Front Porch, First Senior Living Organization to Invest in New Interactive iN2L Focus Tablets to Enhance Meaningful Engagement
GLENDALE, Calif., September 26, 2017 – Front Porch, a not-for-profit organization that serves individuals and families through full-service retirement, active adult communities and affordable housing communities, announced today it will be the first senior living organization to purchase iN2L FOCUS, the new touch-screen, tablet-based system from It’s Never 2 Late®, the leader in providing person-centered digital engagement. The tablets allow residents to “touch” their way to engaging, educational, spiritual and personalized content.
Front Porch’s Center for Innovation and Wellbeing released the iN2L FOCUS to residents across its residential, skilled, affordable housing and memory care settings at Front Porch communities, including Kingsley Manor, and Carlsbad By The Sea, in early September. Front Porch was one of a few select organizations playing a crucial role in iN2L’s development when its residents and staff helped beta test FOCUS. Residents living at those beta test communities, Sunny View, Fredericka Manor and Casa de Mañana, will continue to use the tablets.
The iN2L FOCUS has senior-friendly components in a highly visual interactive package that allows activity and therapy staff to provide a fully integrated experience. It improves residents’ quality of life by enhancing their independence. A personalized home page makes it easy for residents to navigate meaningful content and provides physical and cognitive stimulation in areas such as communication applications, learning and exploration, travel, games, brain fitness and physical exercise, current and past events and more.
“iN2L FOCUS has been specially designed so residents can select and personalize their content based on their unique needs and interests,” said Davis Park, director of the Front Porch Center for Innovation and Wellbeing. “We have seen iN2L improve engagement among our residents through increased communication and connection with others within the community, opportunities to reconnect with loved ones online, and a greater sense of personal purpose and growth from engaging the mind, body and spirit through new technologies.”
In 2017, Front Porch residents and staff have logged more than 30,000 hours of iN2L usage at its retirement, adult living and affordable housing communities.
An IBM study on older adults and loneliness finds a direct correlation between loneliness in older adults and declining health, both physically and physiologically. The tablet with personalized content is a tool to enhance engagement, thereby reducing the critical risk factors of loneliness and isolation in older adults.
“The iN2L has had a permeating impact throughout our memory-care neighborhoods,” said JoAnn Gilbert, director of health services at Sunny View. “It has enhanced the way we deliver meaningful care, and in many instances offers an alternative solution to medication for people with cognition challenges.”
While beta testing FOCUS, the FPCIW found the iN2L devices to be effective care tools for one-on-one engagement between staff and residents. “We’ve learned in our iN2L beta tests that the tablets were and continue to be powerful vehicles for promoting social connectedness, reminiscence, and cognitive and physical activity–especially among residents who are socially isolated or bedbound,” noted Park.
The convenience of a portable form factor has been important to busy staff members looking to deliver iN2L’s rich content to hard-to-reach individuals.
“We are thrilled that Front Porch is the first to adopt the usage of the FOCUS tablets for residents,” said Jack York, president and co-founder of iN2L. “FOCUS takes the digital communication capabilities most of us take for granted and integrates it into the long-term care landscape. We believe FOCUS is essential to keep residents engaged, help family members stay connected, and provide caregivers with support to improve workflow and resident experience.”
This project is a continuation of FPCIW’s mission to cultivate partnerships with innovative organizations. Through collaborations with organizations like iN2L, the FPCIW pilots and diffuses technology solutions that meet the diverse needs of older adults.
About FPCIW
The Front Porch Center for Innovation and Wellbeing (FPCIW) is part of Front Porch, one of Southern California’s largest not-for-profit providers of retirement living, active adult and affordable housing communities. In collaboration with innovative partner organizations, the FPCIW reaches across cultural and socioeconomic barriers to meet the diverse needs and enhance the well-being of Front Porch residents and the older adult population at large. Using technology as a tool to solve real-world problems, the FPCIW pilots innovative technology solutions that change lives and make a difference. Its core initiatives aim to assist in maintaining brain health, enhance social connectedness, promote engagement and growth, empower control over health and wellness, prevent emergencies or serious events and increase resources and support for formal and informal caregivers.
The FPCIW has achieved sustainable outcomes with real impact, a challenge in this sector. As a creative ecosystem developer, the FPCIW builds pilots using a collaborative 360-degree approach to matching needs, anticipating barriers, identifying solutions and executing steps to successful implementation and adoption. Learn about FPCIW’s work by reading its impact stories. The FPCIW is the signature program of Humanly Possible®, Front Porch’s commitment to cause-based innovation and dedication to doing everything humanly possible to creatively meet needs now and in the future. For more information visit www.fpciw.org.
About Front Porch
Front Porch is a not-for-profit organization based in Glendale, Calif., serving individuals and families through full-service retirement, active adult communities, affordable housing and related management and development services. Front Porch retirement communities offer options ranging from independent living to skilled care, including assisted living and memory care. Front Porch holds an A credit rating from FitchRatings and an A- credit rating from Standard & Poor’s. Founded in 1999, Front Porch embraces a leading-edge approach to enhancing well-being with innovative communities and programs that meet the changing needs of people as they age. The Front Porch culture is driven by Humanly Possible®, a commitment to cause-based innovation that harnesses the innovative spirit of all of its staff in an effort to do whatever is humanly possible to meet emerging needs of the people we serve now and in the future. Specialized outreach programs like the Front Porch Center for Innovation and Wellbeing and the Front Porch Gallery support the Front Porch belief in understanding and creatively meeting the needs of individuals in community.
Front Porch is comprised of 10 full-service retirement communities in California and two adult living communities: one in Louisiana and one in Florida. Front Porch also serves individuals and families through 25 affordable housing communities managed by CARING Housing Ministries, a division of Front Porch.
About It’s Never 2 Late
It’s Never 2 Late® (iN2L) is an award-winning developer of digital engagement technology for senior living community residents, with over 2,500 installations in the United States and Canada. The company’s picture-based, touchscreen interface provides easy connectivity to the Internet, including video chat and e-mail, regardless of users’ physical and cognitive abilities. Additionally, iN2L’s media library offers more than 4,000 social, educational and spiritual content options, as well as games developed specifically for individuals with cognitive challenges. Residents can realize the full benefits of interactive technology while reducing isolation, increasing cognitive stimulation and enhancing independence. For more information about iN2L, visit www.in2l.com. Access case studies, research, testimonials, and our blog on our Ideas & Insights page. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
For more information, contact:
Rita McNeil and/or Masha Rumer
FrontPorch@graham-associates.com
(415) 986-7212
