Insights report demonstrates the rising importance of technologies that keep older adult residents and community staff connected, engaged and informed. 

RALEIGH, N.C., June 29, 2021 – In its first quarterly insights report released today by K4Connect, senior living residents and staff from across the nation reveal how technology is positively impacting their daily life and work post-pandemic. As COVID-19 shut the doors of communities and those living and working inside were met with near immeasurable challenges, technology quickly transformed from an amenity to a  necessity. The report explores the evolving role of technology beyond the pandemic and features insights into how operators can meet the new expectations of senior living residents and staff.

“We have long recognized the need for technologies that support older adults in their daily lives — it is the foundation for everything that we do. The pandemic challenges senior living faced undoubtedly accelerated that need,” said K4Connect CEO and Chief Mission Officer, Scott Moody. “Technology provided relief in critical areas of family connections, crisis communications, curbing resident social isolation, resident well-being and much more. We’re committed to helping senior living communities continue to leverage technology to provide great experiences for residents, as well as staff, both today and into the future.” 

In the report K4Connect Summer 2021 Insights Report: Trending Technologies To Navigate Life and Work in Senior Living During and Post-Pandemic, data and survey responses strongly point to technology as a universal tool for both residents and staff members to maintain and expand personal connections, better manage daily life in a community setting and increase operational efficiencies. The findings uncovered several notable themes:

• Residents are not only open to using technology, but are eager to expand how they are using it to assist with and simplify daily activities such as receiving and sharing information, enjoying diverse content experiences (events, video), managing their lifestyles/schedules, and as a means of staying connected with friends, family and fellow residents. 
• Staff value technologies that automate and accelerate redundant tasks, scale communications and help to curb resident social isolation.
• Technology is a leading differentiator for communities and a critical sales and marketing tool. 

Insights Report Highlights:

• Senior living operators are investing in technology to overcome challenges during and after the pandemic. Over 33% of communities implemented a resident engagement app and 31% launched a companion engagement app for friends and family outside of the community. Moreover, a fourth of communities deployed new voice technologies over the course of 2020.

• Staff burnout and high turnover rates remain high priority issues for senior living communities. Technology can increase retention by creating a more efficient and productive workplace that reduces operational burdens on staff. Over 40% of staff estimate they saved over 50% of their time per month using automated features in the K4Community Team Hub digital staff tool to provide community-wide communications and event scheduling. 

• Virtual experiences provided a dependable and scalable way to curb resident social isolation during quarantine. While residents are eager to return to socializing in-person, a hybrid offering of both virtual and in-person events will meet the new expectations for residents who want to maintain that connection to community programming from their apartments. Even late in the pandemic from November of 2020 to March 2021, the number of virtual events created by staff increased by 134%. Over 81% of residents attended live virtual events and 70% viewed pre-recorded content via the K4Community Plus resident app or K4Community Direct Broadcast in-room TV Channel. 

• Community staff recognize technology as a driver of improving occupancy. 83% of staff indicated that offering technology as an amenity improves community occupancy. Respondents revealed the top three desired technologies to positively impact occupancy as: a resident engagement app, a resident well-check system and a companion app for friends and family.

This report includes usage and adoption trends of K4Connect’s premier senior living solution, K4Community, in addition to anonymous national survey responses from senior living communities representing diverse locations, sizes and care settings. Visit the website to download the full K4Connect Summer 2021 Insights Report.

About K4Connect:

K4Connect is a mission-driven technology company that integrates the best in technology to serve and empower older adults and individuals living with disabilities, together with the people, communities and organizations that also serve them. We believe that meaningful technologies have the power to make the lives of older adults simpler, healthier and happier. Our premier solution, K4Community, provides smart products and features that solve the challenges senior living residents and staff are facing today, focusing on the core categories of home, engagement and communication for residents, and productivity, services and data-driven insights for staff and operators. The entire experience is powered by our patented operating system built specifically for senior living, enabling our community partners to unlock the true value of enterprise data.

Based in Raleigh, N.C., K4Connect is currently serving tens of thousands of senior living residents and staff at over 800 continuing care, independent living and assisted living communities across the nation. For more information, please visit www.K4Connect.com. 

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