Placing a loved one with Alzheimer’s or any other memory-impairing disease in an assisted senior living environment is sometimes the best and only option for that person. If faced with such a situation, you want to ensure they receive the best possible care and ensure their safety. Therefore, you take a tour, meet with caregivers, and leave a list of phone numbers for a staff member to call in case of emergency. Have you asked how communication flows within the organization?
What happens if your loved one falls? What if they try to escape? These things often do not cross our minds because we think of a caring staff, a comfortable room, and 24-hour care as the necessities. Additionally, the stress of moving a loved one out of their own homes tends to make us forget to ask the things we need to know.
Communication among staff members, residents, and their families is extremely important in an assisted senior living environment. The days of walkie-talkies are being replaced by wireless technology that virtually guarantees our loved ones’ care and safety. At Silverado Senior Living, Inc., the mission and vision of memory-impaired residents is to minimize drug usage and help residents live with the new normal of their lives by rerouting, diverting, and re-educating residents. This mission and vision is practiced within every single department of Silverado, including Information Technology (IT). You may be asking what IT has to do with you and your loved one. The answer? Everything.
Communication is Key
In an assisted living environment where the nature of the diseases hinders the memories of residents, rapid and dependable communication is crucial. Residents with impaired memories may become disoriented, forget where they are, and become confused about who the people are around them. As you can imagine, this is scary and causes residents to try to regain control of their environment. They may try to escape or use physical contact against others. Moreover, they also need to hear a familiar voice to reassure them everything is okay. These types of issues make reliable communication an absolute necessity.
By combining Spectralink wireless telephones and infrastructure with HipLink Wireless Paging Software, Silverado reached the gold standard of communication within the company.
How it Works
Silverado caregivers sign onto the wireless phone system and begin working with residents. If an alarm goes off, HipLink Software will instantaneously generate a brief text which is transmitted to all of the Spectralink wireless phones. This enables any caregiver in the area of the alarm to respond immediately. The caregiver can then acknowledge the situation has been resolved by just pressing a button on the phone, or the caregiver can simply reset the nurse call button in the resident’s room. For example, if a resident attempts to go outside, HipLink immediately sends a text to a Spectralink wireless phone specifying the exact location of the resident. Another example is the wireless phone, enabling a caregiver to call 911 immediately in the event of a medical emergency. Prior to this technology, a caregiver would call the reception desk who would then call 911. This is wasting precious time and could possibly cause further injury in case of emergency.
Home Away from Home
Silverado creates a home-like atmosphere and encourages families to visit often. Again, communication is key, especially if the resident cannot remember who is visiting and becomes upset. By simply pressing a button, help is seconds away. Rick Barker, Silverado’s Vice President of Information Technology states, “The Spectralink-HipLink solution is now Silverado Senior Living’s standard for wireless communication.”
HipLink Wireless Paging Software provides the following features:
- Highly reliable, automatic, wireless SMS text alerts to mobile phones or pagers
- One application to channel all messages through
- The ability to manage system alerts, network notifications, SQL server alerts, or critical systems alarms
- Wireless notification is sent to the right person(s) at the right time
Having a loved one with a failing memory away from home causes constant worry and stress. These can be reduced by knowing they are receiving the very best of care supported by the gold standard in communication. For more information, please contact HipLink at 800-524-7503.
Please read more about HipLink and Silverado Sr. Living here.