There are many different benefits to Alexa Smart Properties for senior living, from giving residents access to music and news, to allowing staff to contact residents or check room temperatures.
There are also many business benefits which can help organisations save money and drive efficiency.
One trip rather than two
One of the key features of using Alexa devices in care homes is giving the residents the power to make requests themselves. Such requests might be for a cup of tea, mobility assistance, or helping with smaller tasks like picking up a dropped TV remote.
Traditionally residents would have to press a nurse call button, which would alert staff to visit the room. Staff would then be able to help the resident as required, for instance with making them a cup of tea.
Some requests might be one-time interactions, for example, helping a resident by picking up a TV remote. However, some requests could take a member of staff upwards of two visits. The first visit to ask the resident what they need. The second visit to bring a cup of tea for example.
With Alexa Smart Properties for care homes, the resident can request: “Alexa. Can I have a cup of tea?”.
Three actions are then automatically set in motion.
- A request for tea is raised with the room number, pulling the tea preferences for that resident, e.g., oat milk with two sweeteners
- The request is sent to the correct member of the team and they service the request
- The request is logged for auditing on the properties care management software
Reducing the number of visits to a given resident for one task saves time and and also means staff can either carry out alternative tasks or spend additional time with residents.
Temperature monitoring
Alexa Smart properties have built-in thermometers which track the temperature of rooms. Alexa devices can track the temperatures in residents’ rooms over time and alert staff to rooms that are too warm or cold. With increased heating bills, this is an easy way to identify rooms that are too hot and are wasting money with too much heating. On the flip, this can also flag rooms where residents might be too cold.
Broadcast Messages
From a mobile phone or a laptop staff can send messages to all or certain devices. This could be as simple as a message to let residents know about a fire alarm test or that an event is taking place in a communal areas. Alexa reads the message out automatically along with an audio chime to alert the resident.
This can help save time by allowing members of staff to notify residents who they know have greater mobility to visit the communal areas. Staff can then provide one-to-one assistant to those residents who may require help.
These are just some of the ways that Alexa Smart properties can help care homes improve efficiency. The key is working out which area of your business can be enhanced by voice technology.
If you are interested in how you could implement Alexa Smart properties in your care home, read more about our services here or reach out to our team here to discuss your requirements.