Tante Co and Elo Improve Care in Senior Living Facilities

In the next 30 years, the number of residents in nursing homes, senior living facilities and private institutions for residential care will increase, as globally, the number of persons aged 80 years or over is projected to increase more than threefold between 2017 and 2050 (United Nations, 2017). As these facilities look to provide the highest quality of care, as well as lessen the administrative burden on staff, they are increasing their investments in technology-driven experiences. Such experiences can engage, educate and personalize care. Already back in 2018, a Ziegler survey found that 74% of senior living organizations had invested in high-speed internet connectivity and wireless technology that year.

This year, the coronavirus has brought increasing challenges to keeping the quality of care and well-being of the residents at the same level as before the crisis. And many care facilities are turning to technology solutions to help address them.

Resident engagement and modernized care with interactive technology
Rogier Croes, owner of software development company Touchscreen Marketing in the Netherlands, very often heard concerns about how to not only provide the best possible care but also to ensure residents’ well-being and happiness, even before the coronavirus. In the Netherlands, older adults tend to live at home longer before moving into a senior living facility. And when they do make the move, the change is often drastic, with residents experiencing foreign routines and limited freedom of choice.

As a result of these conversations, Rogier founded Tante Co in 2019 (named after his own aunt Co, tante, in Dutch). Rogier understood that his experience in software development could play a significant role in addressing the great need he saw. Care employees and administrators often lack easy and frequent access to data showing what is going on among the residents, what they are feeling and thinking. Secondly, care facilities need to find ways to entertain, educate and cultivate the interests of the residents through activities and content that continually change. He learned that nursing home staff would conduct surveys from time to time, with one person going around to each resident with a tablet, asking 25 to 30 questions. It could take months before all the results were gathered and analyzed properly, let alone acted upon. Rogier realized that an interactive, digital system would improve the process. Through his retail projects, Rogier knew Elo and chose an Elo I-Series Android touchscreen mounted on a Wallaby Self-Service floor stand for the solution. The set-up is easy to place, easy to use, yet robust and secure.

With Tante Co, care facilities have a modern, easy-to-access, digital tool installed in common areas. The concept includes short surveys with questions varying from anything that brings a feeling of joy, for example which flowers are the most popular or which movie to choose for the next cinema night, with results implemented within a week so residents see immediate results from their feedback. Questions can also ask about loneliness or skills the residents would like to learn, allowing the facilities to adapt activities accordingly. The residents feel engaged, and are incentivized to provide feedback regularly with the reward being access to games, brain training and entertainment within the device. Tante Co is a tool used daily, giving the residents the feeling there is always something going on, and helping build a sense of community.

Instant feedback enables meaningful improvements
Rogier has been directly involved in the first pilot installations, providing advice for each location and helping set up the questions. With a dashboard as well as weekly reports, the care facilities immediately see the activity on the screen and the results of the surveys. The staff appreciate the quick access to feedback, with facilities so far seeing 125 survey responses per week. Many locations have also seen a 50% increase in use of the survey system from the first week of deployment to the second, after residents see their input is taken into account and acted upon. The devices and content are controlled remotely through the EloView® platform by Rogier and his team, which makes it easy to update surveys, monitor the use of the screens and regularly add new games, especially developed to suit senior citizens.

One of the first locations to deploy Tante Co’s survey tool was senior living facility de Beyart in Maastricht, the Netherlands.

About the new tool, director Anke Huppertz said, With COVID-19, Everything is focused on safety. As a director in elderly care, however, I continuously weigh the balance between maximum safety and quality of life. This has made measuring satisfaction and well-being even more important. How are our residents doing, now that they have to miss the proximity of their loved ones? The Tante Co tool alerts us daily, allowing us to make quick adjustments to address our residents’ needs and improve their experience.

After piloting the tool in seven locations, Tante Co is now rolling out across of the facilities of Cordaan, one of the largest care organizations in the Netherlands. Future developments to the Tante Co solution include the integration of peripherals, for example a status light indicating there is new content or questions available, or a temperature sensor to enable wellness checks of visitors and residents. With the Edge Connect peripheral system compatible with Elo touchscreens, the possibilities of expanding use are numerous, and allow Rogier and his team to continuously develop and add functionality to make sure Tante Co stays relevant and engaging.