Matt Reiners: [00:00:00] Welcome back to another episode of Raising Tech. Today, I am so excited to welcome Rikki Goldenberg, who is the national director of Catalyst at Juniper Communities. Rikki leads the organization's innovation platform focused on advancing whole-person wellness and integrated living. Through Catalyst, Rikki supports the development and expansion of initiatives focusing on fostering engagement, independence, personalization, and wellbeing across multiple dimensions of life.
Rikki has recently implemented Viva Life 365, a resident and family facing software program to improve communication and increase engagement among our Juniper families, while also streamlining workflows for [00:01:00] her teams. Juniper Communities is a leader in quality, value, and innovation. They own and operate senior living communities that emphasize the wellbeing and longevity of those who call Juniper home.
Juniper's approach to housing and care offers community members the opportunity to live a full life regardless of health or age. So Rikki, I am so excited to jump into it today, so thanks for making some time for myself and our listeners here.
Rikki: Thank you for having me, Matt. Really excited.
Matt Reiners: Yeah. And so before we dive into the technology, I'd love to hear your story.
Like, how did you find your way into senior living, and what led you to the innovation work you now lead as national director of Catalyst at Juniper?
Rikki: Sure. So, I actually am a licensed mental health counselor by training, so my passion is helping people. For much of my career I worked with teenagers and adolescents, and worked for large corporate companies American insurers.
But then also found my way into [00:02:00] small startup companies focused on wellness. Operations, program development, product development, and and eventually technology implementations. Which is how I ended up finding my way to Juniper, was by accident really. I worked with them on a technology implementation, and then really fell in love with the company, with the culture with the team itself, and really with the residents.
And it changed my perspective on what senior living was, and really, I really wanted to focus on that and bring my skills and my passion for people to the company and to the industry.
Matt Reiners: Cool. I love that. Such a, a cool journey, and I love how, like, mental health and innovation has kinda been involved throughout that, where, you know, and it sounds like obviously you're taking technology to help with mental health- Yeah
'Cause a lot of the times, you know, you hear the stories about how that's not helping. But, you know- Right ... another, another day, another episode for that one, Rikki here.
Rikki: Right.
Matt Reiners: And I know with Catalysts, so it's Juniper's innovation platform that you guys really built around the whole [00:03:00] person wellness and integrative living philosophy.
You know, for listeners who aren't familiar, how would you describe what Catalysts is really trying to accomplish, and where does Viva Life 365 really fit within that bigger vision?
Rikki: Catalyst is really the senior living experience that we want to create for our residents within the communities, as well as members of the larger community who might wanna come into our buildings and spend some time.
And it's focused on promoting longevity, personalizing the experience, fostering independence, and creating connection and engagement. And we do that through many different ways. We have robust fitness programs within our communities. We have so mu- so many programs and activities that our members can participate in, and events, and dine-in events, and cooking demonstrations, and dance classes, and parties of course.
And then we have a dining and restaurant [00:04:00] program that's really focused on longevity as well. And so everything we do within our communities exi- is extremely intentional, and we think about, "Okay, well, how does this benefit our residents? What, what can this do?" You know, does, does it create connection? Does it help their chronic condition?
You know, and so we really think about that. And then of course, connection and engagement is so important with that. With Vivalife 365, that's the technology that enables us to accomplish those goals with Catalyst. So it's a way to help residents stay connected to each other within the community, and for our family members to know what's happening in the community, and to stay up to date on a daily basis, and to stay connected.
For our residents to see what's happening within the programming calendars, and sign up for things so that they can remember to attend to it. They can view dining members and look at the nutritional information to see if it's a heart healthy meal or a low carb meal or a brain healthy meal. And so we use the technology to really enable our residents to be more [00:05:00] independent, and also then to create that connection to each other and within the community
Matt Reiners: I love that.
And it's so important from the many years I've spent in senior living, you know, I know with the things that you guys are trying to help with that, with that. And I know from, like, the innovation side, like, I'm, I'm curious... So, you know, I... And I can assume what some of the problems were to really implement this, but, you know, I'm, I'm curious of your t- take.
Like, what were some of those gaps or frustrations, whether for families or for residents or for your teams, that Viva Life 365 was really designed to solve?
Rikki: Sure. So, you know, to start with family members you know, as an adult child, I had a parent within a community as well, a senior living community, and you wanna know what's happening.
You can't be there all the time. You can't be on site, and oftentimes family members, they even live out of state. So you still wanna know what's happening with your loved one. So our family members can view the program calendars. They can see community news articles about what's happening in the community.
They can receive [00:06:00] photos of their loved ones participating in events. They even have access to what is Mom and Dad eating for dinner, what programs did they participate in, and were they an active participant to that. So that real, like, you know, that connection of being able to know exactly what's happening on a daily basis for the family members is huge.
Yeah. For our residents, it's also about accurate information. You know, when you create a schedule and you print it out, things change, right? Nothing stays the same ever. And so a lotta times those calendars weren't correct, or those articles weren't correct, and they were showing up somewhere, and a program maybe were cancel- was canceled.
So the technology gives us the ability to have real-time access to accurate information for our residents to know exactly what's happening at all times. If a dinner special's changed, they know exactly what's for dinner tonight, and they know what's on the menu, and they can request that information.
And so, I would say easy and accurate information for our residents connection for our family members. They can also send messages to our [00:07:00] leadership team in the communities if they have questions, rather than having to always find a phone to pick up and call. It's a lot easier sometimes to just send a message.
And then for our staff also, having everything in one place. I am sure in your experience in communities you had one technology system that did one thing, and another system that did another, and another system that did another, and the staff had to have access to all of it. Well, with Viva Life 365 we've combined the functionality of three different systems into one, so our staff just have to have that one application on their phone or device and can get the information they need
Matt Reiners: Isolated technology stacks in senior living?
That never happens Never ... Vicki. Yeah. I remember I, I gave a presentation once and a life enrichment director raised her hand and said she had 12 apps on her phone, all required to do her job, and none of them talked to one another, right? Right. So it's just... You know, and I'm, I'm glad to hear that you guys are, are really embracing technology to try to avoid that because- Yeah
you know, getting it one-stop shopping just makes everyone's life that much easier.
Rikki: [00:08:00] Absolutely.
Matt Reiners: Yeah. And I know you kinda like mentioned some of it in terms of like families and how they're able to stay up to date, but like how is that experience really changed f- with them, right? Like, 'cause obviously they're, you know, I don't know if like helicopter parents are a thing now or helicopter adult children I should probably call them.
Right. But like how are they really experiencing and interacting with the community and their family members on a day-to-day basis now?
Rikki: Yeah. I... You know, they still do a lot of interaction. You know, with family members I think they really appreciate having that information available when they want to see it, you know, and being able just to log into the app on their phone.
Even if they're planning a visit to go visit their loved one in the community, they can look at the schedule and be like, "Okay, this is when I'm gonna come. This would be a great time." They can send a message to their loved one and say, "Hey Mom, I'm gonna come at 2:00 today. Is that a good time for you?"
Or they can even look at the menus in the restaurant and say, "Oh, that looks great for dinner. I'm gonna come for dinner tonight," you know? And they can participate in the events. At Juniper we have a, a [00:09:00] lot of events where we invite our family members in as well. So they get information like that, and they can be kept up to date on the that, on that.
So you know, I think the... I, I don't think the amount of communication and engagement has changed. I think the method of how it takes place. You know, there's, there are fewer phone calls maybe and more of receiving the information rather than having to go find it.
Matt Reiners: Yeah, and I can even think from my own perspective with that it's, you know, in terms of, like, checking in, right?
Like calling, leaving voicemails, having to go and call that person back and playing phone tag- Exactly ... it just adds so many minutes to the day. But the ability just to check in quickly in a way that you know someone's gonna read it, get back to you, right? It just saves everybody time, I find. And-
Rikki: Absolutely
Matt Reiners: you know, and I think whenever I've been upset with someone I've worked with or anything like that, it's just, like, in lack of communication. So, or just playing those phone tag consistently- Mm-hmm ... it's just, you know, never fun. And I know you had talked about, like, one of the benefits for your team, so I'm wondering from, like, the operational standpoint, and you [00:10:00] mentioned, like, one-stop shopping, you know, replacing three apps for just one.
Yeah. But I'm wondering, like, some of the other biggest benefits for your teams. Like, where have you seen other workflows genuinely get better rather than just different?
Rikki: So I would say with our resident services feature, which is actually our newest feature within Viva Life 365 we've had the biggest impact there.
And what that is, is where our residents or our family members on behalf of our residents can submit a work order or a request. Transportation's needed, a maintenance request for the apartment a request for housekeeping services or laundry, making an appointment at the salon, wellness services. So all of those kinds of different features our residents can request for themselves through the app and then it will go to the department that's assigned to complete it.
And that department can track that request, complete their request, know exactly who completed it and how long it took to complete it- The residents are kept on top, and they understand when it's being completed, and even the [00:11:00] family member has access to see, okay, that request I submitted for Mom has been assigned to someone to complete.
And based on the note that I'm seeing, they're gonna be there tomorrow at 2:00. And so, you know, there's that, you know, before you might see someone in the hall and say, "Oh, my mom needs this," or, "Oh, you know, can you take my dad to this appointment?" And, you know, you've got all kinds of people talking to each other, a little note wrote- written on a piece of paper or a sticky, or maybe an email sent here or there, but you never really know who's responsible for completing it, if it was completed, and what the outcome was.
And this resident services feature really addresses that and makes it much more functional all through the app. And then in addition to when it's completed, if there's a charge associated to it, that gets billed directly to the, to the resident's account as well. So we're not missing some of those small pieces of paper of, oh, please bill this person for that or that, and make sure this transportation takes place on Tuesday at 2:00 but this one at Wednesday at 4:00.
You know, it's all kind of in the same place and tracked, and we can view that. So I think [00:12:00] that's probably where we've had the biggest operational impact with the system.
Matt Reiners: Cool. No, I love that. I mean, hey, whatever we can do to make our staff more effective and more efficient and, you know, less leading to burnout because they're getting hit from all over the place is just, you know, i- investment well made, I would say.
A- and I know with
Rikki: your- From a customer service perspective, we're not missing requests.
Matt Reiners: Yeah. It's so important, right? Yeah. Because, you know, we were talking about the frustration before with the phone tag and stuff, and you're putting requests in- Exactly ... and it's just going to a black box somewhere.
No one gets it. It just doesn't help anybody.
Rikki: Exactly.
Matt Reiners: Yeah. And m- and I know too with with the technology platform, one of the distinctive features you guys have is the Alexa integration, which- Yes ... oh, I'm awaking her in my house as we speak. I have to say, like, the name that shall not be named.
Yes. But I'm just wondering if you could just walk us through how that actually works for a resident in their own space.
Rikki: Sure. So I love this, and I love we've been partnering with Amazon, which I'm so excited about. So we do have Alexa Show devices in our residents' rooms for those who want it and throughout [00:13:00] the community.
Our residents have access to a lot of the information in Viva Life through the Alexa. So... And I'm gonna have to hide my Alexa too. They can ask Alexa, "What's for dinner tonight?" And Alexa will read them off that information. "Alexa, can you make a reservation for me tonight?" "Sure. What time?" You know, "5:30," and they'll take care of it.
"Alexa, what's on the calendar tomorrow?" And it will ri- list off all the activities. "Would you like me to sign you up for an activity?" So our residents can in- can interact with the Alexas and with all of the features of Vivalife 365 even if they don't have a mobile device. So- Mm ... you know, it's a really great feature.
In addition, they can have all of the regular features of Alexa. They can listen to music, they can, like, get the news, they can video call their loved ones as well. So for our residents who don't have a cellphone, don't know how to use FaceTime, we can use the Alexas and they can do video calls right from the comfort of their apartment.
Matt Reiners: Cool. I love that. It's so important, too, to just make it so easy for that family connection, [00:14:00] too. You know, I know from my own life I wish I'd had that with my grandmother when it was just me calling her- Mm-hmm ... and again, playing phone tag- Right ... all the time. Exactly. Always playing ph- phone tag is my, like, number one saying today here, Rikki, which obviously you guys are solving for here. And then, you know, I'm wondering, like, if you could just speak from a holistic view, like, why- Mm ... does that Alexa piece just matter so much in a senior living setting, right? Like, from your perspective, like, what have you seen? What is the voice unlock for residents that a screen or an app alone really just can't?
Rikki: You know, I think what it does is it allows us to provide a service to our residents and families regardless of if they have a specific device or not. So we have a lot of residents who do not have phones and cellphones or tablets, but we want them to benefit from all of the features and, of Viva Life 365.
We want them to have the same experience. We want them to access all of the same information. So the Alexa device gives them that ability. They don't need the phone, they don't need the tablet for it. They're [00:15:00] able to interact with Alexa and capture all of the same information. We also have residents who have visual impairments, and so they can't see the device.
And so same thing, it gives them that ability, and the ability to connect and get the information real time for them. It also gives us the ability to do some pop-ins on the residents too. So, you know, we're working with Amazon on enhancing some of the Alexa for Seniors features. But there's, there are some features that where we can drop in and check in on residents as well, make sure they're okay, you know, from an emergency perspective and just different things like that.
So it's just another way for us to stay connected with them while they're in the privacy of their apartment. I
Matt Reiners: love it. Oh, that's awesome. Well, Rikki, I guess last question. Any final thoughts, whether on Juneper, the technology, innovation you guys are focusing on, anything you're excited about? Any final thoughts you wanna leave with our listeners here?
Rikki: You know, I think my final thought is just to not assume that older adults or seniors cannot use technology. And we just need to be patient with [00:16:00] them. You know, and, and think about as we develop the technology, we develop it for them. Our Viva Life 365 is not as complex as some of the other technologies out there, but that's very purposeful because of who our customer is.
And we want it to really meet their needs and, you know, we want it to look good of course, but it doesn't have to be so complex. We want it to be functional for them. And it's important for us to help them stay connected but also feel independent and that they can do this themselves. And so taking the time when it comes to technology with seniors to teach them how to do it and show them how to do it, let them practice so that they feel like they have that independence and they can do that themselves rather than us doing it for them all the time
Matt Reiners: I love it.
Well, Rikki, you guys are doing some awesome stuff. I love how you're combining innovation, the resident experience, and simplicity into it. I think it's so important when we're thinking about this and actually creating tech that's gonna get used. So- Thank you so
Rikki: much.
Matt Reiners: Yeah. Thank you. And where can people learn more [00:17:00] about whether Juniper or the stuff you guys are thinking about?
Is there any good resources or websites for them to check out?
Rikki: Absolutely. So junipercommunities.com, you can learn all about Juniper. You can learn about Catalysts and all of our programs that we offer. We have some really great signature programs at Juniper. And vivalife365.com, you can also go there and learn more or reach out to me as well, and I'd be happy to provide more information.
Matt Reiners: Cool. Well, thank you, Rikki. Thank you. We are excited, and I appreciate making some time here today.
Rikki: Thanks, Matt. Appreciate it.
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