MyWay Village Provides Senior Living Communities New Ways to Connect With Social Media and Personalized Training

Mywayvillage MyWay Village, a senior-focused technology company to help seniors get online in an easy and social way, recently announced it is a seeing dramatic increase in users at senior living communities throughout the country. The company just finished rolling out its Connected Living™ program with Chicago-based Brookdale in Boston and Chicago. Residents at communities in both cities have shown up in record numbers for the launch events. The initial participation has jumped from three percent to 36 percent active senior users who are now using the social media technology and personal training to stay connected with other residents, family and friends. More than 66 percent of residents have signed on to the community digital directory to put in a profile for others to see.

Brookdale residents can access a customized home page that allows them to choose from a variety of activities including sending and receiving electronic messages, sharing and viewing photographs, listening to audio books and music, recording their own personal memoirs, and receiving notifications of events happening daily at their Brookdale community. MyWay Village provides on-going support to retirement communities, residents and their families through a team of "Ambassadors," who provide individualized help for seniors, and who lead group activities and classes on computer use, memoir sharing, and book clubs.

"We pride ourselves on offering superior lifestyle options and cutting-edge services," said Sara Terry, senior vice president for Optimum Life® at Brookdale. "The Connected Living at Brookdale program has dramatically increased communication among our residents and heightened their knowledge of each other’s lives. The personal support of an Ambassador is proving to be key for getting first time computer users online."

Advertisement

"Seniors are excited to participate," said Sarah Hoit, CEO and co-founder of MyWay Village. "They have so much to share, and once connected, are spending hours writing memoirs and messaging with their families. Families now have a better communication link to their loved ones … it gives them peace of mind."

Sarah Rieger, lifestyle director at the Seasons of Glenview in Glenview, Ill. said, "The discussion groups are very successful, and our residents love sharing their stories. They are reaching out to people they might never have before. Our residents are sharing about families, careers, growing up and also things that are harder to talk about, like surviving the Holocaust."

Advertisement

At Brookdale Senior Living’s River Bay Club in Quincy, Mass. Geri Dussault, executive director, said, "Of our 286 residents, more than 100 are currently actively engaged in the Connected Living program. That’s up from almost zero technology use in this building six months ago."

For more information, visit MyWayVillage.