How’s Mom clients named McKnight’s Tech Award Finalists

We are excited to announce that three How’s Mom customers have been named Finalists for the 2022 McKnight’s Long-Term Care News Tech Awards.  These awards, judged by an esteemed group of 25 long-term care stakeholders from hundreds of nominations, recognize long-term care providers for their overall value in improving resident care and services.

How’s Mom clients, EmpRes Healthcare Management and Ignite Medical Resorts were recognized in the Building Bridges category and TLC Management was recognized in the Keep It Super Simple category.

“Each year, we are excited to see, recognize and share examples of how technology is being used in big and small ways to improve the lives of older adults and those who care for them,” McKnight’s Editorial Director John O’Connor said.

We wish all of these McKnight's Tech Awards finalists luck and look forward to seeing them receive their awards!

Building Bridges category finalists

This category recognizes technology use that improved connections between staff members and residents and/or their families.

EmpRes Healthcare Management, Vancouver, WA

EmpRes staff struggled to balance quality care with COVID transparency regulations and communications due to the volume of phone calls and other communications required to report every incident to residents and family members. EmpRes wanted to streamline processes and procedures for staff, residents, and family members.  EmpRes implemented How’s Mom in 12 communities and collected data on managing COVID communications compared to 12 other communities that did not use the How’s Mom platform.

How’s Mom’s Impact

Communities using How’s Mom reported an average of four minutes per incident in the application and no time creating progress notes in Point Click Care (PCC). This compares to communities not using How’s Mom that spent an average of 14 minutes per phone call and seven minutes creating progress notes in PCC.

Streamlined communication with How’s Mom reduced 55 hours of staff time per building per month—a 99% reduction in staff time.

  • Communities utilizing How’s Mom saved $32,698 in labor costs
  • Labor costs in How’s Mom communities were 1% of the labor costs in communities not using How’s Mom.
  • Communities without How’s Mom spent 670 hours on COVID-related communications when the 12 communities using How’s Mom only spent eight hours.
  • Family and resident satisfaction scores more than double from 2.2 to 4.6 thanks to How’s Mom

Where to from here?

EmpRes is mandating How’s Mom usage across the entire company. Utilizing How’s Mom to its fullest potential allows EmpRes to scale down the number of additional communication tools and rely on the customizable communication application for all their needs.

Read the case study

Ignite Medical Resorts, Park Ridge, IL

Ignite began using How’s Mom during the pandemic to reduce the burden on staff.  They had hired an extra nurse just to call families every day with updates on their residents.  Family members no longer had to call and ask, “How’s Mom?”  Their staff could focus on providing better care and more substantive family interactions.

How’s Mom’s Impact

  • Gives families peace of mind
  • Fewer, shorter and more meaningful family conversations
  • Improved satisfaction scores and Google reviews
  • Improved value proposition for new residents
  • Reduced staff burden of mass notifications and resident data sharing
  • Ensures HIPAA and Cures Act data sharing compliance

Where to from here?

Ignite will be expanding from 5 buildings to their entire network, adding visit planning capabilities and including their entertainment calendars into the app.

Keep It Super Simple category finalist

This category recognizes simple but effective applications of technology that improved the provision of care, services or operations.

TLC Management, Marion, IN

With more than 20 locations and growing staffing challenges, TLC Management recognized it needed to optimize nursing time dedicated to patient care. The company was looking for a solution that would:

  • Increase communication with families, residents, and staff
  • Free up nurses from time-consuming administrative tasks, shifting their focus to resident care
  • Support Cures Act compliance with access to and transparency of medical records

How’s Mom’s Impact

  • Prospects and new admissions are excited to learn about the free platform and its benefits.
  • Basic inquiry calls from family members are down, reducing the time staff spend on the phone. Staff have more opportunities to focus on the residents and direct care needs.
  • “How’s Mom is our answer to the new Cures Act legislation,” says Nick Snyder, RN, WCC, Health Information Systems Director for TLC Management.
  • Families appreciate that they can “pop in and review data,” noting how easy the app is to use.

Where to from here?

As TLC looks to the future, utilization and engagement are among its highest priorities. “We want to continue to get more people signed up because we know that will drive down phone calls,” says Snyder.

Read the case study