To keep residents safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, Arbor Company communities have changed the ways residents interact with family members and other visitors. Sometimes, that’s challenging. Especially for residents with hearing impairment, holding conversations through a window or across an outdoor courtyard can prove difficult.
To help, many Arbor Company communities devised innovative ways to keep residents connected. Thanks to a partnership with Eversound, we now use a new technology to make socially distant visits easier for residents and their families. Wearing special, two-way headsets, residents easily communicate with visitors on the other side of a window, or spaced at least six feet apart, even if their hearing abilities are limited.
For her 91st birthday, family and friends of a resident named Mary wanted to schedule a window visit to celebrate the occasion at Arbor Terrace Crabapple. However, Mary is hard of hearing.The Eversound system not only helped with communication, it blocked out other sounds that tend to distract Mary. Despite the physical barrier of a window, the family celebration took place with happy birthday songs, cake and presents.
The Eversound technology also has aided Arbor Company communities with activities in the community while maintaining physical distancing. Even before the quarantine, the system made it easier for many residents with hearing loss to participate in music therapy, happy hour and movie nights.
The Eversound technology is not only making a world of difference for residents and their friends and family – the rollout at Arbor Terrace at Crabapple has captured the attention of a local TV news station in Atlanta. Watch the CBS46 report by clicking the video below: