Aging-In-Place & Battling Social Isolation with Google’s Smart Display Technology for the More Helpful Home
This program is powered by Google Nest Hub Max
The Community at Sunset Wood prides itself in being one of only 2% non-profit independent senior living providers that promotes an Aging-In-Place model. For over three (3) decades, our organization has been leading the way in changing the concept of aging and how seniors no longer have to move through a continuum of care in order to receive the help they need to stay independent. In years past, this included wellness checks, constant communication with tenants & family members, as well as our newly launched SW Wellness Program. However, technology has quickly evolved in the past few years making it so that we are able to utilize Smart Display Technology to keep our seniors social, active, engaged , and safe in their own homes.
With Google Nest, seniors are now able to receive smart display companion services like sociability, medication reminders, appointment set-up, research an interesting topic, listen to their favorite band, and more, all by saying something as simple as “OK Google.”
The Community at Sunset Wood created a pilot program with the help of the Mohawk Valley COVID-19 Response Fund which granted us two (2) iPads for tenants to video conference family members and participate in telehealth sessions with their medical providers. The program was a massive success and we were booked out for 2+ weeks with the devices.
In partnership with The Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties and the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York, The Community at Sunset Wood will be providing tenants with a Google Nest Hub Max smart display that they can use to “age in place” and enjoy the social programs these devices provide. This makes make us the only senior living community in Oneida and Herkimer Counties that provide this “smart service” to their tenants.
Voice tech, although still new for many, is the future for aging adults, especially when it comes to keeping their independence, sociability, and health. By offering the product to our seniors, and helping manage the program in general, it sets them up to live a higher quality of life knowing that certain aspects are easily taken care of via technology as opposed to relying on their physical being or mental state to accomplish small tasks (medication reminders, having to be transported to medical appointments, asking a simple questions, etc.).
Photo by Nancy L. Ford Photography
Phase 1 of this program has been made possible by the Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties and the Faxton Street Home Fund.
Phase 2 of this program is supported by a grant from the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York. The Health Foundation is an independent private foundation that advocates for continuous improvement in health and health care by investing in the people and organizations that serve young children and older adults.
To study how seniors interact with these smart devices, as well as their perception of how these devices can keep them independent, The Community at Sunset Wood has partnered with the Ph.D. program in Business Administration and Department of Marketing and Professional Sales at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. A longitudinal research study will collect data from seniors before they have even touched their Google smart devices, three months after receiving them, and six months after utilizing the devices. The aggregate data will be used to study how seniors perceive smart devices like these, and how their attitudes change over time after using the devices.
Google and Nest Hub Max are trademarks of Google LLC.