Raising Tech

Before COVID, there were 2.9 million front-line post-acute caregivers across the country. In early 2020, 15% of this workforce left the industry, with experts predicting a shortage of 1.8 million caregivers by the year 2023.In this episode of Raising Tech, our host Amber Bardon sits down with Charles Turner, Founder and CEO of KARE. Often referred to as the “Uber of staffing”, KARE’s mission is to transform caregivers and nurses into heroes who can easily respond to the call from senior care communities to save the day.Learn how KARE is approaching the industry’s staffing crisis, how they differ from traditional staffing agencies, and the impact their service will inevitably have on the future of the senior living industry.Raising Tech is powered by Parasol Alliance.Produced by Solinity Marketing.

Today, there are more devices connected to the internet than there are people on the planet. This exponential growth will continue for the foreseeable future, and the older demographic will continue to have higher expectations when it comes to technology in their living space.In this episode of Raising Tech, our host Amber Bardon sits down with Keith Stewart, Chief Growth Officer at K4Connect, where they specialize in creating simpler, healthier, and happier lives for residents, families, staff, and community operators alike through technology. Learn what a “day in the life” of a connected Smart Home could feel like today, and where the industry is heading next. Discover what market segments are adopting this type of connected technology, where a community should start if interested, and keys to a successful implementation where everyone wins.The internet and connected homes are here to stay. Learn where to start by tuning into this episode today.Raising Tech is powered by Parasol Alliance.Produced by Solinity Marketing.

With 70% of claims in senior living being related to resident falls, it is vital to ensure your communities are taking every measure to ensure safety and wellbeing. Leveraging artificial intelligence can help your staff take a proactive approach to fall prevention, giving your residents and their family members peace of mind.In this episode of Raising Tech, our host Amber Bardon sits down with Deepak Gaddipati, Founder & CEO of Virtusense, and Anthony Columbatto, VP of Health Services at John Knox Village, for a case study. Learn how John Knox Village leveraged Virtusense, the #1 fall prevention solution in healthcare today, to reduce resident falls by 80% from the previous year. Leave this episode with actionable takeaways and a better understanding of how this groundbreaking technology works, how it’s perceived from a resident, family, and staff point of view, keys to successful implementation, and where the technology is heading next.Raising Tech is powered by Parasol Alliance.Produced by Solinity Marketing.

With senior living new construction back on the rise in 2022, it is more important than ever to keep pace with the rising demand for technology innovation sparked by the pandemic. Having a defined technology roadmap integrated into new construction planning from Day 1 is crucial for the backbone of a fully integrated and operational community.In this episode of Raising Tech, our host Amber Bardon sits down with Greg Hunteman (President) and Sam Swinbank (Director of Engineering) of Pi Architects. They discuss all things technology in new construction, spanning from when to begin planning for technology needs, core considerations, to the latest innovative trends to consider for a rising number of tech-savvy older adults. Most importantly, how do all these items tie together to empower communities to enhance their services and optimize staff and resident wellbeing. Learn more about the Pi Architects at https://www.piarch.com/.Raising Tech is powered by Parasol Alliance.Produced by Solinity Marketing.

A staggering 80% of people over the age of 85 experience hearing loss, but only 1 out of 5 who could benefit from a hearing aid are using it. This creates a gap of over 60% people who remain unplugged from their environment. As a result, this barrier leads to increased social isolation, decreases in quality of life and ultimately comorbidities and negative long-term health outcomes.The good news is, there are technologies that can bring people out of the silence and back into the world around them. In this episode, Matt Reiners, Co-Founder of Eversound explains it all!  Matt shares the research, and the data that supports the positive impact of using assistive hearing technology, case studies illustrating the real impact made at the community level and best practices for communities looking to take their resident programming to the next level using technology. And perhaps most importantly, Matt shares some guiding principles and best practices for how providers can approach this journey to identify the right partner and strategy aligned to their community’s resident engagement goals and philosophy overall. Raising Tech is powered by Parasol Alliance.Produced by Solinity Marketing.

Telehealth, telemedicine, virtual care, eConsult, store-and-forward….are all new terms that have been introduced to the senior living field recently and providers can quickly find themselves feeling overwhelmed by the various approaches and applications to meet their residents, teams and health care provider unique needs. However, the introduction of telehealth has been a game-changer in clinical care delivery for those who have adopted it and the use of telehealth is only growing in the future. In this episode, Amber Bardon is joined by Josh Hofmeyer, Vice President and General Manager - Senior Care Services with Avel eCare and David Darr, National Director of Sales and Client Relations of Avel eCare to unpack all things telehealth. Josh and David breakdown of all the terminology around telehealth, best use of applications based on care setting and best practices for selecting partnerships and implementation. Learn guiding principles and tactical steps you can use to implement a telehealth program in your community today. Connect with Josh Hofmeyer and David Darr.Raising Tech is powered by Parasol Alliance.Produced by Solinity Marketing.

Have you ever wondered how an idea with a strong ‘why’ can grow into a multi-million company touching countless people in the senior living field? Jack York, iN2L’s fearless Co-Founder, has earned a respected reputation in senior living for his charismatic, mission-driven approach in building an organization around the idea that it’s never too late for a fulfilling life. The impetus for what became iN2L was a philanthropic idea to donate computers to assisted living communities and nursing homes in Southern California. With Jack’s tenured background in Silicon Valley as a strategic sales leader, he saw a vast potential in fostering these connections between seniors and the outside world, but also saw that conventional technology was too difficult for most older adults to use in a meaningful way. So he decided to find a way to make technology accessible for all levels of physical and cognitive ability. Tune in to learn more about the journey of iN2L.Jack is a sought-after national and international speaker on technology being used to create personalized experiences that engage and connect older adults to their loved ones and the world at large, specifically individuals with dementia.Learn more or connect with Jack York and iN2L.Raising Tech is powered by Parasol Alliance.Produced by Solinity Marketing.

On Ep 5 of Raising Tech, Rachel Lugge is joined by Haider Mahmood, Senior Director of Vinson Hall Retirement Community in McLean, Virginia. Haider describes the journey their team embarked on to cultivate the right buy-in from residents for new technologies and the right mix of hands-on technology support this military community needed to ensure the technology they were bringing to their campus had true sticking power. Haider describes touching before and after scenarios of residents who were once tech-adverse, now using technology with confidence and creativity. Haider credits this transformation of technology culture to involving residents in the planning process from day one and enough ongoing hands-on technology support to ensure new technologies can be learned, practiced and used on a consistent basis.In this episode, Haider shares how Vinson Hall is measuring the RoI for their resident tech program, the practical advice and the tactical steps any community should consider when looking to incorporate new technologies, and the lessons they learned along the way.Learn more about Vinson Hall Retirement Community and the work that Haider and their team are doing by connecting with Haider Mahmood haiderm@vinsonhall.org.Raising Tech is powered by Parasol Alliance.

Laura Edwards, Vice President of Strategy and Innovation at Clark-Lindsey in Urbana, IL joins Amber Bardon and Rachel Lugge of Parasol Alliance to discuss the most critical components of designing a resident technology strategy that will support the needs and expectations of future residents. Laura shares the Clark-Lindsey technology journey and how they are working to cultivate a culture of innovation that truly empowers residents and their use of technology. Laura and Amber highlight resident technology trends in the market and the tactical advice all providers should consider as they embark on their own unique resident technology program development. You can learn more about Clark-Lindsey at Clark Lindsey (clark-lindsey.com) and Parasol Alliance at Parasol Alliance – Strategic. Partnership. Success.Connect with show host, Amber Bardon at Amber.Bardon@parasolalliance.com or Amber Bardon, PMP | LinkedInRaising Tech is powered by Parasol Alliance.Produced by Solinity Marketing.

Karen Lehman, CEO and President at Mennonite Health Services, a not-for-profit membership organization, joins Raising Tech host, Amber Bardon to discuss the advantages of developing and utilizing a tactical technology roadmap.Karen begins by describing a common scenario. After a leadership change, the organization needed to discern the future direction of the system. Karen was tasked with leading this effort. Through an employee and operational review, Karen learned there were major disconnects in technology and related business systems and operational processes. Amber discusses the key components to developing a technology infrastructure from the foundation up, what needs to be considered, who should be involved and how the roadmap can serve as a living document to chart all technology investments, projects as well as serve as the operational and capital technology budget. Karen describes the value of the interactive assessment process and roadmap highlighting key takeaways and direct outcomes for Mennonite Health Services.Tune in to learn how to accurately assess the technology environment in your community, actionable advice for getting started and how to fully leverage a technology roadmap to move the needle and advance technology outcomes in your community. Connect with show host, Amber Bardon at Amber.Bardon@parasolalliance.com or Amber Bardon, PMP | LinkedInConnect with Karen Lehman on LinkedIn.Raising Tech is powered by Parasol Alliance.Produced by Solinity Marketing.

Episode 2 of Raising Tech is all about the art and the science behind building strategic partnerships in technology. As today’s guest, Ken Arneson, CEO of Evergreen Retirement Community, puts it, “as the world becomes increasingly more complicated, the ability to figure it all out on your own, becomes increasingly more difficult, this has directly led to the need for more partnerships”.Join Amber Bardon and Ken Arneson as they unpack how a technology partnership can advance your organization’s growth, increase your credibility in the market and with resident stakeholders, how to identify the exact outcomes you are looking to achieve through a partnership and finally, how to evaluate if a partner is the right culture fit for your organization. This episode is full of tactical steps and key questions providers can use today to begin taking the first steps towards a game-changing partnership. To learn more about Evergreen Retirement Community: Evergreen – Possibilities await. (evergreenoshkosh.com) or connect with Ken Arneson at KArneson@EvergreenOshkosh.com. To learn more about Parasol Alliance: Parasol Alliance – Strategic. Partnership. Success.or connect with Amber Bardon at  Amber Bardon, PMP | LinkedIn.Powered by Parasol Alliance.

Welcome to season 1, episode 1 of Raising Tech, your guide to understanding the role technology plays in your senior living business strategy and day-to-day operations.Our mission at Raising Tech is to educate and empower senior living providers to maximize their use of technology. This podcast is designed to be your monthly tech check-in to learn how best to optimize operations, establish tech as part of your organization’s competitive advantage, incorporate technology into your long-range vision and how to bring residents and employees along on the journey.Episodes will include everything from bringing senior living communities out of legacy systems and into streamlined infrastructures to developing a technology strategy designed for the next generation of residents and employees. Tune in for tech trends, hot topics and meet the people behind the techlandscape in senior living to gain practical tech knowledge you can apply in your organization today.  On today’s episode we meet the show’s host, Amber Bardon, CEO and founder of Parasol Alliance and Rachel Lugge, gerontologist and aging services expert and colleague of Amber’s at Parasol Alliance. In this episode, Amber describes her journey into senior living technology,  highlighting the top challenges the senior living field is facing that surfaced the need for a holistic technology solution for providers. Amber discusses the silver lining of the 2020 pandemic - technology, and how providers are taking advantage of this opportunity to level up their technology strategy and drive their competitive advantage in the market.  Amber Bardon - CEO and Founder of Parasol Alliance | Amber.Bardon@parasolalliance.com or (2) Amber Bardon, PMP | LinkedInRachel Lugge - VP of Communications at Parasol Alliance | Rachel.Lugge@parasolalliance.com or Rachel Lugge | LinkedIn