Aging Well: An Update from Nxtgen Care

This article was written by Michael Bochoff, Marketing & Communications Specialist at Innovacorp.

When the global pandemic reached a fever pitch near the end of March, Halifax-based software company Nxtgen Care was already establishing a frontline position in the battle against COVID-19.

Nxtgen Care has developed a revolutionary business intelligence platform, helping senior care operators efficiently manage their facilities while enhancing resident engagement.

"There is a general consensus that pandemic plans moving forward must have effective contact tracing, physical distance monitoring, and isolation strategies," said David Burke, Nxtgen Care founder and CEO. "Effective means there is a real-time monitoring or clinical surveillance functionality verifying these measures are happening as planned and if not, providing intelligence to all stakeholders about what needs to change or be improved."

Staff and residents in a Certified Nxtgen Care Community wear wireless bracelets connected to sensors in each room via Bluetooth that track movement. The data collected helps identify trends in a resident's behaviour such as resident-to-resident and staff-to-resident interactions, their meals, daily activities and care milestones. In addition, families are given access to a web app where they can log in and see information about their loved one's care in a facility.

"We always had a vision of using technology to address the issues of aging well," said David. "Millions of older adults live their lives void of meaningful social engagement. They're lonely. Our key premise is that meaningful social engagement can reduce the negative effects of loneliness, helping our elders live longer with more purpose. As we learn about their behavior, we can take preventive actions to help seniors be more engaged and help care facility operators enhance care levels."

Nxtgen Care Infection Prevent & Control (IPC) feature suite was designed to help operators of senior care communities protect and safeguard residents, staff and visitors from COVID-19. It features real-time contact tracing, physical distance monitoring, early detection and prevention of infection, and options to secure buildings and room-level access.

"We want to anticipate behaviors that may suggest a patient is trending downwards in health," said David. "We put outcome-focused solutions in the hands of those who can make a difference when it matters most. Our platform provides accountability and transparency in an industry in desperate need of change. We have been revolutionizing this industry since 2017. Now, COVID-19 has awakened the rest of the world to the need for change in senior care."

Nxtgen Care has been working with client partners in Canada and the US, including Liberty Senior Living, which owns and operates 50 assisted-living facilities with roughly 5,000 residents and plans to roll-out Nxtgen Care across their network of senior care facilities. Today, Nxtgen Care IPC has been successfully deployed across the Nxtgen Care active operator network, spanning a range of states and provinces.

"Before the world was rocked by COVID-19, we were deploying in facilities occupied by residents and staff," said David. "Our platform is more valuable than ever — not only can we add quality and longevity to the lives of our elders, we can now save lives."

July 29, 2020, Halifax, Nova Scotia