Technology is transforming the senior living industry, but how is it impacting caregivers, residents, and families? In this episode of Bridge The Gap, Dave Blanchard, OD/Strategic Business Development at Hamilton CapTel, returns to discuss how digital solutions enhance caregiving, improve operational efficiency, and strengthen communication between residents, families, and providers.

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Produced by Solinity Marketing.

Intro

Welcome to season eight of Bridge The Gap, a podcast dedicated to informing, educating, and influencing the future of housing and services for seniors. Powered by sponsors Aline, NIC MAP, Procare HR, Sage, Hamilton CapTel, Service Master, The Bridge Group Construction and Solinity. Produced by Solinity Marketing. Bridge the gap in three, two.

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00:43 - 00:58

Lucas McCurdy

Welcome to Bridge the Gap podcast, the senior living podcast with Josh and Lucas. We have a great returning guest on and wonderful topic. You're going to want to lean in on. Welcome our friend and wonderful sponsor, Dave Blanchard at Hamilton Capital. Welcome back to the program.

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00:58 - 01:01

Dave Blanchard

Hey, how's it going, man? Good to see you.

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01:01 - 01:47

Lucas McCurdy

You know, we have such great memories. The national LeadingAge where we got to squat in your booth, the wonderful Hamilton CapTe booth. We had a great setup, great lighting. We had some great guests and got to interact with your team. You know, the Hamilton CapTel team has been a wonderful sponsor of Bridge the Gap for so many years – helping bring our educational content to the industry. We really appreciate that. And so you're coming off the back of another state show for LeadingAge. And today we're going to be talking about how technology is transforming the senior living space. Tell us more about some of the conversations that you've recently been having around the topic of tech.

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01:47 - 04:27

Dave Blanchard

It's funny, our technology's been around for a long time. And so, in the last few years, we've really changed our approach to try and be a thought leader or almost expose what's going on in the world of tech as it relates to taking care of people, whether it's in their home or in communities, and that has paid dividends. For us and for the people that we talk to every day.

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It's great to have, I totally agree with you on the LeadingAge National scene. What a great show, fantastic interaction with people. And who's not fired up to go to Nashville, right? So it's a great city for a great venue, for a great event that talks about what we are going to do next? And that was the vibe I picked up in Nashville is everybody's wondering what's going to be next as far as infrastructure, as far as technology, as far as creating a backbone in your community, to make sure that you've got the ability to offer whatever products and services necessary to take care of people in the new world order, where technology actually meets up with caregiving.

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And I'm seeing the light break open a little bit, where it's way less salty for staffers who don't understand technology. You know, I'm seeing caregivers actually start to embrace and say, I can't wait for the day. We've got a robust system. They might not be using words like that, but a robust system to make sure that the things I do every day, as far as quality interaction with seniors, are augmented with technology.

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And maybe I don't have to verify that Jean didn't wake up this morning, because a sensor will pick that up and I'll get a notification. And so will the kids get a notification that Jean’s out of bed. And what a great piece of mind that is taking away those tactical things that needed to occur in the past and making them less prominent in the day to day and really focusing on the quality interaction between residents and caregivers.

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And that's a new thing for the caregivers. When we're doing installations, we're seeing much less resistance from the caregiver staff to say, I can't wait for you to put this stuff in because it just makes my life easier and makes my relationship better with the folks we're taking care of every day.

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04:27 - 04:56

Lucas McCurdy

You know, I love hearing that. And I think that in years past, you know, some of the apprehension or maybe, some hesitation on this level of technology is that the gripe has been that all technology is going to replace people. But it sounds like from what I'm hearing you say that technology is actually going to allow for the people that are doing this work, this challenging work, to do their jobs better. Is that what I'm hearing?

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04:56 - 06:11

Dave Blanchard

That's exactly what I'm hearing, too. And from the time frame of Nashville in October and I was just at LeadingAge Minnesota, which was a fantastic show, by the way, 3500 plus attendees at this thing. Took a hilarious shot. We put on social media this mountain of downed jackets in the middle of this trade show.

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Because everybody checks their coat. Minnesota. And, so it was like five degrees. But, man, the conversations were so much more connected with people creating plans and being able to communicate what the plans are, using layman's terms to embrace technology and actually have it unknown part of the plan moving forward, not just in the executive room, of a of a community, but actually in the caregiver level and the resident level where everybody embraces this as this is going to help absolutely everyone in the equation from from residents themselves, from family influencers, from the caregivers, all the way up to the main office in every community in the country, because this is what's going to make it easier to care for more people and do it well.

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06:11 - 07:13

Lucas McCurdy

Well, and I think that, in an age, in a space, where costs are being heavily looked at from an operator standpoint because to provide that great care. You have to provide that great place to live. But it's also a business. And there, everyone is feeling the constraints of inflation and a lot of other parameters that are causing costs to go up. Insurance is a big one that I hear people talking about. We all feel it. Do you see technology as a way – yes, it's a cost – but do you see, technology has a way of coming in to help alleviate some of those costs or maybe some of that back end? Just the constant rework or the time that it takes to, I don't know, do paperized things or just these kinds of tasks that can be taken away so that people can do their jobs more effectively? Do you think that cost can be impacted by technology?

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07:13 - 10:58

Dave Blanchard

know that in talking to executive director types, there's a capital investment to make sure that the technology backbone, if you talk to folks at direct supply, they talk about making sure that that backbone is strong, that it's resilient, that it's redundant, that it's reliable and that it's safe. And so, hackers can't get into it. Something as simple as setting up a virtual private network in everybody's apartment, so you don't really see the devices that live there.

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But taking care of life in a community from a dashboard of sorts, and knowing that there's an easy portal to see what's going on with every single resident, that's transformative. You know, but having to embrace that capital cost upfront, the payback is going to come over years. And, it's really going to change our industry. And the transition from LeadingAge Nashville in October to just this week in Minnesota. I'm floored by the embrace of people coming up and using the words that we've been using about how do we fight isolation? How do we keep people from being isolated in their homes? They can't just watch TV all the time. Well, let's get on the phone. Let's connect via text. Let's do FaceTime videos. In order to make all those things happen, we've got to have that system, that backbone that's going to support all of that and make it easier to know that from the front office perspective, people are being taken care of, people are being more active.

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People are engaging with content that's meaningful. And, you know, we've been talking about isolation for 30 years, especially with individuals with hearing loss. And, it's kind of a new day and supporting people the right way so that their lives can change for the better. And it's so simple for them. Because finally, the interfaces of technology are being created with seniors in mind. It's very easy to put things in. It's very easy to interact with voice first technology. I won't say it out loud because there's one sitting right here on my table. And, you know, being able to interact using your voice is a transformative thing. If you want scripture, if you want the weather, if you want whatever you're looking for, grandma and grandpa can have all of that without having to learn something new.

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They just need to speak into it. And I think from a front office perspective, supporting seniors in such a way that this isn't a scary thing. Like, you never would have gotten my 93 year old mom to use any technology. The only word she heard was virus. I'm gonna get one of them viruses. I can't do that. So now, with people, it's such a part of life. All the grandkids are bringing technology to grandma and grandpa's, right? And so the ease at which they use it, because they've lived their entire lives using it, I think has disarmed it for seniors. And now that the boomer gen is really moving into a spot where they're starting to become a larger part of life in senior living communities, they're bringing that knowledge of technology forward, and it's going to be a much easier road, for embracing technology moving forward. And I think that's a fantastic thing.

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10:58 - 11:30

Lucas McCurdy

With technology improving, obviously that brings a lot of data, and data brings visibility. How do you think a new layer or level of visibility impacts the relationship from the provider to the resident, and then also the provider to the adult family member? So maybe the adult daughter or the adult son wants to stay connected, but they live on the East Coast and mom or dad is on the West Coast. How do you think that visibility changes those relationships?

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11:30 - 13:21

Dave Blanchard

I think it adds confidence for the caregiver level or whoever's reporting that data. You know, everybody's talking about AI. So that's in every sentence of every show of every session that was at LeadingAge, Minnesota and in Nashville at the national level too. So from the provider to the resident, being able to cite data from others in similar spots, I think will be invaluable.

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So it's not unique to this person, kind of everybody's doing it, kind of a dialogue with the residents and from the provider to the family, you can confidently report that mom's getting out of bed at 8:00 every day. You know, you can start to aggregate and, and that's not different from other residents. I think the power of data shows that I'm not unique here, even though this is a family's first time with a mom or a dad in care that there are others experiencing exactly the same. And I think the peace that that brings to a family, influencers, is going to go so far in the relationship between communities and whether you live up the street or you live on the East Coast. I think that's going to build bridges to a great relationship and actually a better experience overall in the community because of the confidence that you'll be able to report what's actually happening based on statistics and real data. It's not a subjective description to the family. What's happening?

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Because, you know, we know some seniors can be salty, some seniors can be resistant and say things like, I'm not talking to anybody. I'm not getting the guidance that they say they're giving me. And to be able to report that confidently, I think that's going to change the dialogue for a long time.

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13:21 - 13:38

Lucas McCurdy

How does that also impact the relationship with the community staff and the resident? When we're dealing with an aging adult that has its own set of challenges? You know, how does this data invisibility change that care relationship?

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13:38 - 15:00

Dave Blanchard

You know, again, I think if the caregiver says, we know that people in your situation react better with this level of activity or this level of care or these this way to manage the meds, I think that is going to make it easier for staffers too…I could see the day where training is coming on how to use these these dashboards and the data reporting, better and leverage that, better so that somebody that maybe isn't college educated can easily embrace what's going on with the reporting that's coming out of, an AI based dashboard.

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And what's really happening in the four walls of this community. And, and that I think will be transformative. Again, like, what else is possible? And I still can't emphasize enough. I'm so floored by the different conversations from Nashville to Saint Paul. And, and the difference I just felt the last three days at a show and the way the sessions were aligned and what the topics are. I'm floored at the acceleration of the embrace of all this. And I think the benefits will just go from the top to the bottom in every organization.

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15:00 - 15:14

Lucas McCurdy

If there's anybody that understands isolation, it's Dave and it's Hamilton CapTel. So on the topic of isolation, how do you think technology is going to impact that in particular?

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15:14 - 17:30

Dave Blanchard

I had the great fortune to go to CES this year in Vegas. So I got to see the Delta CEO in the sphere. It was super weird talking to robots. It was, but but, to wrap it up in a bow, it was that the technology roll is going to be so important moving forward.

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There's to mitigate the number of caregivers that exist today and to keep the next generation of caregivers interested. If the next generation of caregivers could have gone to CES and see what's next. Like a man standing in front of a mirror at the Withings booth and all I'm doing, I'm standing there barefoot on this pad and it's a full length mirror as tall as I am, and all of a sudden the statistics start coming up.

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Your blood pressure is this, your body mass index is this. Dave, we think you should do that. Having a plan based on AI and the actual stats of what's happening today. These kind of easy interfaces that are cool, I think will attract the next generation of caregivers, because there is fantastic things going on from figuring out how to clean your pool to, manage your weight, to target health from upper body to lower body and being able to put that in terms that a senior would understand is that in order to get out of the chair, you have to make sure your core at least operates.

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And they can do that now because they can identify the strength in your core, through some of these interfaces that nobody even touches you. It's literally mom or dad steps up on a pad and you get a plan and you can work that plan. And that was so inspiring. I think for me, having been in the industry now for a while, that to look at, absolutely. What's next is just mind blowing. And I can't wait to see it start to roll out. It shows like Leading edge at the national level or at the state level.

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17:30 - 18:48

Lucas McCurdy

Well, we're definitely looking forward to that. What a great conversation. This is one that is ever changing and it's moving at such a fast pace. I think that, you know, through, 2020, 2021, the industry was forced to take leaps into the technology space. And, we're seeing, I think, some of the growth and the impact of that kind of, you know, unfortunately, a forced need for introducing major technology into a space that has been relatively slow to adopt.

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You know, this is a people business, and I think it always will be. And that's so important. But it's great to have a conversation and to see how technology can come aside. All of these great people are doing their work to help them. What I believe is to really focus on their strengths. And ultimately, you know, one of your big passions, around isolation, it's going to positively impact and, and really take on the challenge of isolation around older adults, which is so meaningful. Final thoughts? Dave.

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18:48 - 20:27

Dave Blanchard

I couldn't agree more. Fighting isolation now, our company's been doing that for 30 years. And it's interesting when you see the influencers in the market, like when we go to shows, the people that know this technology, that embrace this technology, that are talking about it the loudest, they're the ones that are becoming the leaders, in the dialog, it's going to take to make sure that care of elders is amazing moving forward.

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And, you know, so having having provided services for so long with us, we continue to see the need grow as the boomer generation continues to expand and require care and the way to handle that growth, I think, is the true embrace of technology to not be afraid of it and absorb as much as you can in those sessions.

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That LeadingAge at those sessions, at any any industry trade show, you go to learn something about it and disarm it, or give the grandkids and the kids involved and man, they can talk about it. Like, my kiddos going to college aged 20 and he's like, dad, you got to really you got to really jump on board with this whole thing.

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And having that encouragement behind me, I've been able to absorb enough to try and be that thought leader, to say, embrace it and grab it and, and let's do something with it. Because the future may not be the Jetsons quite yet, you know, with robot maids and flying cars, but oh my gosh, I can't wait for everybody to see what's next. It's really going to be spectacular for the industry.

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20:27 - 20:46

Lucas McCurdy

Great conversation. I couldn't agree more. Dave Blanchard, Hamilton Capital, a great industry thought leader, passionate servant to this, community and a big supporter and sponsor of the Bridge the Gap podcast and the network. We can't thank you enough. Thank you for your time today, Dave.

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20:46 - 20:49

Dave Blanchard

Absolutely. Thanks a lot, Lucas. It's always great to see you.

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20:49 - 21:09

Lucas McCurdy

And to all of our listeners. We appreciate your support and listening to our network. You can go to btgvoice.com to download this content. And so much more. You can listen to past episodes with Dave and also the Hamilton CapTel crew. If you're interested in learning more, go to the shownotes, connect with them and thanks for listening to another great episode of Bridge the Gap.

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Outro

Thanks for listening to Bridge the Gap podcast with Josh and Lucas. Connect with the BTG network team and use your voice to influence the industry by connecting with us at btgvoice.com.

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