Next Best Home: We have the pleasure of speaking with Jesse Maruca, a Business Development Manager at Heritage Medcall, and a Bridge the Gap Ambassador in the senior living industry. Jesse has over 5 years of experience helping senior living communities enhance their efficiency and resident care with wireless e-call systems.
Next Best Home: To start, could you tell us a bit about how Heritage Medcall got started?
Jesse: Certainly. Our founding company was Sentry Manufacturing which later became Heritage Medcall. Sentry was formed in 1988 by Don Musselman, an Executone dealer since 1965. The first system was sold in 1989 under the Sentry Legacy brand. In 1994 we partnered with Erickson Retirement to be their emergency call provider of choice. At that time, telecommunications products were hardwired, but technology was evolving and in 2005 we partnered with Inovonics to be the first adopter of their Echostream Platform for the long-term care market and in 2006 Heritage had our first Freedom Wireless system (a Brookdale community) at Glenview Pelican Bay. Heritage Medcall mission was clear from the start: to Connect Residents and Caregivers! We provide caregivers with tools that can easily and efficiently allow them how to help their residents.
Over the decades, we’ve been evolving with available technology to offer senior living communities the latest emergency call systems at affordable prices. We are committed to providing communities with emergency call software and offering personalized service with immediate tech support.
Next Best Home: That’s quite a journey. How do you specifically help senior living communities with your wireless e-call systems?
Jesse: Our primary goal is to connect residents and caregivers safely, quickly, reliably, and affordably when they need assistance the most. We achieve this by providing senior living communities with top-of-the-line visual communication platforms. These platforms make it easier for communities to provide high-quality care to their residents.
Next Best Home: Is the system complicated to implement?
Jesse: Not at all. We designed our system to be user-friendly and efficient. We can train your staff in one brief session, and it comes with a simple and pleasant visual interface for monitoring calls across your entire community. It also offers robust reporting and analytics, making it easier for communities to understand and manage safety protocols. We wanted to reduce the burden of adapting to a new platform while ensuring that it provides essential features.
Next Best Home: It’s clear that every senior living community needs supportive systems in place. But is this system a foolproof safety solution?
Jesse: That’s a great question. Our System is a self-supervising system but the system isn’t an “off the shelf item” meaning it gets configured to each community and their use and needs. The effectiveness of any safety system depends things such as from how it’s configured to management of the devices, from the placement of pull cords down to whether residents are using personal emergency response systems (pendants). However, the real key is what you do with the data.
Next Best Home: What do you mean by “what you do with the data”?
Jesse: The data collected by the system is invaluable. It allows communities to monitor and review incidents and track ADL’s, which, in turn, can be used as a road map to manage safety protocols, improve inefficiencies, and understand the vulnerabilities within the community.
Next Best Home: Could you share a story that illustrates the importance of using data in this way?
Jesse: Of course. There was a resident who tended to isolate herself in her room for extended periods. This resident was also at risk of falls but refused to wear her pendant. Unfortunately, she had a fall and wasn’t discovered until the next morning. Understandably, her adult children were upset and didn’t understand how this had happened.
After some discussion and encouragement from her daughter, the resident started wearing her pendant. With the added security, she felt more confident and less fearful. She began moving around more, getting some exercise, and engaging in social activities. It was a real success story of how technology, when embraced, can enhance independence and well-being.
Next Best Home: That’s indeed a heartwarming story. So, the moral here is to wear your pendant?
Jesse: Absolutely, the moral of the story is that when you have technology that can improve your quality of life and safety, it’s essential to use it. If you have access to data and analytics, utilize them. Data gives you insights and opportunities to create a safer environment and better understand potential vulnerabilities. Love your data, and your data will love you back.
