Senior living facilities have a lot to coordinate and communicate on any given day. Workers are responsible for keeping residents, staff, and family connected, informed, and thriving. Keeping these parties informed, especially with urgent matters, can get quite complicated and hectic.
That’s why many more senior living and assisted living facilities have added SMS texting to their communication strategy in recent years. But how exactly can you use SMS to improve communication?
This blog will explore the key advantages of adding texting as a senior living communication tool and share ways to use the channel to enhance resident, family, and staff engagement.
Jump right to:
- Top communication challenges in senior living facilities
- How texting can solve the communication challenges
- Examples of how to use texting in senior living facilities
- What to look for in a senior living SMS tool
<h2 id="Top">Top communication challenges in senior living facilities</h2>
There are several commonly cited communication challenges for senior living facilities.
- Fragmented communication. Staff often work in shifts and information about resident care can be lost during these handoffs. This fragmentation can lead to unmet resident needs, staff frustration, and operational issues.
- Keeping families informed. Families of seniors often feel out of the loop, especially regarding health status, events, or emergencies. There should be a better way to get in touch with families without using a personal cell phone number.
- Outdated communication tools. Many facilities still rely on outdated communication methods like paper memos, which are slow and error prone.
- Team coordination and cohesion. Staff members helping seniors with daily tasks are often spread out across facilities, which makes it hard to coordinate and fill any gaps.
- Secure HIPAA compliant communication. Some assisted living facilities may need secure HIPAA compliant communication methods. A lack of secure digital tools can risk resident privacy and data leaks.
- Resident engagement at scale. It can be tough to ensure all residents are always kept in the loop about goings-on in the facility. It is especially hard with older adults who may not understand new technologies or may experience health issues such as hearing loss, cognitive impairment, and speech difficulties.
<h2 id="How">How texting can solve the communication challenges</h2>
Texting is a great way to solve some of these communication challenges. Let’s take a look at some of the advantages of SMS and how it can lead to more effective communication.
- Improve resident engagement. Let residents know about the events that are taking place with a quick text. You can share daily menus, event reminders, and announcements.
- Rapid information dissemination. Text messages enable senior living facilities to send real-time updates to staff, residents, and families. This is especially useful in emergencies and can help with last-minute staff scheduling changes. These text messages are read more quickly than paper memos or even email.
- Reliability and reach. Nearly every adult, including families, seniors, and staff, uses a phone to text.
- User-friendly. Minimal training is required. Staff, able residents, and families are already familiar with how to read and send texts.
- Improve staff communication and coordination. Easily fill open shifts, send group reminders, or coordinate between shifts, which directly combats information loss during staff transitions.
- Improve family engagement. Provide regular updates to family members or quickly send urgent alerts, improving family satisfaction and trust.
<h2 id="Examples">10 examples of top use cases for texting in senior care facilities</h2>
Let’s take a look at some of the ways senior living and assisted living facilities can use texting to improve communication.
- Staff scheduling. Assisted dining needed downstairs – 12:30pm. Reply YES if available.
- Staff memos. Reminder: Benefits enrollment begins today. Please make your selection by EOD Friday.
- General family updates. Flu shots scheduled this Friday for all residents. Call if you have questions.
- Family health updates. Your mother has returned from his appointment and is back in her room.
- Resident event reminders. Bingo night starts at 7pm in the main hall – see you there!
- Resident notifications. A fire drill is scheduled for 10am tomorrow. Please remember this is just a drill.
- Resident health reminders. Reminder: A nurse will be in around 2pm today to help you take your medication.
- Appointment reminders: Shiela, we’ll be arriving at your unit at 1pm today to help get you to your primary care appointment.
- Share dining menu: Our dinner tonight will be cod fish fry and potato pancakes!
- Emergency alerts: Severe weather alert: Storms expected at 3:30pm. Please stay indoors.
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<h2 id="What">What to look for in a senior living texting platform</h2>
There are several things you should look for in a texting platform for your senior living facility. Here are a few core components to look at.
- Group and individual messaging. You will want the ability to send group messages and two-way text individuals. This ensures you can send messages at scale to the right group, while also engaging in one-on-one texting conversations.
- Compliance and security functionality. Especially important when dealing with any patient data, look for features like message audit trails, data protection, and HIPAA compliance (if necessary).
- Scheduling and automation. Pick a platform that lets you automate routine messages, such as sending the daily menu items, shift alerts, or medication reminders.
- Integration capabilities. Take a look to see what integration options are available and if the texting platform connects with your existing management or resident care software.
- Message tracking and reporting. Ensure you can keep a record of past conversations with residents, families, and staff for compliance or follow ups.
- Great customer reviews: Pick a business platform that has great reviews as it shows exactly how customers can do it.
- Device compatibility. Look for an SMS platform that lets you text from a computer, tablet, mobile device, or any browser. This ensures you can text your contacts on the device that makes the most sense for you.
Textline: Your senior living text messaging platform
An SMS solution like Textline ensures you have instant, direct, and documented communication with residents, staff, and families. This can solve many of the common communication problems in senior living facilities.
If you’re looking for a secure texting platform to help you improve communication in your assisted living facility, Textline is a no-brainer. Textline is the most secure texting platform on the market. It is SOC-2 and HIPAA compliant, ensuring you can text residents, staff, and family with utmost confidence.
Ready to get started? Create your free account today, and a member of our expert team will be in touch to walk you through a demo.
