Keeping Families Connected during a Crisis
Keeping Families Connected during a Crisis
As COVID-19 continues to spread across the globe, now more than ever, it has become imperative for Senior Living organizations to have a convenient and constant stream of information available to both their residents and their loved ones. Aside from maintaining residents’ and staff’s safety and health, the biggest challenge that has emerged given the ever-changing environment has been keeping families in the loop. With an almost universal lockdown of communities across the country and the world, maintaining lines of communication between families and loved ones has become a pressing issue. While the status quo of emails and phone calls may have been sufficient until recently, many operators are now looking towards innovative ways to streamline information sharing, specifically utilizing technology.
"We are deeply concerned that residents are cut off from loved ones and vice versa.”
Richard Mollot, Executive Director of the Long Term Care Community Coalition (NYC)
When it comes to the matter of reactivity vs. proactivity in the Senior Living industry, there is an unfortunate trend toward the former. That being said, the amount of ingenuity and creativity being displayed now is palpable. Emails are sent out every morning serving as updates on the community. Caretakers are using their own smartphones to set FaceTime or Skype appointments with families. Social distancing has created a new normal, yet that has still not prevented responsible face-to-face contact through panes of glass and mobile phones. Innovation was and remains the guiding principle behind today’s successful Senior Living organizations.
What can be done to keep the communication channel open?
While everything mentioned above is helpful in these days of self-quarantine, there are several things that communities can implement now to ensure that frequent and accurate information is being shared with loved ones:
- Keep your website recent with daily updates from the community. Make sure to include your current initiatives to keep residents and staff safe and healthy.
- Be transparent with all residents, families, vendors, and volunteers. Treat any internal communication as a press release, as information travels faster than ever in these days of uncertainty.
- Be prepared for media inquiries should any cases appear.
- Ensure that you have accurate emergency contact information for family members and loved ones.
- Utilize technology! Communication and engagement platforms provide an easy to use and resourceful method of publishing information to staff, residents, and families. Every second matters in this crisis, and you should make sure that staff is as efficient as possible.
Technology platforms like Cubigo provide a single source of information that enables Senior Living operators to ensure that information is shared quickly to all stakeholders in an efficient manner. Community contacts are easily accessible, news can be instantly shared with families, staff, and residents via the newsfeed or priority messaging with read confirmation, and instant updates can be facilitated via in-suite channels or the integration of streaming services like YouTube Live. All of these actions can be managed in a single environment, enabling staff to spend more time with residents and less time on the phone or behind a desk. Investing in such a platform now will set your community ahead of the game in the near future!
The best thing communities can do now however, is to stay diligent, compassionate, and to push forward with continued investments into your community and your residents. Senior Living is standing at a precipice right now; and the proactive actions taken now will determine future outcomes.
The Cubigo team recognizes the seriousness of the Covid-19 pandemic, we understand how important your work is right now and want to help by providing you with pertinent information and the right tools. We encourage you to reach out to us individually or at covid19@cubigo.com
