For 2025 and well into the foreseeable future, successful long-term care operators should remain steadfast in their artificial intelligence adoption and implementation strategies, a pair of chief technology executives for major skilled nursing chains emphasized recently.
AI will no longer be a standalone solution. Instead, providers will need to merge it with other efforts to improve interoperability and accessibility, said Mike Easley, CIO of American Senior Communities, and Reise Officer, CIO of Trilogy Health Services.
“AI is going to continue to shape the way we do business,” Easley said. “I really see the top tech trend that continues to emerge is how we use data and AI to improve our outcomes and ROI. Those are the things that are going to be game-changers going into 2025 and beyond.”
Easley and Officer were provider experts featured in the opening webinar of the McKnight’s 2024 Tech Awards + Summit on Thursday. Their session, “Re-imagining long-term care: Tech trends shaping 2025,” delved into how successful providers are currently leveraging top technologies, as well as what will become perhaps even more important in the future.
The use of smart rooms, the changing role of caregivers, and how vital strong leadership will be in potential future disruptions were among other discussion topics. McKnights Long-Term Care News’ Executive Editor James M. Berklan moderated the virtual chat, which also included Bharat Monteiro, general manager of senior living and long-term care at MatrixCare. The session will remain available online for 12 months.
Officer said that Trilogy Health Services, which has 17,000 employees and 12,000 residents spanning 130 campuses in five midwest states, is targeting its tech efforts in two particularly critical areas.
“One is foundational enhancements, and the second is leaning into emerging technologies,” he explained. “Those will elevate resident care and enable us to enhance operational efficiency.”
This doesn’t mean just upgrading food, TV and bingo, which Officer joked are determinants in any positive resident experience. He cited upgrading telecommunications infrastructure to improve organizational communications; updating TV content delivery; and expanding life enrichment activities as critical efforts that are currently underway.
Trilogy also rises to meet unique demands, he noted, adding that it fits into the company’s goal of customized care and accommodations.
“On one of our Indiana campuses, we support a resident who does high-frequency day trading, and we’ve allocated dedicated bandwidth to support his aspirations,” Officer said. “We’re working to ensure personalized services for our residents.”
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American Senior Communities is the largest senior care provider in Indiana with 11,000 employees and 9,000 residents across 107 sites. Easley said his organization has the foundations covered. His main focus for a successful future is adding tech products and processes that produce tangible results.
“The future looks to be filled with driving efficiencies that best provide a return on investment. This includes individual room sensors and more than 800 smart beds in our communities,” he said.
Next to that, he is overseeing the use of robust data pulled from multiple data sources that provides actionable insights.
“There’s been all this hype [that] we’ve thrown a lot of money into. Now we’re coming down on the backside of it, which is a great thing,” he explained. “Out of the trough of disillusionment comes solutions. That’s what we’re focused on now — bringing real AI solutions in, not false promises [to] transmit care throughout our continuum, from home health, to skilled nursing and hospice.”
MaxtrixCare is an example of a company that has been integral in helping to curate AI products for providers. Monteiro said his firm is shifting focus just a bit by reinventing the basics. This time with the help of advanced intelligence.
“Some of the first AI products that [were released] in senior living, we brought out about two years ago,” he noted. “We’re making a huge pivot from focusing on AI products and modules to how do you leverage AI to strengthen and create a robust intelligent foundation.”
The sweeping consensus for 2025 among panel members was to focus on employing tech-driven solutions that can analyze and determine future needs.
“The caregiver process of tomorrow is going to be different.” Monteiro pointed out. “The caregiver of tomorrow is probably in high school now. What are their traits? Ensuring that technology can engage multiple stakeholders is really important in the future, and that’s what we’re investing in.”
