Robots offer social engagement and data
An innovative program implemented at Trinity Village has benefits for residents, families and staff
Trinity Village, Kitchener, ON
Meet the newest additions to Trinity Village Care Centre: Robbie, Sue, Madonna, Rosie, Mary-Lou and Buzz. They aren’t new staff or residents, but robots adopted by the Kitchener long-term care home to spark social engagement and support.
Five of the robots are social engagement robots, with each assigned to one of Trinity Village’s five home areas. The sixth, Buzz, is stationed at the entrance as a friendly and informative visitor greeter. Collectively, the robots have become valuable tools for enhancing resident experiences and advancing the home’s monitoring, tracking and communication practices, says Debby Riepert, Chief Operating Officer of Trinity Village.
“We see the robots as 24-hour activities,” Riepert explains. ‘They’re not here to replace staff because they can’t. They’re here as tools that allow us to work smarter while providing a fun learning experience for our residents.”
Bringing service robots into a long-term care home is a unique initiative in Ontario. For Trinity Village, the idea was sparked in 2023 when representatives of the home attended a conference and saw a robot model in action. Later, when the financial means became available, Trinity Village sourced a robotics partner that could bring this innovative technology into their long-term care community. That search led the team to GlobalDWS, a Toronto-based technology solutions provider.
Trinity and GlobalDWS worked closely to ensure the robots would be physically accessible to all residents and outfitted with intuitive, user-friendly touchscreen displays. “We appreciated the fact we could co-design the robots with Global DWS because nothing like this had really been done in Ontario, and we were essentially starting from scratch, says Riepert.
Once the robots overall design was decided, the next step was determining where the robots would “live” within the home. Several factors had to be weighed, such as whether a home area had the infrastructure to support robots (such as electricity demands and WiFi strength) and where they would make the most impact. A decision was made to post one robot at the main reception area and embed a social engagement robot in each home area at a central location by the nursing station where staff, residents and visitors could easily access them.
Deciding on applications
One of the first robot implementation milestones was to define the main application modules. A course of regular meetings led by program manager Maria Menounos and the recreation department, in collaboration with residents, helped the home decide on four core activities for robots: songs, books, jokes and trivia.
These activities are accessible through each robots touchscreen display alongside a handful of other functionalities, such as “Happy Birthday serenades and weather announcements. Residents who were interested in participating had many opportunities to contribute content for each activity. Once the core activities and content were selected for the initial rollout, GlobalDWS was tasked with programming the robots.
Finally, with the content set, it was time to roll out the robots in the home areas. In April 2024, Trinity Village conducted a robot parade on each floor to introduce residents to their new virtual housemates. “At first, the reaction was, ‘What is this?'” Riepert remembers. “Many people have never seen a robot, except maybe one or two who saw one in use at a restaurant. It was new for everyone, but it didn’t take long for people to warm up.
At subsequent meetings, residents suggested including the resident handbook and other Trinity Village-specific reading materials under the books section.
Capturing Data
Trinity Village’s robot project has crossed several milestones since it began. One of the more recent ones has been setting up regular reporting using the data collected by each robot through their onboard cameras. sensors and other data-collecting tools. At any point, the team can generate an online report on how, why, when and where each robot is being used.
For example, says Riepert, *We can look at when each robot was started and how they were used down to the minute. That’s very helpful because it gives us a better idea of what kind of content people like, what they’re learning, and maybe which activities need to be refreshed.”
These reports have already generated some interesting insights. In the short time they’ve been around, the data has shown that residents in the home’s dementia care area are the most engaged with the robots, and that, overall, residents are enjoying all four categories – songs, jokes, trivia and books – equally.
Reports from Buzz, the robot that greets visitors, are also providing valuable insights. In addition to delivering a friendly hello to visitors, the digital ambassador provides a stream of data-driven insights about the home’s visitor activity. *[Buzz] keeps completed records of which people are coming in, how often they come in, where they’re going, and even the purpose of their visit, whether they’re a caregiver, general visitor, contractor or supplier,” explains Riepert.
The home had a visitor system before, but the timeliness and accuracy of Buzz’s reports are especially helpful in understanding and optimizing visitor activities. Similarly, Buzz has also helped leadership gain the full picture about a resident’s visitors. For example, says Riepert, “Sometimes staff are concerned that a certain resident doesn’t get visitors. But now, we can look at the data and figure out if that’s the case or not, because sometimes it could be they are getting visitors but just not at the time when that staff is working.”
“One of the things I really like about technology is that we’re not relying on human interpretations, which are valuable but not the full picture,” Riepert adds. “We’re getting factual data to make better decisions.”
The robots have a bright future at Trinity Village. The home is working towards programming them to navigate the hallways to alert residents to upcoming activities, communicate announcements and reminders, or offer one-on-one engagement.
“At first, our residents weren’t comfortable with the idea of the robots coming into their room,” Riepert says. “Now that residents have seen them and spent time with them, their comfort level is growing. So. down the road, we’re looking to give residents the option of asking a robot to come to their room and possibly read a book off the screen or have a book read to them.
Plans for the robots and content are being discussed and actualized in collaboration with Trinity Village staff, residents, and GlobalDWS partners. As with any innovative strategy, the key will be to ensure new activities or functionalities are implemented with consent from all stakeholders and in a way that does not add further work or disruptions for the home’s teams.
Piquing public curiosity
Trinity Village’s robots are drawing attention within Ontario’s long-term care community. They have received positive feedback from the Honourable Stan Cho. former Minister of Long-Term Care. as well as community members who have responded positively to the initiative online.
That being said, it’s only natural that innovative approaches to long-term care can be unsettling for some people. One concern the home first heard was that overseeing the robots would mean more work for staff. “It doesn’t add more work to what we’re doing.” Riepert explains. “We’re implementing this change into our regular processes. We like to try new things, and we’re always interested in sharing the ways we’re working smarter, not harder.”
Another question Trinity Village is asked is if the robots are – or will eventually be – replacing staff. This could not be further from the truth, says Riepert, who sees the robots as pieces of technology that provide around-the-clock engagement opportunities for residents and staff.
Others in the long-term care community have questions about where they can start on their own robot implementation journey. Riepert suggests the best first move is to find a technology partner like GlobalDWS and begin exploring what is possible. Then, it’s a matter of bringing all stakeholders together (such as staff, residents and families) to understand how and where robots would make the biggest impact in their specific long-term care environments.
“And take your time,” Riepert adds. “You don’t have to have these tools implemented the next day after you bring them in. Take your time, involve your residents, and learn as you go.”
Read the original story in the Fall/Winter 2024 issue of LTC Today Magazine (pg. 12).