Editor’s note: McKnight’s Senior Living, McKnight’s Long-Term Care News and McKnight’s Home Care are publishing focused articles on the 2023 winners of the McKnight’s Excellence in Technology awards Nov. 29 through Dec. 5. Look for the nomination period for the 2024 awards program to open in May.
Staff members at Concord, CA-based Carlton Senior Living have a lot on their plates. To ease the burden, the company implemented Amazon’s Alexa technology, working with Speak2, to streamline communication between staff members and residents. This effort resulted in a decrease in staff member time spent on nonurgent requests. For this reason, Carlton was awarded Gold in the Innovator of the Year category of the Senior Living track of the 2023 McKnight’s Excellence in Technology Awards.
The Innovator of the Year category recognized technologic innovation deemed to have made a difference in the provision of services or care or the bottom line.
The Alexa application is a crucial tool for staff members at Carlton, according to the company. Through it, the company makes announcements, schedules daily reminders and can take attendance in real time. Meanwhile, residents can ask Alexa for information, call the front desk and even schedule rides.
Staff members use an app or website. Speak2 helped define and create new workflows and develop new technologies, the provider said. Use of the tech reduced care staff visits that were needed by 91%, Carlton said.
“Winning the McKnight’s Tech Award for Innovator of the Year is huge for us. At Carlton Senior Living, we pride ourselves on being at the forefront of technology, and winning this award truly validates all the work our residents and staff have put into making this project a success,” said Carlton Vice President of Business Operations and Technology Taren Petros. “We’re proud of the work we’ve put into this project, and we’ll continue to push the boundaries of how voice activated technology can help connect our communities. We thank McKnight’s for acknowledging how important technology is to the industry and for honoring us with this award.”
Other Innovator of the Year awards in the Senior Living track:
- Silver: The Admiral at the Lake, a Kendal affiliate in Chicago, for its use of the HUCU.ai communication platform by MPAC Healthcare.
- Bronze: Maplewood Senior Living, based in Westport, CT, for its use of Inspiren’s AUGi augmented intelligence platform at the Inspir Carnegie Hill senior living community in New York City.
Read about other 2023 McKnight’s Excellence in Technology award winners in the Senior Living track on the McKnight’s Senior Living website, in the Skilled Nursing track on the McKnight’s Long-Term Care News website, and in the Home Care track on the McKnight’s Home Care website.
Sponsors of the 2023 McKnight’s Tech Awards + Summit include LifeLoop, IntelyCare, MatrixCare, PointClickCare and ShiftKey + OnShift.
To view the virtual awards presentation and recordings of the Summit webinars, visit mcknightstechawards.com (free registration required).
