ting something, and it removes the stigma of having to ask for help,” said Clint Fowler, resident services director with Seattle-based Leisure Care. Fowler has been introducing Alexa-driven devices across Lei-
sure Care communities. He is one of a growing number of senior living organizations rolling out Alexa- and Siri-type voice-activat- ed personal assistants in communities across the nation. Here we’ll consider some of the advantages of voice tech-
nology; look at best practices in implementation; and also ex- plore some of the challenges that may arise when introducing voice assistants into a senior living community.
Why voice? With the rise of affordable devices like the Amazon Dot, con- sumers have shown a ready interest in voice-driven digital as- sistants. Analyst firm Zion Market Research predicts the speech and voice recognition market will top $22.3 billion by 2024. In the realm of senior care, experts see a range of potential
uses for voice assistants. • The conversational nature of a voice assistant can help to alleviate loneliness and isolation: “Alexa, tell me a joke.”
• Those with dexterity issues or vision impairment can ben- efit from the voice interface. It’s easier to speak a request than to dial a phone or read a printed schedule.
• The technology can also work in support of memory care. “Assistants can remind you of birthdays, even suggesting age-appropriate presents,” an AARP resource notes. “As- sistants can recall for you the place you told them you put your passport or keys. They can prompt you to take medi- cation at the correct time or pay credit card bills on time.”
Voice has the advantage of being a natural and intuitive form of interaction for most people. That makes it a good fit for seniors: A technology iteration that feels familiar right from the start. “As much as we like to say that everyone is computer literate, at the end of the day we find that the best way for seniors to interact is by voice,” said Bruce Baron, CEO of VoiceFriend, whose Alexa-enabled technology has been im- plemented by a number of senior housing companies. “There are dexterity challenges and vision challenges that
many seniors have that limit their ability to interact with the computer or to do things like texting. When they can use their voice, it simplifies things greatly. They get an immediate response and they can always ask multiple times if they have trouble with comprehension or cognition,” he said. That’s the promise of voice technology, but the new assistants
come with their own challenges, too. It takes planning and fore- thought to successfully execute this sort of technology in senior living. To see how it’s done, we checked in with a number of providers who have made early forays in the space.
New communication channel The Arbor Company has begun deploying Amazon’s Echo Dot devices in some of its common areas, viewing the devices as a potentially powerful new communication channel. “Residents can go up to one of these devices and it will tell
them what is happening for the day. It tells them about the next activity, with a little description, and it speaks the calendar for the rest of the day,” said Laura Ellen Christian, The Arbor Company’s senior vice president of engagement and training. Of course, there are other ways for residents to get this infor-
mation. Pick up a schedule (printed daily); check the scrolling information on one of the publicly available screens; or just ask a staff person. So what does voice offer? One more option. “This is another way to communicate, and because it is new
and exciting, people want to try it,” Christian said. “We can never engage enough with our residents, and this is offers us one more way to engage.” Executives at Civitas Senior Living are likewise positioning
their initial voice rollout as being primarily a resident amenity. “Calendars felt old, so we moved up to computer monitors with scrolling information. Voice feels like just the next evolu- tion in that process,” said Civitas president Cooper Vittitow, who has helped oversee an Alexa deployment across all 121 apartments in the company’s Park Creek Independent Living community in Cypress, Texas. In an increasingly technology-driven era, cutting edge voice
applications offer a convenience for the resident, while also showing that Civitas is staying in step with the times. “Outside of a senior community I can grab my cell phone and look things up, I get information right when I want it, and we want our se- niors to have that same experience,” Vittitow said. “This allows a person to get information immediately, without all having to congregate in one place, and that feels more like home. Tech- nology is more prevalent than ever for adults 55 and up, and we want to create an environment that feels like what they have had in their daily lives.”
What’s on the menu? More than just a resident amenity, voice may also deliver a range of practical benefits in terms of operational efficiency and resident quality of life. Voice assistants can improve staff productivity by answering
the most commonly asked questions: What are today’s activ- ities? What’s on the menu tonight? “This can free up all that administrative time for our program directors, so they can spend more time on the floor, and in turn we will have better programs,” Fowler said. Voice assistants won’t take the place of all human inter- actions: Residents should and will continue to bring their
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