This article is sponsored by LifeLoop. In this Voices interview, Senior Housing News sits down with Navin Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, LifeLoop, to talk about the importance of creating a holistic experience in senior living, encompassing engaged and empowered residents, efficient and fulfilled staff, and supported and connected family members, in order to nurture/establish flourishing communities. He also discusses the role technology and data can play in achieving flourishing communities, and he provides a perspective on the growing role of technology within the evolving senior living landscape.
Senior Housing News: What career experiences do you most draw from, in your role today?
Navin Gupta: Health care has long been a part of my DNA — my family in India runs a pharmaceutical distribution business that is more than half a century old. Growing up, this enabled me to better grasp health care-related discussions and medicine’s healing powers.
Even though I always knew I wanted to be involved in a sector that helps humans flourish, I actually wound up in telecommunications first. While it seemed a far cry from health care, my time at Siemens exposed me to the immense transformational capability of technology. As DSL gave way to fiber optics, I saw firsthand how something so simple as a “good connection” could unlock a world of potential for people on a grand scale.
When I was asked to join a team at Philips Healthcare, I jumped at the opportunity. There, I experienced the myriad ways that technology can exponentially improve the experience and delivery of health care. I helped advance applications of remote monitoring within critical care settings, including ICUs, and I witnessed how technology can make lifesaving connections.
These experiences have helped inform and inspire me in my role at LifeLoop today, where I’ve been granted the amazing opportunity to help our team advance the role of technology within senior living. We’re driven every day to help transform the daily experience of community staff, residents, and their loved ones so that everyone can flourish.
How have resident, family and staff expectations changed over the last few years, and what impact is that having on how senior living communities can achieve success?
No doubt there have been massive changes in expectation that are driving exciting transformation within our industry. Not only has the pandemic accelerated our shift and comfort with health care at home, remote care and telemedicine, but it has also made us acutely aware of the preciousness of mental, physical and spiritual health, and the ways that we must holistically care for people of all ages.
Within senior living, we’re seeing a marked shift in what prospective residents and their loved ones expect from community life. Boomers within or approaching retirement will expect a community experience that is active, social and inspiring. They’ll expect programming and events that challenge them, inspire growth, and spark connections. These activities will need to be both more adventurous or stimulating, and also more technologically advanced. We are watching in real-time as demand for bingo shifts to demand for rock climbing, hiking or even simulated experiences, such as skydiving or bungee jumping.
We believe it’s all about empowering connections that help everyone thrive. It means providing residents with a holistic experience that helps them make meaningful connections within their communities, engage with educational, spiritual, physical, or other on-demand content that stimulates and inspires them, and supports their ability to pursue new interests and hobbies. It means offering families a greater level of transparency and connectivity so that they can easily remain engaged and aware of everything going on in community life. And, ultimately, it means offering technology that truly supports staff and caregivers, allowing them ample headspace and meaningful opportunities to connect with the force and people that drove them to senior living in the first place.
How can technology be used to engage residents, support staff and keep families connected to their loved ones?
Technology offers boundless opportunities to support everyone within community life. Not only does the right engagement technology offer access to a realm of on-demand services that spark joy, unleash creativity, and nourish the spirit, but it also offers residents many ways to build personal connections with other like-minded residents. Research shows that social connection and friendship are extremely important to longevity and aging well, and technology is a wonderful tool for helping to build meaningful personal connections.
Key to this is a regular and open dialogue with loved ones outside of the community walls. Technology is essential to this, from helping to support regular phone and video calls, to sharing pictures and stories from daily life. Technology can provide family members with a “window” into community life so they can stay connected to everything their loved ones are experiencing.
For staff, technology offers immense potential to transform their working experience. Not only does it offer many ways to minimize the burden of manual workflows and processes that detract from personal engagement and hands-on connection, but it also ensures that staff have the personal flexibility to engage with residents and grow their passion for senior care.
What makes a community “flourish,” and what steps can senior living operators take to create a flourishing environment in their communities?
Communities that flourish are in harmony. This means that all stakeholders are operating and living at their very best. Residents are feeling supported, cared for, engaged, well-connected, stimulated, and inspired. Family members feel as though they are a part of the experience. And staff members are satisfied, operating at the highest level of their caregiving potential.
The health of senior living communities depends on the happiness and well-being of everyone living within them. To help nurture flourishing communities, operators can invest in tools, resources and processes that holistically support the goals of every stakeholder. By investing in the present and future well-being of residents, staff and families alike, operators can make a true difference. They’re planting the seeds for a community life that prioritizes health, happiness, connection and personal growth so that the community as a whole can flourish.
Describe the role of data in senior living communities for measuring resident engagement and analyzing community performance and health. Is there a need? How are communities doing this right now?
We’ve come to expect data and metrics in nearly every facet of our lives, from our web browsing and online shopping, to our workouts and working lives. It’s only natural that measuring engagement and analyzing community performance would come into play; data helps us tell a story about how we’re doing.
Any community interested in setting themselves apart and optimizing for the future will consider collecting, analyzing, and harnessing data to optimize the experience for everyone involved. We’re starting to see communities track the number of residents who register for and attend certain events to help ensure that programming is always relevant and engaging. There are about a million other use cases on the horizon, and it will be wonderful to see how insights help drive improvements across community life.
What are the 3 most important things (technology, increasing senior population, etc.) for senior living leaders to consider/prepare for in the year ahead?
First, inspire your workforce — people make the place. It’ll be more important than ever to invest in the individuals who are the face of your residence. By allowing them greater flexibility to pursue their “why” and passion, and investing in their growth potential and career trajectory, you’ll set your workplace apart and attract and keep the type of talent you want.
Second, forget occupancy. It’s important not to over-index on certain business case numbers, because that means you’re likely overlooking the factors inhibiting occupancy and growth. If you first build the kind of place people will not only want to live in and work for, you’ll naturally experience a growth in occupancy, length of stay, and reputational awareness. Essentially, build the foundation for a flourishing community—and your occupancy rates will follow.
And lastly, remember that technology is here for human connection. We focus so much on the technology, sometimes, that it is easy to overlook why we have it in the first place. I’d say as we begin to welcome technology more and more into community life, it’s important for leaders to remember that technology is always in service of people.
Finish this sentence: “In the senior living industry, 2023 has been defined by…”
…a widespread realization that senior living is forever changed — for the better. Owner-operators, staff, family members, residents, and regulators have all realized that aging Americans and their caregivers deserve more. Fortunately, technology has evolved to meet these needs and we are in a fantastic place to help transform community life from the inside-out so that we can exceed the new expectations for senior living and create communities that truly flourish.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
LifeLoop was founded with a singular goal: to help senior living communities flourish. LifeLoop’s comprehensive software platform delivers quality experiences for seniors from prospect to move-in day to every day—all while ensuring efficiency and organization for staff in all they do. Learn more at LifeLoop.com.
The Voices Series is a sponsored content program featuring leading executives discussing trends, topics and more shaping their industry in a question-and-answer format. For more information on Voices, please contact [email protected].