Boosting resident engagement, supporting staff with data-driven technology by Marilynn Larkin, MA

A June 2020 article in the journal Global Health Research and Policy highlighted the "unprecedented challenge" of the current coronavirus pandemic, particularly for older adults. According to author Bei Wu, PhD, of New York University's Aging Incubator and Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing, "The outbreak of COVID-19 will have a long-term and profound impact on older adults' health and well-being. Social isolation and loneliness are likely to be one of the most affected health outcomes," she writes. "[They] are major risk factors that have been linked with poor physical and mental health status." ... Many active-aging organizations have embraced technological solutions to deal with pandemic-related restrictions that dampen social connections and engagement. ... For communities such as Juniper Village at Brookline, an award-winning continuing care retirement community in State College, Pennsylvania, Linked Senior technology is helping to bridge the gap.