Interview with Ricky van de Vall, Regional Sales Manager at Accushield: Bridging the Gap between Senior Living and Technology
In this exclusive interview, we had the opportunity to chat with Ricky van de Vall, Regional Sales Manager at Accushield, a company that has been at the forefront of innovation in the senior living industry. Ricky is here to talk about how Accushield is addressing the issue of social isolation and loneliness in senior living communities through their groundbreaking Love Meter technology.
Q: One systematic issue we have with our society is isolation and loneliness. This topic is a growing concern for senior living and skilled nursing providers. Although there is awareness and drive to reduce the risks that cause isolation and loneliness, there just aren’t enough resources for providers. Sounds like Accushield, known for its innovativeness and listening to the pain points of their clients, has addressed this with the Love Meter. How does that work?
Ricky van de Vall (Ricky): For the past 10 years, Accushield has elevated safety and security via digital sign-in solutions for senior living and skilled nursing communities. As a result, we are able to harness the power of visitor data to pinpoint social isolation, loneliness, and depression risks for providers. The Love Meter itself is a data point that leverages social visit trends extracted from the communities visitor history, and it provides invaluable insights into the least-visited residents in the building.
Q: So you are getting insights into the residents that are not being visited by anyone for any particular reason and may be at risk of social isolation in a community?
Ricky: Absolutely, the Love Meter is designed to offer providers valuable data. The benefits of utilizing Accushield to capture social visit data and power the Love Meter are numerous:
- Evaluating resident social visit trends
- Identify residents at-risk of social isolation, loneliness, and depression
- Timely implement interventions and services designed to reduce the risks,
- Automation of visitor history reporting.
This data provides a clearer picture of those who may be experiencing social isolation, allowing communities to take proactive steps.
Q: Who doesn’t love the idea of getting more insight, but for those that have more data that reflects people that are isolated, what are the communities actually doing with that data?
Ricky: That’s a great question. Having the data is one thing; it’s what you do with it that truly matters. The way communities act on this data can vary, but it often starts with a call to action, encouraging more check-ins and fostering an added level of insights to ensure residents aren’t experiencing loneliness.
Furthermore, as the industry focuses more on value-based care, we’re able to help identify key metrics that have a direct impact on quality of life in communities. It’s rare that the industry focuses on data that often lives outside of the chart, and we’re happy to be able to help not only bring awareness to the need, but to do it in a way that doesn’t add work to an already overworked workforce – through a visitor management solution. After all, it takes a village, and we are on a mission to share the love.
Innovative solutions like Accushield’s Love Meter are shining a light on a pervasive issue in senior living communities, addressing social isolation, and working towards creating happier, healthier environments for our loved ones.
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