Personal Digital Assistants: Using Electronics to Improve Quality of Life for Seniors at Ascension

Christine Way, Senior Director Experience Products, and Ravi Kosaraju, Director Ascension Technologies, Ascension Health. Saturday Night Live’s many-times-viewed skit about seniors using Amazon’s Echo got it mostly right: seniors are using personal digital assistants more than ever before, but with much better results. Christine and Ravi share how Ascension is using personal digital assistants to help seniors improve their quality of life. Following successful pilots at Ascension Living assisted living and skilled nursing facilities, Ascension is now bringing digital assistants such as the Amazon Echo into additional acute care settings. Residents and patients can use the technology to review the dining menu, activity calendar and care schedule, as well as play music, ask questions, communicate with family members and check the weather. They also discuss the technology and the cultural journey that has the potential to substantially change care for seniors.