SHN BUILD: Fireside Chat with Super Nurse Call

This article is sponsored by Super Nurse Call. This article is based on a Senior Housing News discussion with Morgan Morgan, President at Super Nurse Call. The discussion took place on November 9, 2022 during the SHN BUILD Conference in Chicago. The article below has been edited for length and clarity.

Senior Housing News: Where did the idea for this technology come from?

Morgan Morgan: We wanted to provide a system that created less stress for the caregivers. Oftentimes, I’ll go into facilities and they’ll have one or two or even three different systems with different alarms, different sounds, different lights, that can really cause fatigue with the caregiving staff. We try to provide a much more simple, integrated interface for the caregivers. We try to do it with just lights, messages and soft sounds, so they don’t even have to necessarily go to a computer to dial something up or push buttons. They can just see our panels and it tells them who’s calling and what’s happening. It creates low stress for the caregivers and a lot of information.

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Senior Housing News: Earlier we talked about how communities would come to you and really want to integrate to a new call system. Would you maybe talk about that transition of what it takes to make the transition to either add equipment or altogether, overhaul a system?

Morgan: That’s a great question. We’ve been hearing about a lot of new buildings being built, but obviously, the majority of the market out there are older facilities or maybe existing buildings that they’re retrofitting. There’s all sorts of differences between those, not only in the type of construction materials in the building, but also the call systems they may have in place.

A customer may have an old wired system with an existing wired infrastructure that is still good, but the panel is not working or the devices are not working. We can go in there and help them upgrade a single part of their system, saving them money from going from their old system to a new one. Obviously, in some cases, they want to update the technology, they want to move into the new century, and we can help them with a fully wireless system and the apps that can make the information flow pretty good.

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SHN: I know you had mentioned just the easy access that employees of communities are able to have once the call system is integrated into the community. Can you talk about how quick that startup is and just how easy it is to use the Super Nurse Call system, just once it is operational within a new community?

Morgan: That really depends on what system they want and how sophisticated they want it. On the smaller side, our wireless systems 24, 32, 48 rooms, we can provide them all of the devices and the panel fully programmed. It’s like a plug and play solution where they just put the panel up in the call area and distribute the wireless devices to the rooms and to the residence, and boom, they’re up and running quickly.

SHN: I’d also like to know how that integration with residence is and what that interface looks like. If you could talk maybe a little bit more about that.

Morgan: While we integrate with some of the newer technology like Alexa, our devices are pretty traditional. They’re just on the wireless side, they’re wireless pendants. We actually are partners with Inovonics, if maybe you guys recognize that name. They’re our wireless radio backbone. They provide a lot of standard pendants and our devices that are wireless, have their radios in them. It’s a pretty traditional push button and pull cord. We do have motion sensors to detect if they’ve gotten up out of bed or not.

SHN: For when you’re integrating Super Nurse Call within a community, what are some of the things that you’ve been hearing operators come to you and saying, “Can Super Nurse Call help us with,” whatever it may be operationally? We’d love to know just more on the inside of what you’ve been hearing this year and what some of the biggest things operators are looking for when they’re seeking out Super Nurse Call.

Morgan: A lot of those customers are asking for some help with a retrofit or an upgrade to an existing system. Many times, that might even be a hybrid between some wired components or devices that they have, and then maybe they have a newer part of the facility or they want to upgrade and add a wireless. We can do a hybrid type system as well. As everyone knows that the labor market is super tight, so everyone’s looking to do more with less, so giving them a real good view of how the residents are doing so that they can respond to a need efficiently.

SHN: I would just like to know just how 2022 went for you guys operationally, and then just looking ahead to 2023, would love to know what’s next for Super Nurse?

Morgan: I think there’s still a COVID hangover [chuckles] going on, and a lot of the facilities have had to manage their budget well the last couple of years. 2022 has been a great year, but I’m looking for 2023 to be even better with some facilities we’re looking to upgrade. I’m really excited to be here and listen to the other panels talk about the newer technology like voice. We’re working on integrating our call systems with that technology. We’ve got a bunch of new devices that we’re coming out with. A communication module that will link up multiple panels in a facility. You can have one at the main station and one maybe in the admin office. Those communication modules will integrate well with two-way radio systems, phone apps, and Alexa. A lot of partners out there to integrate with.

SHN: I’d love to build off of that technology aspect too, because I think that’s something communities are always looking to integrate within their operations. Just in general, how are you looking at the future of Super Nurse Call, just when it comes to integrating in things like Alexa and other components of technology that weren’t necessarily a part of operations maybe 10 years ago?

Morgan: Like I said in the beginning, we love solving problems, providing solutions, so it’s really facility oriented, what they need and what their budget is. Some of the added technology does come with a higher price tag, so we always want to be sensitive to what the budget is and provide the best solution that’s going to improve the environment there and the resident care there, but we embrace new technology, Wi-Fi or not.

SHN: I would love to hear what you think some of the biggest opportunities and challenges are ahead for Super Nurse Call in 2023.

Morgan: We’re optimistic about the future. I’ve heard it referred to as the silver tsunami. The demographics of this market are growing, and it’s a robust environment to be working in. We’re just going to keep paying attention to what the customers need and solving their problems, giving them a good product.

Super Nurse Call’s mission is to provide trusted nurse call technology that enables super caregivers to respond quickly and efficiently every time. To learn more, visit: https://www.supernursecall.com/.

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