Senior care is more commonly viewed as high touch than high tech. Our teams are close to the seniors they care for, as well as their families. In fact, the senior care industry attracted many of our owners because they find fulfillment in personal relationships.
However, the landscape of senior care is undergoing a remarkable transformation by embracing technology. Today’s tech offers unprecedented opportunities to enhance the quality of life and independence of our clients. But it’s crucial that home care businesses find a balance between human touch and technological innovation.
Discover how Caring Senior Service is integrating technology trends into long-term operations while maintaining the highly personalized care we are known for.
Tendio: The Most Advanced Technology in Senior Care
As we expanded into franchising in the early 2000s, we relied on different software platforms to help manage business operations. One for HR, and another for marketing. After working with these platforms, it became clear that there wasn’t a comprehensive software solution on the market. So we built one.
Tendio is our proprietary technology that is a one-stop shop for everything our franchise owners need to accomplish. It stores marketing plans, has reporting capabilities, and manages payroll. It allows us to be completely paperless and have a streamlined portal for business management.
And it doesn’t just support our owners. We built Tendio with a portal for caregivers and staff members along with a portal for clients and their families. We put a tablet with our secure Tendio Family Portal in every client’s home. It empowers our clients, improves communication, enhances family support, and improves the quality of life of our seniors.
Video Capabilities
The tablet’s video calling capability allows clients and staff to interact with family and health care providers for quick and efficient care. Video calling also allows owners to visually confirm a caregiver’s location during their shift. The software can even function through a downloadable app, so our seniors can engage with loved ones in real time.
It is very exciting to see this feature in action. Grandma can now see a real-time performance of her granddaughter at a school play, or scoring a goal on the soccer field from the comfort and safety of her own home! Video calling is just one way that technology has helped seniors stay more connected with the ones they love.
Simplified User Interface
We designed the tablet to show only the basic functions. The simplified interface is user-friendly for all clients, even those with little to no experience with technology. All of our caregivers are trained on how to use the device. So clients have a built-in teacher to get over any generational gaps or fears of technology.
Integrating Artificial Intelligence
Beyond Tendio, we are also looking to implement artificial intelligence to further support older adults. We’ve partnered with Sensi AI to deploy remote monitoring technology in our clients’ homes. These devices are secure and rely on sound monitoring to gather data. AI analyzes the data in real time to detect falls, predict UTIs, and identify other high- and low-level threats to a senior’s health.
If the system detects an anomaly, it notifies our team so we can contact the client and their family. Truly, this has saved the lives of several of our clients.
For example, a client fell in their home and was unable to get up on their own. Their next scheduled caregiving shift was not for a few days. We were notified, and our team quickly got to the home to help them up and prevent injury.
Another client started using the bathroom more frequently. The system notified us of a potential UTI. We were able to work with the family to get our client the treatment that they needed and prevent worsening symptoms.
While artificial intelligence can seem scary, it has helped us improve the care that we offer our clients. It provides us with actionable insights that we can implement to improve the customer experience. We look forward to seeing how we can continue to improve our high-touch care through new technology.
Good Technology Leads To Good Business
We believe that the effective use of technology can ultimately lead to better business. As a senior home care business, we will always focus on the personalized care our clients need. But technology can help us do that better. It can tell us if a client might need more hours. It can warn us of potential health concerns. It can analyze business plans and find places to reduce redundancies.
The future of senior care lies at the intersection of high touch and high tech, where personalized care and innovative technology converge to empower aging individuals to live their lives to the fullest. By embracing the strengths of both approaches, we can create a holistic care system that prioritizes the well-being, dignity, and autonomy of seniors.
To learn more about Tendio, as well as becoming a senior home care franchise owner, get in touch with our team.