Riding the New Wave of Foodservice Technology in Senior Care

Quality food service is a crucial component of senior care, directly impacting residents’ nutrition, health, and overall well-being. On January 21, iAdvance Senior Care hosted a webinar, Riding the New Wave of Foodservice Technology in Senior Care, sponsored by MealSuite. The webinar featured four industry leaders, Jill Kuntz, division president, CCL Hospitality Group; Jessica Smith, Menu Solutions, US Foods; Ellen Lowre, vice president of Nutrition, Wellness, and Sustainability, CCL Hospitality Group; and Sean Rowe, president & CEO, MealSuite.

Read on to learn their thoughts on how technology is transforming foodservice in the senior care industry and get insights on how to implement effective foodservice solutions in your own community.

The Wave of Foodservice Technology

Sean Rowe, CEO of MealSuite

Rowe began the webinar by likening navigating change to the experience of surfing. “When you can see change in advance, you see the wave of change coming at you, and you can prepare and get ready to jump on the surfboard and ride it in,” said Rowe. “It’s a thrilling experience. But when you don’t see it coming and its last second, it feels like you’re either constantly treading water or getting water out of your nose.” The webinar worked to identify upcoming changes we’ll see in senior care:

• Rising resident and family expectations, a change we’ve seen for many years, has started to accelerate recently.
• Dining driving differentiation, as residents want to have a great social experience and increasingly want access to more food choices, diets, and textures.
• Staffing challenges, doing more with less, as communities need to attract staff but face inflation and economic challenges.
• Savvy Gen X employees have grown up with technology but can lack personal skills, and are a stark contrast to older generations who may be resistant to change.
• AI is shaping senior care, but there are concerns and uncertainty around its use.

Implementing Technology

Ellen Lowre, vice president of Nutrition, Wellness, and Sustainability, CCL Hospitality Group

Operators can be hesitant to implement new technology for several reasons. Fear of change is an overarching theme and operators may need to overcome fear of how the technology will impact their day-to-day operations. “The payoff is monumental once you overcome that,” Lowre said.

Similarly, operators may worry about how staff will be able to learn new technology, especially if they’re technology-averse. “There are statistics that show more and more, older adults are using smartphones, are online placing orders and doing things, so showing that we have different opportunities to learn the technology, whether self-learning or side-by-side learning will help increase that staff adoption,” explains Lowre.

Budget can also be a constraint, but Lowre highlighted the importance of recognizing how technology can help ease some of the challenges that are coming, such as the changing workforce and staffing challenges.

Kuntz recommended communities just starting to explore implementing new technology start by asking hard questions:

• Are the residents willing to change?
• Are my staff willing to change?
• How hard do I want to push on that change, because it is a disruption?

“The one question we don’t do a good enough job asking is, does my staff have the ability to change?” said Kuntz. New technology can be a major change and a cultural shift for staff. “It can be a staged approach; it doesn’t mean you can’t get fully integrated, but really understanding what the need is, and the willingness, is where I think you need to start.”

Choosing the Right Technology

Jessica Smith, Menu Solutions, US Foods

Smith suggested foodservice leaders use several criteria to research and choose their foodservice technology options. She recommends starting by clearly defining the problem you need to solve and identifying the challenges you face, now and in the future. “The best technology is the one that will address all your pain points, both current and future state,” she said. “You want your technology to evolve with you.” She also suggested looking at technology that works as a complete solution in a single platform and that’s fully integrated.

When it comes to cost, Smith cautioned leaders against making a technology decision on cost alone. “What you really want to look at is what is your return on investment?” she said. “How can we utilize our technology so that we can automate the things that need to be automated and use our spare time for that personal touch, whether that’s teaching and training our frontline staff or spending time with your residents, because the relationship is what matters and that’s where we should be spending our time.”

Rowe added that AI could potentially streamline time-consuming tasks, such as customizing menus to meet dietary needs, budgets, and other factors. The technology could allow more time for dietitians to engage and communicate with residents, doing what they do best by building a personalized experience.

How to Adopt Technology and Bring Teams Together

Lowre explained that it’s essential to bring teams together to deliver an optimal experience for residents. Foodservice technology can integrate and support nursing, accounting, dietitian teams, and more, helping to keep them communicating smoothly. “I think everyone becomes a champion from there,” said Lowre, “and you can talk about how it’s going to improve the efficiency of their job, the experience of the resident, and they really feel a sense of ownership to make that successful.”

Strategies for Successfully Implementing New Foodservice Technology

Jill Kuntz, division president, CCL Hospitality Group

Smith recommended that communities find a resident champion who will work as a liaison among other residents to get their buy-in. Developing a communication plan well in advance is also essential, and can be created through a technology committee or by posting announcements and resources in high-traffic areas. Getting resident feedback can help establish buy-in. “Spending that time up front to get residents engaged will go a long way when you’re going through that process,” said Smith.

Optimizing and Circling Back

Once technology is in place, communities should focus on refining its use and leveraging its full potential over time. Kuntz explained that there’s an ongoing need for continuous training. “One of the things we do quite often is we try to simplify whatever it is that we’re launching, and then we start to add onto that,” she said. “There’s a constant need for revisiting and retraining and recalibrating.”

She recommends setting expectations for these requirements before implementing new features and capabilities, so staff have the knowledge to fully maximize the use of the technology. The ability to strategically implement and utilize technology will help communities navigate the many challenges facing the senior care foodservice industry.

Paige Cerulli

Paige Cerulli is a contributing writer to i Advance Senior Care.