77. 2024 in Review- Highlights, Insights, and What’s Next for Tech in Senior Living

This special episode is hosted by Amber Bardon and Matt Reiners, who reflect on 2024's highlights and share excitement for the future. They discuss the podcast’s growth, including the launch of the resident-focused mini-series, which brings technology education to older adults. They highlight popular episodes, such as those exploring AI, robotics, and partnerships that showcase innovative solutions in senior living.

Amber and Matt dive into industry trends, emphasizing the importance of leadership alignment and process-focused problem-solving for technology adoption in senior living. They share personal milestones, including Matt’s mid-year transition to Parasol Alliance, Amber's international speaking engagements, and the company’s numerous awards. Both express enthusiasm for the opportunities in 2025, including expanded client focus groups, new AI content, and continued thought leadership on transforming technology and workplace cultures.

Find us online:
Website
Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIn

Transcript

Amber Bardon: [00:00:00] Welcome to Raising Tech podcast. This is a very special episode, and I am joined today by Matt Reiners. Matt, we have done multiple podcasts together, but we've never done a Raising Tech episode together. So welcome to the show. 

Matt Reiners: I am so happy to be on Raising Tech as I battle this cold. So apologize to anybody listening to this and being like, what is going on with this?

Voice, but I am so excited for this episode today with you, Amber. 

raising tech podcast cover photo got a makeover this year. And you and I are both on the cover of the raising tech podcast episode. some might say an upgrade. Most will say a downgrade, in terms of what that imagery now is. But yeah, I'm excited to do some co hosting, of raising tech and really just helping to change the overall tech culture and narrative of technology within senior living 

Amber Bardon: We wanted to do a review of 2024. We want to talk about our favorite [00:01:00] moments and highlights from raising tech podcasts, but also from the year overall and get a little bit excited about what's coming in 2025. So Matt, where do you want to start? 

Matt Reiners: Yeah. So I would love to start thinking about this past year, right?

I've joined parasol about halfway through the year. And I know you've been doing raising tech much longer than that, but I'm wondering, like, can you share any personal highlights or favorites that you've had from the podcast from this past year? 

Amber Bardon: I pulled some of our statistics to share with our listeners.

Our most downloaded episodes of all time are the first couple of episodes. our number one episode is our first episode. the second one is the beauty of a roadmap where we talked about strategic planning.

the third most popular is all things resident technology with Clark Lindsay. that trend continued in 2024, but our most downloaded episode of 2024 was, episode 55, with Medline and one of our clients, Lutheran Life Villages, where we talked about the sensors and the adult diapers.

So that was [00:02:00] a really popular episode. I think that was such a cool concept that we came across. that was definitely. what our listeners thought the highlights of the year were, for me personally, I was really excited by the launch of our resident tech mini series episodes. Matt, I just wanted to share with you the story about how this came to be.

It's something that we launched in 2024. when I go on site to meet with clients for technology assessments, I started meeting with residents they were asking me where they could find information about new tech in the industry.

So I mentioned our podcast and they gave me a blank look and I was thinking about it and I was realizing that the content we've been producing is for providers, which is the intention, but I was thinking, wouldn't it be so cool if we had content for. for the older adults in our communities and just in general.

we do a lot of this content and education through our Tech at Home program, but I thought it would be great if we could share this with the world So that's where the Resident miniseries idea was born. We've had a couple of episodes out, that have been really popular and our [00:03:00] Tech at Home team has done a great job launching that series.

Matt Reiners: Yeah, it's been really cool to see that. I've actually learned a lot from watching those, whether getting better at using my iPhone or some of the other stuff. Since I've joined this idea of supporting resident technology, Continues to be front and center. it's been awesome to see, and I know we're going to be putting more into that so people can take free resources, give it to their really help maximize their technology utilization, because, you know, that's.

It's inevitable. It's coming more so every single year. 

Amber Bardon: Yeah. if you are listening and you weren't aware of that episode series, it's also on YouTube so that it can be watched as well with some tips and tricks with things like how to use your iPhone or cybersecurity, protection from scams and things like that.

So really excited that that's out there in the world now. 

Matt Reiners: Yeah, and I know with that, too, we're turning into some YouTube shorts for some of those shorter clips. So people like me with their attention span of a squirrel can actually pay attention to those. super excited to have that. Make it happen here.

Amber Bardon: My favorite [00:04:00] episodes on the provider side. were definitely the episode we did with Bear Robotics, episode 57. that one was the second one we've done with Bear Robotics, but I really liked that episode because we talk about.

Myth busters. So what are the myths about bringing robotics into your community? And what's the true story behind some of those fears and myths we also get really into the nitty gritty about how do you actually modify or change your operations to accommodate robotics?

robotics is a workforce issue. A lot of people have fear around it, or think it's going to detract from the customer service experience. So I thought that was a really nice practical guide for the impact robotics can actually have. I really liked the AMBA episode as well, because AMBA is doing innovative things with, the future of care 

I think we're going to start to see more and more interest in use of these types of sensors and monitoring devices. 

Matt Reiners: Yeah, I'd have to agree. Ombo is definitely one of my top [00:05:00] three, and where they really hit it on the head, and I think what we're kind of continuing to see this more of a threat is just this idea of integration between platforms, right?

Like, from my understanding, for them, they could take any platform, get it into their system, and make sure everything works together. a couple of my favorite episodes. So you had mentioned it was our most popular one this year, was definitely the one with Medline and one of our partners in Lutheran life and how they're using it.

And I love those stories, Where we can talk to the vendor about, what the product or service is, how it's being used, kind of the vision for it, and then talking to the provider and how they're actually incorporating it and using it day to day. any favorites would be ones that I hosted, of course, because I love listening to my own voice.

No, I'm just kidding. I think there's a lot of awesome, awesome content in this past year and really excited for what, 2025 has in store for our guests as well. 

Amber Bardon: I just want to comment that I do think the content of our podcast this year has been next level. I think we've gotten into a lot of conversations, not just [00:06:00] about the tech that the vendors are representing, but how do these vendors see the tech landscape changing?

How do they see their technology changing processes and the way that things are happening in senior living? We did a couple of podcasts with companies that do virtual tour software, for example. we spent a lot of time talking about what is the future of sales and marketing look like, and how is that going to evolve and be different over the next five to 10 years?

So I really enjoyed all the episodes and all the guests that we've had on. And I think that it's really great to start having these thought provoking conversations, not just about what's this vendor and what do they do, but how are they actually impacting and changing the tech landscape and the way that senior living communities do business.

Matt Reiners: Yeah, I would agree. And I think too, what's been nice about the episodes this year is diving deeper into some of these topics that everybody wants to learn about, Like even just our most, recent episode was all about AI. And I will say, I think we've gone about 10 minutes now in the first mention of AI.

So we're crushing it, but really just diving deeper into [00:07:00] these topics that we're all curious about, And want to learn more about, and that, you know, giving it into you in a, in a digestible way where you can listen, whether it's, working out or walking. That's where I typically get my podcasts in.

Amber Bardon: I like to cook when I listen to podcasts or drive, hold that thought on AI because I wanna circle back to that when we talk about what we're excited about in 2025. But before we get there, let's talk about other highlights from 2024, you had a big moment, you joined Parasol Alliance in 2024.

I want to hear from you. What are your impressions, thoughts, what gets you the most excited? spill the tea for me and what your experience has been like. 

Matt Reiners: Ooh, spill the tea. yeah, happy to share. So, as I took the summer off, it was kind of exploring opportunities out there in the world, right?

Of what I wanted to be my next career, my next calling. you know, talk to a bunch of. of vendor companies out there, right? Technology vendors. They're all struggling with the same thing in terms of working with these communities, whether it was implementation, just making sure the technology was [00:08:00] successful.

Cause I think we all understand that technology can help to bridge that gap between staffing challenges and this quality of care that we all, expect to have. in these conversations, I just kept coming back to Our friendship and relationship over the years, Amber, and all the stuff that Parasol was doing and, found this new calling of trying to change the technology culture within senior living and doing what I can to help to amplify that.

And I think joining Parasol, there's always a hesitation and it's a courting process from both sides. I know Parasol prides itself on its culture I feel like every company I talked to did that, but joining here, it's been really cool to see the intentionality behind it you can systemize it to a point, but then also hiring and retaining just awesome individuals and making sure that the culture is top of mind 

So it's been really cool to see. And then I think from a client perspective, it's been a nice change of pace, going from the resident technology, bucket I was in before to getting this overarching view of All the technology needs and wants from our partner's perspective.

it's been interesting to get that overarching view versus just that [00:09:00] one bucket I was in before. I'm curious with you, because I know you've done a little bit of travel this year, whether it was speaking at various conferences going on site and visiting our clients or doing strategic plans.

I'm just wondering, thinking back to 2024 any highlights or top moments you've had? 

Amber Bardon: Yeah, this was a very adventurous, busy travel packed year. And I did make a note of some of my favorite things about 2024. So top of the list is actually all thanks to you, Matt and to Amanda on our blue jackets at National Leading Age.

So for those who saw us there, you guys came up with the idea to wear those shiny blue jackets. We were recognizable. Everyone commented on it. Even when we were walking down the streets of Nashville, I was like, why is everyone looking at me? And I was like, oh, it's the jackets. that was huge.

And that was really fun. I also got to ride a mechanical bull for the first time, which I've always wanted to do. as far as client visits, I traveled so much [00:10:00] this year. I think I checked and I'd been on something like 70 flights this year. So that's a mix of visiting client locations as well as speaking engagement.

So I spoke at a lot of conferences this year. I'm not sure the exact number. But I believe it's close to 20. it was a lot. There was 1 month where I was traveling every single week and sometimes multiple states in the week. I really enjoy being able to get out to all these different leading age states, talk to providers about what they're doing.

And 1 thing that I really liked about 2024 is that the topic that most of the, highlights. the first thing I want to talk about is, you know, we're a technology company, but I love the fact that we got to highlight our culture and talk about what we're doing and share some best practices and hear directly from providers and what they're doing with their own culture and get the feedback directly from them and what their challenges are and what the opportunities are.

a couple of other highlights. we do an annual theme every year and our annual theme this year, was year of Greg, which was really, really wonderful is something our staff really [00:11:00] enjoyed. Greg Funk is our director of support. when we were trying to pick in 2023 what our theme for 2024 would be, we decided we just wanted to do more of what we already do really well and so let's pick someone on our team who really epitomizes.

The values integrity and customer service that we want to provide at Parasol. We did an annual launch. Everyone got a t shirt with Greg's face on it, and we had everybody open their gift at the same time. these t shirts are available on our website and our swag store is a limited edition.

If anybody wants to get their own Euro Greg t shirt. we also, we won many workplace awards, continuing our trends. I believe we're at 28 workplace awards. I got to go to the conference in London. So that was a big highlight as the 1st time I've ever attended a conference in another country.

And I really learned a lot. There was a lot of other countries there as well besides just the UK. So there was representatives from aging Asia. So I got to hear about what they're doing with tech, especially with robots in [00:12:00] Japan Singapore and China There were New Zealand providers there.

There was someone from Canada. She's going to be on our podcast in 2025. that was a great experience. and then the last thing I want to mention is our AI white paper, and we'll talk more about AI in terms of what we're looking at for 2025, the AI buzz started last year, maybe end of 2023.

And as you mentioned, Matt, it's something we're hearing all the time, and no one really knows exactly what it's supposed to be used for, how to apply it. So we did a comprehensive white paper where we talked to different vendors in the space and asked them specifically what they're doing with AI.

we published a white paper with their thoughts. And then we had a live podcast episode. I learned a lot from that episode. I'd encourage anybody to check that out who wants to know more about AI. those were my 2024 highlights. 

Matt Reiners: Well, just a little disappointed, me joining the parasol team wasn't mentioned, but I guess the blue jackets being shouted out.

Amber Bardon: 

Matt Reiners: I think the team members that we brought on yourself, Kristy Stoglin, you know, some of the other changes we've made, I [00:13:00] think they've had a huge impact.

Amber Bardon: And I think this is really positioning us for what we want to do in 2025. 

Matt Reiners: Yeah, I would agree. I think, it's about impact, right? how can we do that at scale without, giving up on the client experience of trying to get some of the right pieces in place to making sure that we're prioritized that.

and one of the things I want to highlight Amber, you'd mentioned the awards in 2024, you were named CEO of the year I'm just wondering if you have any thoughts around that or what has led you to receive all this recognition?

Amber Bardon: I think, it's a recognition of our culture and the trust that our employees have in Our leadership team, as you mentioned earlier, when you were researching different organizations to join, a lot of companies talk about their culture, we really live that 

my goal has always been to have the happiest it company on earth and we really live that day to day. it's a reflection of our staff feeling that love. 

Matt Reiners: Yeah, I would agree. during our recording [00:14:00] process, I think what convinced me is that, when I went, to visit you outside of Chicago, we sat in traffic for 90 minutes to get Chinese food downtown any CEO that can do that is someone I can ride with.

Amber Bardon: wasn't just any Chinese food. 

Matt Reiners: It was really good. 

Amber Bardon: For anybody who is familiar, one of the top restaurants in Chicago, it was fantastic. 

Matt Reiners: I will say it was a blessing and a curse. Blessing that it was delicious. Curse that I keep comparing everything I have to it and nothing can live up to it.

This is why I'll never fly first class just because that would always be the bar that I set for anything. 

Amber Bardon: That is true. It's hard to go back. 

Matt Reiners: Yeah. And when I think of 2024 definitely joining Parasol.

that was a huge win, over 90 days in now and can confidently say I made the right choice in terms of everything also a personal highlight. getting a better understanding of all the technology needs.

In these partner communities, Like what are their day to day struggles look like? How are technology vendors coming in and helping that? And, you know, I go back to when I was just this resident tech guy and always be like surprised when, you know, people wouldn't [00:15:00] get back to me or technology wasn't successful in implementation 

Made it clear about technology culture and what that looks like. I've talked with CEOs that believe in a technology first, and those are the communities that are successful with it. And really starts from the top. And it was just a great reminder to me of, you know, how can these communities be successful?

Starts with that, that leadership team and how are they thinking and implementing technology themselves?

as we look into the future here, what are you most excited about? what do you want to share with the people here, Amber? 

Amber Bardon: Well, I think the thing I'm most excited about is just continuing to do what we do and to do it well and to do it at a bigger scale.

I think that what's unique about parasol alliance is the way that we help our clients build a foundation There's so much new and exciting innovation and all these things that people want to do and implement. They're excited about, but you have to build your foundation 1st.

And I think that's where we can really help the industry to figure out. You know, where they want to go, [00:16:00] but then how to get there step by step. And so, you know, just continuing to do that on a broader scale. as we move into January we're about to have a couple of new clients come on board. We're going to be expanding our geographic region, which I'm excited about.

we started working on some client focus groups at the end of 2024. I'm really excited to continue that in 2025 with yourself and Christie getting on site with our clients and spending half a day with them in a workshop to really understand, what their day to day is like and how we can help them.

I'll be going to London in March, so I'm actually already all booked up with travel through the end of March for conferences and client visits. I get to go back to London to work with 1 of the largest providers in the UK in March. So that's really exciting. And I'm also really excited about some of the episodes that we have lined up and I want you to speak about this, Matt.

we know the number one thing we're hearing from our clients is AI and falls prevention and falls management. And that's what they want to [00:17:00] hear about. we have done podcasts on this before, but the idea that you have and how to present some of this information and data next year. Is really exciting when it gets down to it, people hear these terms and hear about this technology, but they don't really know what it means or how to actually use it day to day.

let's tell our audience a little bit about how, some of our 2025 episodes and content will look

Matt Reiners: when I think of 2025, I'm just really excited because, it's your mention of the client focus groups, it was awesome to visit some of our clients and hear, you know, what are they wanting to learn more about, right? You mentioned AI, you mentioned fall detection.

I know there's some other stuff that have popped up in those conversations as well. and really what we want to do is. Give those resources to people for free. we just want to make sure that your knowledge base of what's happening with technology innovations and specific things is met. some of the stuff we'll do is building out a partner library, showcasing the various technologies how they operate and how you get in touch with them.

Also, something that we've [00:18:00] dubbed, the senior living technology. Granted, the first rule of Fight Club is you can't talk about it, but we are going to talk about it. basically what we're going to be doing is bringing on various leaders in the fall detection space, to give a quick overview about their service, their company, their team, what's going on.

their vision. In this way, we can give easy digest webinars, whether 30 to 60 minutes of all the fault detection companies that we think you should know about, So it's one stop shopping to get all the information that you would need. and then from there, giving you the resources to, start engaging in conversations with these companies start working with them or, doing the research that you might need to do for them as well.

Amber Bardon: So there's a lot to look forward to in 2025 and make sure you follow us on all of our platforms to get access to this information and be notified when it comes out. Is there anything else in 2025 that you're really looking forward to Matt? 

Matt Reiners: Yeah, I think in 2025, the biggest opportunity is an industry.

we continue to hear this. buzzword around AI, right? And I feel like [00:19:00] every day I get a new email that just says AI, but doesn't really go into details and how it actually works. But I think we're going to continue to see use cases of how people in senior living communities are using AI to be more effective, to be more efficient.

I think we're going to continue to find. that can actually look like. I know we've got the AI White Paper that we've done this last year, but we've got some awesome interviews coming up with people and talking about real world examples of how they're using it in their communities today. so I'm very excited about that.

I'm also excited about the idea of security, I think it's top of mind for everybody out there and like, Really bringing in some cyber security experts, getting their take on it. How can we best set ourselves up for protection, not only of our staff, but of our residents and all of that information, because, you know, internet can be a scary place, right?

I know my identity has been hacked a few times. Other things have happened to me personally, and making sure that people have got the right tools and the right knowledge, to be a little bit better than they were yesterday. So really excited for some of the things coming down the pipe here on [00:20:00] that.

Amber Bardon: Yeah, security and I, and I think falls detection falls management are definitely the top 3 biggest. And I just want to say 1 more thing about AI. I know it's talked to death all the time. I know we've already talked about it on today's episode, but I think people need to be cautious with AI, because we're going to see a lot of vendors come out and make a lot of promises.

And it's just not a very well understood, Use case in a lot of scenarios. So I just want to quickly summarize, you kind of said this already. But when we think about going into 2025, and we think about the world of AI, Iit's really important to understand exactly what someone means by AI.

it can just be built into a software you already have. a lot of the resident engagement vendors are already adding AI features to software. You may already have, or that you're considering implementing, there's a I tools for things like meeting recorders, meeting assistants, note takers.

Those are super easy to implement. And then you can get a lot more advanced into taking your actual data and using it to give you generative a I answers. But I just again want to caution and go back to that idea of building a foundation that we need to have our data in our [00:21:00] systems appropriately before we can really even get to that level.

more to come on that in 2025. 

Matt Reiners: One question for you, Amber, before we end this, you mentioned it. a little I know you've seen this in a lot of your visits and we've presented on it technology culture, right?

where do you think there are lasting opportunities for providers today. 

Amber Bardon: I think it goes back to what you said earlier in the episode is getting your leadership team on the same page of what your technology culture is. I think that's the place that providers need to start, technology is coming.

It's here. I've been saying for many years that technology is going to be a game changer and a differentiator and a competitive difference of who decides to move into what community based on the tech that you have.

And I think we're actually going to finally start to see that happen. your leadership team has to be on the same page about how you're going to prepare for that and what you're going to do to respond.

Matt Reiners: Yeah, I think with that leadership team there's probably an opportunity of just talking to one another, right?

Of like what technology [00:22:00] initiatives you're thinking about or wanting to do just to make sure that everybody's aligned too many times. I've heard people making technology decisions in a silo. and it's impacting other teams whether in that department or community just 

Talk to other people about what you're thinking about, and what you want to implement, they might have familiarity with it, or other thoughts, making sure that you're set up for success in the short, mid, and long term. 

Amber Bardon: Absolutely. It's been my personal mission to break down those siloes, and to get everyone on the same page with technology, ever since I started the company.

Matt, I have one last question for you. As we wrap up the year and this episode, I know that you like to get up early in the morning and go to the gym. as you're going through your morning routine and getting ready for the day physically and mentally when you think about starting your day at work, what are you most excited about?

What gets you going every morning? 

Matt Reiners: Well, I will say it's not every day I go to the gym. My wife goes on some days and I go on the other days. I did go this morning though, for the record and, have got the full thing on my Apple [00:23:00] watch. excites me the most is just this idea or this calling, 

To make technology. The standard in terms of helping to take away times from some of those administrative burden tasks, I think as an industry, we do care and experience really well, some better than others. And I think there's this fear of what technology can do and how it's going to take away from that, 

I think there's this ultimate fear of this humanoid robot going from room to room, giving care, passing out medicine, maybe in the future, there is some. Potential of that, but, how do we take some of those necessary steps today to help, we've all seen the articles around the staff shortages, right?

Technology is the clear answer for that. everyone knows this industry is a laggard when it comes to technology. what gets me going and pumped up and what I can't stop thinking about is how do we change this technology culture, how do we make it more of the norm?

and really just embrace it from the leadership team down, to [00:24:00] ultimately give better care. Better experiences and better lives for our older adults. 

Amber Bardon: Oh, that's very inspiring. I'm excited about that as well. And I just want to add, that's the same thing that gets me excited, that we have the actual tools to help clients get there.

You know, I've been to more than 70 communities. I've done over a hundred strategic assessments. And every time I go to a community, they're all starting in a different place. the fact that we can come in and. Provide real solutions and a step by step guide on how they get to that transformation.

that's what I love and why I get up every morning. 

Matt Reiners: I love that. it's a powerful mission, right? It's a powerful calling and I'm excited to be on this train with you and the rest of the team here at Parasol Alliance, to continue to push the industry forward.

Any final thoughts from you? you gotta leave us with a closing thought here. 

Amber Bardon: I think my closing thoughts are going to be a continuation on the theme of culture. we've talked a lot about technology culture and how we want to transform that, [00:25:00] which is actually our vision statement. But I think we have to also think about the workplace culture, which is my other passion.

And what I also spent a lot of time talking about and doing thought leadership on. And so I think that those 2 go hand in hand, especially with senior living being such a service based industry, just like our company is. I think culture is the word of the year for 2025. 

Matt Reiners: This is a rallying call to all the technology vendors out there that you need to talk to one another. there's so much opportunity for integrations because The more that we can integrate and work together as technology vendors, 

It's just going to make life easier on the senior living provider side. play nice in the sandbox, look to integrate, and make sure that you are attacking it from this partnership mentality, because I feel like those are the companies that are continue to flourish and grow versus the ones.

That won't play nice in the sandbox will be the ones that will just eventually become obsolete. So, yeah, that's a 

Amber Bardon: that's a great point. I really just want to comment on that because I, that is something I've been talking to [00:26:00] communities about is that we need to start looking at processes, not just the tech, not just solving one problem with one piece of technology, but how do we problem solve from a process standpoint and bring vendors together?

Matt Reiners: So 

Amber Bardon: great culture 

Matt Reiners: There's so many, I might have to get a new tattoo with some of this stuff. I liked it. 

Amber Bardon: can't wait. Let's post that online when you get a new tattoo. 

Matt Reiners: Perfect.

Amber Bardon: Okay, Matt, this has been great. I'm excited to be heading into 2025 with you and the team I can't wait to see what we can do.

Matt Reiners: You and me both. [00:27:00]