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“JayPad” is the new buzz word for senior engagement

by Guest Blogger
written by Guest Blogger

There is always light at the end of the tunnel. The coronavirus pandemic has been devastating to everyone, especially to seniors who are subjected to the highest risk medically and mentally. We rely on the scientists and healthcare professionals to tackle the medical part. Unfortunately, the mental part of the pandemic fallout is left on the shoulders of the senior care centers and families.

California software company HealthJay and the National Adult Day Services Association have recently announced their partnership to address this escalating issue of pandemic loneliness. The industry leading organization and the Silicon Valley tech firm look to the JayPad and HealthJay ecosystem to provide some relief to this mounting challenge.

Pandemic loneliness has caused anxiety, depression, sleep, and food disorders which have inflicted an emotional toll on seniors, in addition to the medical damages that they suffer from COVID-19.

“This virus has taken an extraordinary toll on seniors. Not only medically but mentally. JayPad’s virtual programming can help with social isolation, allowing Adult Day Services (ADS) centers to provide virtual care programs with seniors staying at home,” says Donna Hale, Executive Director of NADSA. “This partnership is the first ever effort for a technology to cater for the Adult Day Services industry. With this pandemic, our industry is working outside of the box to re-establish normalcy for our seniors.”

This nationwide Partnership will potentially introduce over a quarter million adult day care seniors to virtual services.

The tablet “JayPad” is designed for seniors, and adults with disabilities with easy / automated access to a full suite of video conferencing features, allowing more human connections. 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 in current overcomplicated devices can be frustrating. Well, with the JayPad, users can choose from their pre-configured “avatar” phone book, or use their voice.

“Seniors are craving for more human interaction, but they are often discouraged from the overcomplicated tech out there.” says Rosita Wong, CEO of HealthJay. JayPad takes a simple approach with a Chatbot and “one-tap to join” group video features which makes senior participation in virtual programming doable. “The industry is responding to the lingering impact of the pandemic with long-term tech engagement. This is a paradigm shift for an industry that has not kept up with the tech world that has progressed so rapidly”.

The JayPad offers virtual classes, COVID wellness checks, social group games, and Smart Features such as voice commands, video calls, social chats, and a check-in button. It is supported by an ecosystem including a mobile app for caregivers to monitor senior JayPad users, and an admin portal allowing adult day centers to deliver daily services virtually.

Sean Allen, CTO of HealthJay, points out that many senior centers are incorporating virtual programming into their re-opening strategy. “Senior-friendly tech that works will lead the industry to a new path, opening doors to care programs for many more seniors in remote areas. The JayPad is designed to achieve just that. Our social games, such as group Bingo, aim not only to provide social entertainment, but also to exercise and sharpen cognitive skills.

HealthJay has designed a family of senior care devices and apps, including the JayPad (tablet), the JayWatch (wearable with fall detection), the JayMobile App for families and caregivers, and FlightDeck (admin portal).

Content is provided by HealthJay Inc. (www.healthjay.com)

 

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Seniors & Covid

Virtual Programming Brings New Revenue for Centers

by Guest Blogger
written by Guest Blogger

“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)

 

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Seniors & Covid

Seniors Use JayPad to Stay Connected During Covid

by Guest Blogger
written by Guest Blogger

It has been a long summer. I was in San Francisco visiting our daughter in the end of May and I got a call informing me that my husband David had fallen in our house in Maryland and fractured a hip. I was desperate to find a flight back home to be with him. Of course, much of our lives had changed due to the ongoing coronavirus.

At the age of 79, it was too risky for me to fly home when most parts of America were having shortage of face masks at the time. David had an operation and then stayed at a nursing home for rehab with bans on all visitation. After the operation and all the ordeal, David was alone lying in a bed in a single room. This is the first time in our 50 years of marriage that we were apart for more than a month.

By mid-July, our son Jon was allowed to visit David outside a window. Jon would turn on his cell phone and use FaceTime to let me see David. The first time that we saw each other after two months of being apart, we both broke into tears. To show our gratitude for the short visits, Jon brought over cupcakes each time in hope that we would still have a next chance to visit as the coronavirus persisted on.

Staying-at-home in San Francisco at my daughter’s condo, I was haunted by the same loneliness and isolation that was frustrating David. This pandemic has sent many elderly into absolute isolation. Being in the high-risk age group to contract the coronavirus, most elderly and their families are diligent in physical distancing. We have been kept inside facilities and homes alone, sometimes without interacting with a person for days. We have heard horrible stories about elderly dying from the coronavirus alone without having a last chance to see their family.

David was discharged from the facility in early August. Soon enough, we realized that like many elderly, David was confronting the impact of isolation including depression, loss of sleep, and anxiety. He was home alone until I made my way home three weeks ago. During his stay-at-home recovery, we were extremely worried that he might fall again without immediate rescue.

Virtual video calling is the only solution for us during this darkest time. David and I would see each other when Jon visited him. Although David has a tablet, he was never tech-savvy enough to manage video calls. He has trouble finding the buttons to tap, and he never seemed to manage those video conferencing apps that require a password or log in.

On David’s 81st birthday a few weeks ago, when his Adult Day Services center introduced to him the JayPad made by HealthJay Inc, our lives changed for the better.

First of all, David can use the JayPad with no trouble. He talks to the voice command Chatbot to control audio and video calling. His center schedules reminders for his daily therapy and social activities which popup on the JayPad. He just taps a “Join Now” button from activity reminders and he is placed into his virtual group classes! Remember how difficult it was for him to navigate to FaceTime? David tells the JayPad to place a call for him without need to navigate. Magic. It’s just magic. Seeing David play group Bingo with his friends reminded me how much we had missed his laughter.

In addition, for an elderly who has a history with falls, JayPad’s HELP button is a handy function. He can press the button for any help that he needs, linking him instantly to Jon who is enlisted as his care circle member. He chats with our grandkids every night now and joined Baby Suzy’s 2-year old birthday party on video. With JayPad’s virtual programming, we are apart but not alone.

The moment when I got home, I knew that life is never going to be the same again. Our friends are adjusting to the coronavirus new normal. It’s been a long and lonely road. With the help of technology like the JayPad, I started to believe that the pandemic might have fast-tracked elderly to a tech-enriched path.

Content is provided by HealthJay Inc. (www.healthjay.com)

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