Could Tech Supporter Be the New Must-Have Staff Role in Senior Care Facilities?

As technology continues to advance, it is playing an increasingly vital role in senior care. From enabling video calls that help residents stay connected with loved ones—especially during the pandemic—to the rapid integration of AI-powered solutions, senior living communities are leveraging innovation in transformative ways.

But the increased reliance on technology also comes with challenges. Residents and staff now need IT support more than ever. Recognizing this need, Vi, a premier developer, owner, and operator of 10 luxury senior living communities across the United States, introduced a Community Technology Support Coordinator Role. It’s a role that may become essential staffing for senior care communities in the coming years.

How Technology Necessitates New Support

Nate Hauenstein, vice president of IT Operations at Vi

Vi embraces technology and adopts it across the communities in every operational area. “This includes not only the new equipment and systems that our residents and employees directly see and use,” says Nate Hauenstein, vice president of IT Operations at Vi, “but perhaps even more significantly, it also includes the underlying infrastructure required behind the scenes to keep it all secure, scalable, and sustained.”

Historically, Vi’s corporate IT department has been structured to handle these demands through onsite visits, remote connectivity, and local technical service providers. “There is nothing wrong with this approach. However, we did see an opportunity to invest in permanent team members who could become a value-added part of each community by learning and internalizing its technical anatomy through ongoing, steady support,” explains Hauenstein. At the same time, permanent team members become familiar faces and can build rapport with employees and residents, further strengthening the sense of community.

Hauenstein says the community gradually came to the realization that additional tech support was needed. “From an IT perspective, we saw a notable increase in technology-related capital investment projects, from which we subsequently saw our demand for support, know-how, and change management increase too,” he explains. As technology use expanded, more ongoing maintenance and travel was required to keep up with technology breakdowns, upgrades, replacements, and the integration of technology changes.

“At the same time, we also recognized that employees were, rightfully so, seeking faster responses and resolutions in order to keep up with their own duties,” he explains. “From a lifestyle perspective, there was a constant inflow of inquiries for technical support and assistance with both their own technology and community technology.”

The Implementation of the Community Technology Support Coordinators

Vi started implementing full-time Community Technology Support Coordinators in early 2024. To date, 60 percent of Vi communities are staffed with coordinators.

The coordinators play a vital role in supporting residents with their computers, phones, and other devices while also assisting the corporate IT team in managing community technology needs. They offer personalized support, helping both residents and employees overcome technology challenges. Additionally, they provide education and training on tools like Alexa, empowering residents to become more tech-savvy. Since these coordinators are on-staff, they reduce the need for communities to outsource IT services or rely on remote troubleshooting, which significantly cuts response times and enhances efficiency.

“[The coordinators] split their time between employee support, facility support, and resident support,” explains Hauenstein. “These splits vary across each community, but generally speaking, facility support is the highest followed closely by employee and resident support.”

Response to the new position has been positive so far. The first two coordinators hired quickly became go-to resources for each community and for the corporate office. “Their workloads filled up quickly as they immersed themselves within the community,” says Hauenstein. The favorable response prompted Vi to establish similar roles within all of its communities.

Hauenstein notes that helpful and available technical support has the potential to increase resident satisfaction. “We aim to increase engagement through digital connectedness, offer more communication and self-service functions online, and also reduce any unnecessary frustration spent trying to find technical help,” he explains.

The coordinators could also help increase operational efficiency as the communities have been able to significantly reduce their annual spend on third-party technical service providers and corporate IT travel since hiring them. Additionally, the coordinators are helping relieve previous bottlenecks and lead times associated with IT service requests. “We have expanded our reach, institutional knowledge, and readiness to react to proximity-based situations and needs moving forward,” explains Hauenstein.

The Future Role of the Community Technology Support Coordinator

Hauenstein notes that while this specific initiative is appropriate for Vi, it’s not necessarily right for all communities. However, it does showcase an innovative approach for senior care community operators to consider.

Regardless of whether communities choose to create staff positions similar to the coordinator roles or opt for another route, it’s essential to address the increasing need for technology support in senior care. “Technology is abundant nowadays with lots of variants involved,” says Hauenstein. “The reality is that everyone’s level of understanding is different. Providing a reliable, familiar, and readily available resource to access can go a long way towards bridging gaps and trailblazing new paths together.”

Paige Cerulli

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