Table of Contents
Many senior living communities have graduated from printed paper to whiteboards to scrolling digitized whiteboards to communicate with residents, staff and families about upcoming events and to share important messages.
But scrolling message boards are now outdated. They are static, hard to update and rely on a resident passing by or turning on a television and selecting the community channel to view. Updates are paper-based, which means residents have to keep track of the paper corrections. Resident expectations have changed along with technology; they want instant-response channels that are two-way. Think text messaging or social media.
Families too want more visibility into community communications as well as a way to interact with community information. Calling a phone number to listen to pre-recorded messages or receiving updates from the community via email or voice messaging is one-way and provides no opportunity for interaction or the ability to have questions answered.
Operationally, older digitized whiteboards are time-consuming to update and quickly outdated. Employees want easier, faster and more efficient ways to issue updates.
Modern Technology
It’s time communities rethink traditional communications media. Today’s technology provides new options to personalize communications and interact with multiple audiences.
Just as residents are communicating with families and staff through email, text messaging and video calling, it’s only natural for them to expect this type of interactive communication. Residents want a way to quickly find and interact with community-related information, such as the weekly dining menu or the activities schedule. Family members want instant access to the same information, as well as details about COVID protocols and other timely information. Old fashioned, one-way, static message boards can’t fulfill these requirements.
Leveraging Interactive Digital Message Boards
Next-generation message boards go beyond the news of a community and often include live news feeds and local weather. The content is dynamic and staff can edit it from anywhere.
Rather than just viewing information, interactive digital message boards integrate with an engagement platform to give residents a way to view and register for an event, save it to a personal calendar or share it with a friend or family member right from their television. They can access dining menus and even see community announcements about birthdays, anniversaries and new residents right from their TVs.
These same interactive message boards allow families to access information from mobile devices. They can view community calendars, menus and messages quickly and easily. This modern senior TV solution helps them stay involved in the community’s events even when they are across town, or across the country. They can access the information when it’s convenient for them, rather than being “interrupted” by it when the community pushes it.
As schedules change, staff can update these digital message boards quickly and easily to eliminate schedule confusion caused by paper-based communications.
Boost Resident Satisfaction
Offering a modern digital communication system that staff, families and residents can access easily increases resident satisfaction and family member confidence in the facility while also improving workflows for the staff.
At the same time, a modern system provides a consistent and better way to share information with residents and their family members, which can boost overall satisfaction levels. Learn more about our senior living solutions today!