notable hot spots, the effort overall has been incredible given the vulnerability of this population.

The second way we must fight something like COVID-19 is through communication. On a global, national and state level, we’ve watched endless hours of news coverage explaining the pandemic’s origins, realities, discoveries, and mitigation efforts. We want to hear our leaders outline the strategies for getting us to a better place and a plan for next steps. 

This is no different at the community level, with many executives and frontline leaders sharing important guidance, but also messages of hope and calm. Thankfully, everyone is recognizing the critical importance of this and it is a sobering reminder that having platforms for not only mass notifications, but also for more detailed updates on a routine basis must be a part of our everyday life going forward. 

I can remember back to the beginning of this epidemic, hearing about the first cases at Life Care Center at Kirkland, and thinking with my old Executive Director hat on, honestly saying to myself, “This is going to be a huge communication challenge.”  I knew how much residents, staff and families would need frequent doses of information, education, and reassurance, wanting to know the exact steps being taken to keep everyone safe. It was also clear to me that having the right tools and technology in place to facilitate the timely and accurate delivery of this communication was going to be essential. 

Now on the sidelines and seeing this from the view of a technology provider, I have watched and read about communities doing this well. Some were lucky, having already embraced the digital world, they had in place critical notification pathways such as a resident app or portal, a friends and family app, a COVID hotline or digital signage, enabling them to easily create a single message and instantly publish it to their key stakeholders. Some communities, now our clients, have added some of these features during COVID, recognizing there will be no better time to get them in place.

Other communities had video chat or conferencing features in place, YouTube channels, and capabilities to stream live content to their community TV channels. While these may not have been fully integrated or may not have worked perfectly at the start, with the help of solution providers like K4Connect, they were able to provide continual updates and communication to the many who were counting on it. Eventually, these tools also provided new ways to connect residents and loved ones, and now have ushered in a new form of virtual programming that may remain long after quarantining and social distancing ends.

But for every one of these communities, there are probably two or three more that are struggling to keep their communities informed and updated. Some may have used their website or Facebook page to publish broad messaging or video clips, but often these do not reach all the necessary audiences or may not be easily updated by in-house staff. Without the proper tools, they are either under communicating or wasting critical staff time getting the message out the old-fashioned way (photocopies, emails, letters, elevator posters.) Or even worse, as documented in a recent McKnight’s survey, fielding hundreds of phone calls from residents, family members, or even staff, many wanting to know the same information.

Whichever scenario best describes your community, the good news is we can all get better.  At K4, we think of transformation and innovation as a journey, not a destination. Our maturity model outlines the critical steps to leveraging the benefits of technology, how to become a Smart Senior Living Community. So no matter where you begin, you have a roadmap to build and execute a long- term strategy to address engagement and communication.

Gerri Knilans recently said in her April 14^th blog, “Societal needs dictate the technology we develop, and at the same time, emerging technology can also shape our society.” Maybe it happened in the reverse order, but we have better, more affordable ways to engage and communicate with all these important audiences. I hope that while these were once seen as “nice to have tools,” that an unfortunate chapter in our lives called COVID, will make them a “must have.” 

This will not be the last emergency, weather event, or even the last pipe to burst in a building. Make use of the lessons from this terrible event to re-examine your digital transformation strategy, and know that the advisors and support team at K4Connect will be here as a partner (not a vendor), to help you integrate these tools as part of your “new normal”.

Contact Cindy about these tools at Cindy.Phillips@K4Advisors.com, or learn about our integration platform, FusionOS, and our resident engagement and communication app, K4Community, at www.k4connect.com.

“We may not have all the answers yet, but we do know the big categories of a ‘back to normal’ project plan.”

By: Cindy Phillips | Managing Partner, K4Advisors

April 9, 2020

We are about a month into the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are already seeing unparalleled levels of fatigue, fear, and predictions for loss of life that are hard to wrap your head around, nevertheless your heart. 

It is no more evident than on the front lines of any senior care provider, the caregivers are facing untold levels of exhaustion, painful separation from family, and sheer burnout at both a physical and an emotional level.  The leaders of those organizations are facing equivalent pressure to think clearly, make decisions quickly and focus their attention on the right priorities.

“If there’s one thing people agree on….it’s we can’t do this forever,” said Laurie McGinley and William Wan a few days ago in a Washington Post article.  

It feels as if the days are running together, now referred to as COVID time. Our pace has felt like a sprint, but we know it’s a marathon, unfortunately, one without a clear finish line.  The amount of information we need to process daily continues to grow, and the range of emotions we are asked to manage is simply overwhelming.  Yet we are told this is far from over, with hints at this time of extending the stay-at-home orders from the end of April to June 1^st across many states. 

I’ve never run a marathon, but I assume it is easiest in the first third, harder in the middle (peaking at “the wall”), and hopefully at least mentally easier in the final third. The tough part for all of us right now is knowing whether we’ve hit the wall yet. 

I think it depends on where you live.  Maybe in New York, that is exactly where they are, looking for some support or strength to keep going. In North Carolina, where I live, I don’t think we’ve gotten there yet.  For the sake of this article, I will assume for most of us, it will get worse before it gets better (see data analysis by state.)

So how can you prepare yourself, your team, and of course your residents for the rest of this marathon called COVID-19?

My doctoral research focused on how some people handled adversity and obstacles successfully, while others didn’t.  I collected the actual strategies they used to get through it, often leading them to come out even better on the other side. Two of those strategies seem most relevant here.  One, broadly define your goals. This approach provides flexibility in reaching the goal and avoids a sense of failure simply from starting with a rigid definition of success.  

As a Senior Living executive, my suggestion is to start defining what “back to normal” will mean for your community. 

That will look different in every community, but one important point is that it won’t be a switch to a new normal, it will involve many smaller steps and the deliberate peeling back of layered restrictions.  It will be a complex process, and with much of it driven by CDC guidelines (maybe CMS) for independent living and nursing facilities.

“People want to understand when current lockdowns and restrictions will lift, and normal life starts to return. When will we begin to defeat #COVID19. There is an end to this. We need to define it,” Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former head of the FDA, recently shared via Twitter on March 21, 2020.

However, residents (and staff) are likely to struggle with this definition. The reality that it will not happen overnight. So, it is important to start this messaging now and began to explain the various steps that will free them from the onerous quarantine and safety protocols.

We may not have all the answers yet, but we do know the big categories of a back to normal project plan:

• Definition of Outbreak Peak,
• Screening & Testing Protocols
• New Cleaning Procedures
• Community Access to Various Levels of Care
• On-Going Visitation Policies
• Admissions and Move-In Policies
• Re-Opening of Dining & Restaurants, Activities, etc. 

Seeding this discussion now will help these stakeholders begin the buy-in process.

The second of the two strategies is to approach things incrementally, allowing for small victories along the way and agility for when things change. Back to our marathon analogy, it is not a coincidence that the Rock-n-Roll series has a celebration at each mile. It is a reminder to be celebrating each day that you are keeping residents and staff safe, working to deliver or serve thousands of meals, and reaching dozens of residents with virtual activities and especially through the religious holiday events. 

In addition, the back to normal project plan will be another opportunity to show key milestones, track progress and enable people to see the finish line come into view. It is proven that people are more patient and understanding when they see the process and the steps to the goal.

On a Leading Age-North Carolina call this week we were once again reminded that we will get through this with communication, communication, communication. The two strategies outlined above are all about how we do that. At K4Connect, we live at the intersection of technology, communication, and engagement. I am hopeful this approach will help you in crafting your message and a tool like K4Community will make sharing it the easier part.