Assisted Living facilities (ALFs) have been among the industries most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. With their residents classified as the most vulnerable group, ALFs had to block access to common areas and cancel social activities and non-essential treatments. Moreover, instead of common communal dining arrangements, ALFs have switched to delivering meals to rooms, creating a “grab n’ go” option for residents, or staggering mealtimes to accommodate social distancing while dining (e.g., a single person per table) (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/assisted-living.html). Finally, in an effort to prevent COVID-19 from entering the facility, family visitations have been restricted or cancelled on a broad scale. While all these measures have been essential for optimal infection prevention and control, they come at a cost – resident isolation and increased family member inquiries.
The families that were already somewhat removed from the day to day happenings and or regular visits are now even more ‘in the dark’ and distant from their loved ones, leaving the question:
The new mobile app Quiltt, developed Alpine Media Technology, provides the following features to assist with this current challenge.
Want to let family members know what their loved ones are doing from day to day in terms of social activity? Perhaps even invite them to participate?
The mobile app Quiltt will allow Activity Directors to quickly and easily create event schedules. With the ability to create recurring events and store past events for future use, the event planning module saves activity directors time with mundane processes allowing them to spend more time on resident interactions.
Most importantly, events are updated in real-time on all devices to ensure family members always know how their loved ones are keeping active. Quiltt’s event features are definitely one of the key attractions.
We know that one of the most common questions you hear from family members is “what is mom/dad eating today?” It’s to be expected. Quality food offers nourishment and nutrition are an older person's defense to chronic illness and declining health (https://www.assistedlivingfacilities.org/resources/resident-health/meal-planning/).
Quiltt allows your Director of Nutrition to quickly and easily create meal plans. Similar to the events module, the Quiltt menu module offers the ability to create recurring meals and store past entries for future use. Moreover, with the option for family members to RSVP, your team can proactively plan and budget accordingly.
As your facility has undoubtedly learned first-hand with COVID-19, news and updates can change daily. While sending out emails and updating the website are all things administrators must do, Quiltt now makes updating family members easier than ever before. Authorized staff can now send ‘push notifications’ directly to family members on their mobile devices and keep them apprised of all news and updates which may impact the care of their loved ones.
While messaging to the families may be the primary use, Quiltt allows operators to send messaging to staff and residents as well. With messaging made more effective and efficient staff can respond quickly, improving overall performance.
Although smartphone and tablet use is on the rise through assisted living communities, ensuring the information from Quiltt is available to all residents can enhance their engagement in various activities. Therefore, Quiltt offers digital signage solutions that allow you to easily incorporate your brand elements and share everything from upcoming birthdays and photos to the local weather and daily menu throughout your community from any television. Whether you opt for putting the information in the lobby and other common areas or having it displayed on a dedicated in-room channel, Quiltt offers the flexibility to communicate with your residents using the technology they are most comfortable with today.
