Written by: TFVstaff • August 24, 2020• Senior Health

The Palace Gardens Uses New Technology to Connect Residents & Families

Despite these uncertain times when visitors are restricted from assisted living and memory care communities, residents at The Palace Gardens in Homestead are enjoying being connected with their loved ones.

Through the use of innovative technology of the Eversound, an engagement and amplifying service, residents can visit their loved ones via the community’s glassed lobby using headphone equipment. According to Director of Sales & Marketing Viviana Simoes, the thickness of the glass in the community’s entry foyer presented difficulty for residents when families wanted to visit.

“Many of the residents simply couldn’t hear their loved ones well enough to have a meaningful conversation,” she explained. “We tried cell phones with their speaker, but this took away a family’s privacy and intimacy and for someone with a hearing impairment, increasing volume wasn’t a solution.”

Visits to residents in the memory care neighborhood were even more difficult. Often the residents have some form of dementia and were confused and unable to manage holding a phone. A caregiver needed to assist with each visit.

The Eversound system is proving to be a wonderful solution. It includes headphones that both visitors and the resident wear and a transmitter. The resident is on one side of the glass lobby entrance and the guests are safely on the other. The equipment is antimicrobial and is cleaned after use and returned to a charging station. The headsets’ volume can be adjusted to match the need of a listener.

This long-range wireless listening system supports physical distancing while connecting residents with their loved ones despite visitation barriers.

“The improved quality of the surround sound experience provided by the headsets helps someone concentrate on seeing and listening to a person,” explained Jennifer Almodovar, CTRS (Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist), the community’s memory care activity director.

The Palace Gardens in Homestead is the first assisted living and memory care community to use Eversound in Miami-Dade County. Since introducing the subscription-based communication system in August, residents’ families are eager to try it out.

“The training is very easy and our team includes our concierge, front desk staff, managers and caregivers who have quickly grasped its use to assist residents and visitors,” said Almodovar. “Using this system has truly impacted our resident’s quality of life. You can tell as soon as you see their faces light up what a difference this is making.”

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