Humanising technology in aged care

A partnership has formed between IT provider Interactive and Homestyle Aged Care to improve the quality of care for residents.

Following the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, residential aged care services in Australia came under significant pressure from both consumers and regulators to consistently deliver high-quality aged care for residents.

Homestyle then grappled with a myriad of challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sudden onset of the global health crisis significantly complicated its operations, as the organisation had to navigate through the complexities of ensuring the safety and wellbeing of residents in its care.

The organisation found itself in a scenario where the familiar routine of caregiving was turned upside down, and the need for stringent data requirements and compliance added an extra layer of complexity to an already challenging environment.

It therefore sought a service provider with which it could partner to address the ongoing challenges and evolving landscape of the aged care industry. This included ensuring the consistent running of technology, enabling the Homestyle team to focus on its philosophy of holistic residential aged care in an environment of caring, compassion and respect. The service provider needed to be able to grow with Homestyle and provide consolidated end-user support for 10 homes, a support office and over 1500 employees.

The Interactive Anywhere offering met the requirements Homestyle sought in an end-to-end managed services provider, including support for cloud migration, onsite support, and regulatory alignment.

Interactive Anywhere is designed to deliver full managed services across infrastructure, network, end-user support and security. This provided Homestyle with a managed service partner that could optimise existing assets and strategically upgrade infrastructure when required to embrace emerging technologies and future advancements.

“The Homestyle team is committed to ensuring that each resident feels secure, safe, respected and cared for. This is not only exclusive to nursing teams but across all departments. For us to succeed in our mission, we needed to protect resident’s data, ensuring that it is stored securely and is cared for by a team who are passionate about more than just technology,” said Peter Gunn, Chief Information Officer at Homestyle.

Interactive’s Senior Business Development Manager – Cloud, Managed Services and Cyber Security, Tim Sparks, said that Interactive Anywhere felt like a natural fit for Homestyle.

“The ability to reassure family members that their loved ones are well cared for is a top priority for aged care providers, and this is largely underpinned by having the correct team to facilitate reliable communication. This focus on high-quality care combined with the challenging regulatory environment that encompasses aged care means that Homestyle requires a flexible approach to IT.”

Gunn said, “Interactive understood our mission as it strives to make technology human. They care for their customers just as we care for residents choosing to live in a Homestyle home. We knew we would be in good hands.”

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