Jack York
CEO and Founder, It’s Never 2 Late
Pioneer Network Board of Directors
Whether we like it or not the world in which we live in in 2018 is consumed with technology. We’re connected 24/7 to the universe through email, Skype, smartphones, laptops, tablets, and a myriad of other applications and devices. We all hear people complaining about all of this technology, but who in their wildest dreams could have predicted the types of experiences we now take for granted!
I love it… I can skype with Francis from Cameroon in the morning, talk to my phone to get directions to my next iN2L presentation, and watch my daughter singing 24/7 just by logging into Youtube. We’re so jaded by all of these technologies that we forget how truly remarkable they are. When is the last time you bought a map?
Conversely, technology in senior living, both for residents and staff, is a different paradigm. It’s usually functional and operational, whether it’s transmitting electronic medical records, charting ADLs, keeping track of staff functionality. All well and good, but can we have some fun once in a while???
Our company, iN2L, has been built on providing engagement technology for residents wherever they are, cognitively and physically, for almost 19 years. It’s been a fun ride. Last year our technology logged over 5 million hours of usage spread out across almost 3000 senior living communities.
The world of the Pioneer Network, their simple value proposition of putting the resident first, has made for a great partnership between our respective organizations. We’ve been attending their annual conference for the last 14 years. And they’ve let us try some crazy things along the way! This year is no different.
For the 2018 conference, we’re bringing technology to the Pioneer Network Conference in a big way. The technologies we’re focusing on are not directly going to provide a better clinical experience for your residents. The focus is having fun and opening new worlds – both for your residents and staff! Multiple organizations, big and small, will be bringing their gadgets to the conference and helping us set up the “Pioneer Tech Experience!” It’s a myriad of technologies that unite around a common theme of having fun and changing aging. Virtual reality, wearables, robots, big screen touch TV’s, voice technologies, finding a roomate, etc…. the list is endless.
We promise that you won’t be hardcore sold at the Tech Experience; you’ll just wander through these technologies, and walk away thinking aging is pretty cool after all. And since it is all about the Elders, a lot of the technologies will be shown off by residents from the Christian Living Communities in Denver, helping us all to see that it’s not just a young person’s game anymore!
We all get trapped in our own ways of doing things…. Get out of your comfort zone and experience what’s coming, with a smile on your face!
Hope to see you in Denver
