“We pulled off an unbelievable come-back,” says Mary Sanchez, a program director in Maryland. Mary’s adult day services center was closed since the outbreak of the coronavirus. In the early months during the closure, her center had lost most of its revenue. Staff were on leave without pay. Senior members were following the stay-at-home advisory, disconnected from their daily programs at the center, friends and caregivers.
“I started to look into virtual programming to sustain some revenue.” Like many of us, Mary tried to use Zoom and Google Hangouts to connect with her members. It has been very challenging for our members to use FaceTime, not to mention Zoom or Google Hangouts. “Finding the link to click, typing in passwords and navigating overcomplicated log-in are discouraging our seniors from participating in virtual programming.”
Knowing that virtual programming is by far the most viable solution to address pandemic loneliness among senior members and to relieve the loss of revenue for her center, Mary started to work with the team at HealthJay on its virtual device the JayPad.
“I was blown away when I learned how simple it is to use the JayPad.” The tablet users can use their voice to tell a Chatbot to place audio or video calls. The center administrator can schedule reminders for members’ daily video classes, therapy, and social activities. Here is the catch – users do not need password nor log-in to participate in any video conference. A pop-up reminder will show up on the JayPad 15 minutes prior to the virtual class. When it starts, the User just taps a “Join Now” button on an Activity Starting popup, and they placed into their virtual group class!
For non-tech savvy seniors, the navigation to place a call can be frustrating. Well, with the JayPad, users can choose from there pre-configured phone book, or use their voice. Now Mary is seeing more normalcy in her daily operations. As the program director, she can once again design programs for her senior members, in a virtual way.
“Our members are craving for interactivity after months of absolute isolation. With a tablet device that has a big screen, no navigation and no typing, I am hearing excitement that I haven’t heard for a long time.”
The JayPad is a 10-inch Android tablet. Big screen works. It’s Bluetooth hearing aid plug-in makes it even better with the senior population. HealthJay also offer a mobile app with QR code scanner for meal deliveries and transportation usage. It has a web admin portal that allows Mary and her colleagues to manage their virtual activities for free. As a member of the National Adult Day Services Association, her center got 100 free JayPads with a one-year subscription and a minimal prepay plan.
Mary is now planning to use the Social Group Bingo Game which is available on the JayPad for her members. “Hey, its touchless, safe and fun! They will love it.”
Entertainment is an integral part of the JayPad. Users can play group games with friends, and chat with their loved ones any time without the trouble of spam calls.
Mary has hosted her first ever virtual “Sunday Gardening” class last weekend when she was outdoor at a nursery, teaching senior members to pot plants at home. Her instructor will host the first ever virtual Friday night bed-time story reading hangout.
“With virtual programming, we are having so many “first-ever”. It’s great for our center because we can offer programs on weekends without even coming into the center. It’s extra revenue for us.”
Content is provided by HealthJay Inc. (www.healthjay.com)