Using Artificial Intelligence to Multiply Your Staff

“How am I possibly going to be able to do all of this right now? Mr. Jones wants to watch television in the living room but often wanders in the evening. Mrs. Smith needs her daily shower. There are still five residents finishing up dinner in the dining room. My colleague just went on break. The head nurse is speaking with a frustrated family member. And the activity director just left for the day. How can I possibly meet all these needs by myself?” 

This scenario happens more than we might like to admit at times in senior living. This caregiver wants to be everything to everyone, but we know that will either take a significant amount of time or something could unintentionally be forgotten or missed. This does not mean we are not well prepared but rather need to examine how can we better support these varying needs with new tech-based solutions coming to our space. 

Meet SOLO, your New Well-being Assistant

Who is SOLO? SOLO is an interactive, contactless way to ensure the mental and emotional health of your community residents, all without relying on the physical presence of staff or family members. How does this get accomplished? An application delivered via a smart device; phone or tablet, utilizes artificial intelligence. 

Artificial intelligence is lot of different things to a lot of different people. Artificial intelligence is the ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages. 

SOLO is a well-being assistant that utilizes artificial intelligence to scan a resident’s face and then offers up a favorite tune from that resident’s curated playlist. This tool is showing promise as an automated extension of the enrichment/engagement and clinical departments. The big win here is that the app-based solution is always trained for how to respond to facial cues, can work any hours and days of the week incredibly reliable and all training is complete. The solution is easy to use, and SOLO is an intriguing robot avatar that just makes you smile. Additional features being added soon include mindfulness applications for relaxation, travel and singing which may also be tailored to the individual. 

SOLO is for Many

SOLO provides the opportunity to engage many residents at the same time whether on personal smart devices or community smart devices. Once the resident profile is selected from the app, a quick 20 second scan of the resident’s face occurs. Next, depending on their mood, favorite music is offered up using sound and video. Thus, this tool could help calm the mind to prepare for sleep whether a resident is in their room or apartment, or in a common area living space.

So, let us rethink our caregiver’s evening scenario with SOLO at their fingertips. 

“Mr. Jones sometimes wanders after dinner. I am going to get him set up with SOLO for a playlist of his favorite songs that I know he loves and will engage him for the next 15 minutes. This way I can be available for the residents finishing dinner and by the time the Mr. Jones is finishing with SOLO my colleague will be retuning from break to help Mrs. Smith with her shower. Thank goodness we have SOLO to assist us with thoughtfully engaging residents. It’s like having another member of the staff!” 

SOLO is not just for end of day routines. SOLO’s applications are numerous and can vary throughout the day. Below is a list of potential use cases for SOLO in a senior living setting. Consider how these could support consistency and effectiveness of engagement and meaningful activity. 

• Elevate and/or enhance mood of an individual regardless of time of day.
• Simultaneously used by many different staff roles. The SOLO account is for the community at large, not by individual.
• Individualized engagement while waiting for appointments at the salon, spa, meal deliveries or service or even before a trip out of the community. 
• Engagement support during challenging behaviors 
• Light-hearted music and content for resident while care staff is delivering routine grooming and self-care needs.
• More effective 1 on 1 visits, leveraging SOLO to identify and address needs and desired outcomes per a resident’s care plan.
• Insertion of music therapy, mindfulness, and travel options into the residents’ weekly schedule at a fraction of the cost of outsourced music therapists, mindfulness coaches, etc. 

SOLO Time

Outfitting your engagement and care teams with the efficiency and effectiveness of artificial intelligence is a new approach, but one that is well embraced by team members. Staff do not want to be replaced by technology or miss out on the moments of genuine and meaningful interactions. However, the expectation to know what to do for everyone, in every situation on any given day of one’s journey is just not humanly possible. The tool of SOLO gives back time to the staff, allowing minutes to watch faces light up, body’s move and relaxation transpire with the use of incredibly smart tools. SOLO is a partner and tool that staff need be equipped with for the benefit of residents, families, and community management teams.