b"TECH TALKAdopting new technologyin long-term careChoosing the right solutions for your organizationPhil VlachA s technology evolves rapidly,The why needs to be clear atvalue without heavy-handed change long-term care homes faceevery level: administrators may bemanagement. If its hard to sell, the tough questions: What toolsconcerned about staffing gaps,productor the messageprobably are worth the investment? And howsupervisors may be thinking aboutneeds work. And the best champions do we bring staff along withoutscheduling, and frontline staff mayfor innovation are often the team overwhelming them? be burned out. You need to tailor themembers looking for a solutionnot value proposition for each of necessarily those who are tech-savvy. Long Term Care Today spoke with those groups.Phil Vlach, Head of Technology atQ: What are the most commonSchlegel Villages, for insights that canAfter that, assess the feasibility ofobjections to new technology in help other long-term care leaders planscaling it up in your organization.long-term care homes? How do and sustain technology adoption. Whats the cost? Is this going to beyou overcome resistance?affordable, both in hard costs and Q: From your experience, what arein staff time? Its best not to pilotOne common objection is pilot some key considerations beforesomething unless you can afford tofatigue. Were in a sector that loves trying new technology?scale it if it works. pilot projects, but if theres no clear path to adoption or scalability, it wears Its easy to get excited about theToo many pilots fizzle out. Eitherpeople down. You dont want to burn possibility of new tech and wanttheres no follow-through, or no onesout your staff by testing things thatto implement it right away in ourthought about sustainability. Thatsgo nowhere.communities. No one is immune! frustrating for staff and vendors alike.Ive nicknamed that trade The other big one is workflow show syndrome. Readiness also matters. We learneddisruption. Our team members are this lesson the hard way when webusy people understandably, they So much of technologytried to roll out a successful pilot todont want one more thing off the implementation is still trial and error.another location. Staff there wereside of my desk. We learn by doing. Having said that,busy with a different tech rollout and there are some guidelines, andconfused the two initiatives. There Explain whats in it for them. Its rarely questions to ask, that weve had also been a recent turnover in about flashy tech. Its about removing learned from experience will helpthe leadership, and we didnt adjustsmall irritants, improving workflows, reduce the error side.the rollout to a different physicaland freeing up time for what matters layout. Lesson learned. Its not most: quality care and connection. At the top of the list: Make sure youveone-size-fits-all.clearly identified the problem youreThe advantages could be as simple trying to solve. Why this solution, andWe think of every rollout like a productas having to walk less during a shift, why now? What outcomes are youlaunch. If you're doing it well, youror having fewer alarms go off in the hoping for? team members will understand theenvironment, which lowers their 20 LONG TERM CARE TODAY Fall/Winter 2025"