Senior Living Community Keeps in Touch With Residents via iPads, Special Software

The Inniswood Village senior living community in Westerville, Ohio, give its residents iPads equipped with communication and access to information everywhere (CATIE) software so they can screen visitors with two-way video calls, request maintenance using voice recordings, and check in daily with management at their apartments, reports the Columbus Dispatch . Residents also receive training on how to use CATIE, with the overarching goal being the improvement of older adults' quality of life by countering social isolation, says Inniswood Village General Manager Danielle Myers. She notes the technology is specifically designed for seniors, and says instead of requiring typing, the touchscreen device converts spoken phrases into text, which can then be sent to family, friends, or community employees. Inniswood Village Executive Director Sally Grote says CATIE also has benefited her staff, accelerating their ability to communicate with all residents. Research suggests older adults are growing much more acclimated with high-tech devices than people think, says AARP Ohio's Michelle Shirer. Feridean Commons General Manager Ron Pyle notes his community has used the CATIE program for three years, and all residents of its 40 independent-living apartments currently use it, along with 70 percent of the residents in 58 assisted-living units. "At first, there was a little skepticism about it," Pyle says. "Now, like most of us with our technology, I don't think they would know how to live without it."