The role of older adults in society is changing so rapidly that many of us in the senior living industry are constantly striving to keep up.
Modern medicine and healthier lifestyles are resulting in more Americans living longer and, with the Baby Boom generation starting to come of age, there are more older adults than ever before. As of 2022, 58 million people were aged 65 or more years, making up 17.3% of the total population. Baby boomers are turning 60 to 78 this year.
It’s been more than a year since I took over at the helm of EPOCH Senior Living after my husband, Larry Gerber, former founder and CEO, passed away unexpectedly. Since I stepped into the company, I have worked to continue his mission to provide exceptional care at the 11 Bridges by EPOCH communities and five Waterstone Senior Living communities that we operate throughout the Northeast.
I’ve learned a lot during this time. Even though I know we already provide excellent care to our seniors, I’m always looking for ways to make our senior living communities even better. And since our seniors are living longer — we recently had three men turn 100 and 101 at just one of our Waterstone properties, in Westchester, NY — we have to work smarter.
Luckily, we have new technologies to help us. Our Bridges by EPOCH memory care assisted living communities and our Waterstone properties have adopted a new service that uses telemedicine, in select locations, to monitor the health and well-being of our residents: Tembo Health, a telehealth service that focuses on older adults and offers access to medical professionals 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Residents are provided with tablet computers and can get a virtual appointment with a board-certified, emergency-trained doctor within minutes — without leaving the comfort of their home.
Tembo Health also offers unlimited, on-demand virtual dementia care through phone calls, text messages or video. Through this partnership, our senior residents and care teams can use the service for concerns such as a late-night fall, a persistent cough or a health-related dementia complication.
This service is expected to reduce emergency department visits by quickly identifying and addressing a wide range of health-related issues. The Tembo doctor also will help put families’ minds at ease as they, our care team members and primary care physicians can work together to coordinate seamless care for residents at our EPOCH communities.
According to the AARP, more and more older adults are embracing technology — using smartphones, getting online and using streaming services. Yet, although 69% of adults aged more than 50 have one or more chronic or serious health conditions, only 13% take advantage of technology to manage their situation, and only 15% of caregivers aged more than 50 years use telemedicine.
By adopting new technologies such as Tembo and helping our residents to embrace telemedicine, we can ensure that we meet the healthcare challenges that lie ahead for older adults.
Laurie Gerber is the chairperson of EPOCH Senior Living.
The opinions expressed in each McKnight’s Senior Living guest column are those of the author and are not necessarily those of McKnight’s Senior Living.
Have a column idea? See our submission guidelines here.
