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Erickson Senior Living Received Gold Award as Innovator of the Year at the 2021 McKnight’s Technology Awards

November 18, 2021

Erickson Senior Living earned a Gold Award in senior living as Innovator of the Year for its effective response to the pandemic in the McKnight’s Excellence in Technology Awards.

The program is a joint production of McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Home Care. The long-running program honors providers that convey how technology has improved care and operations in their organizations.

The competition included three divisions, divided into four categories each. “This is a well-deserved honor for a provider that clearly has taken extra steps to distinguish itself and the care of its residents,” said McKnight’s Editorial Director John O’Connor.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in March, 2020, Erickson Senior Living developed an integrated Infectious Disease Management System (IDMS) to create protocol to protect the safety and well-being of more than 27,000 residents and 14,000 employees across a portfolio of 20 senior living communities covering 11 states.

This system supported unique business structure needs to track data relating to workforce planning activities and decision-making for personal protective equipment (PPE) inventories. IDMS also captured information for large-scale testing and the rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters.

The Erickson Senior Living Information Technology (IT) Team created a hybrid solution that included cloud-based elements built on Amazon Web Services (AWS) with all server-less technologies, near real-time integration, and Tableau for data reporting and visualization.  

“The ability of our employees to develop innovative solutions to support the health and well-being of residents and co-workers will continue to be a hallmark of Erickson Senior Living and further distinguish us as industry leaders. IDMS not only achieved this goal but also played a crucial role in driving resident satisfaction during a period when the industry was impacted by the pandemic. We will always strive to thoughtfully leverage technology to create the best experiences for residents and employees,” stated Hans Keller, Chief Information Officer.

The McKnight’s Excellence in Technology recognition also reflects the success in enhancing existing partnerships at Erickson Senior Living.

“The consistent collaboration between the Operations Team and the IT Team has been a key pillar of our strategic response during the pandemic,” said Gregg Colon, Senior Vice President of Health and Operations for Erickson Senior Living. “The data that has been collected and then analyzed has allowed us to make important decisions regarding supplies, protocol, and vaccines that have benefitted residents and employees. We appreciate the resourcefulness and expertise of our IT partners.”

The IT team at Erickson Senior Living enjoys the best of both worlds: helping others and developing innovative systems.

“IT professionals always want to support a bigger mission. In the case of the pandemic, the IT team at Erickson Senior Living made a direct contribution to helping thousands of people live better lives. They were able to utilize cutting edge technology, powered by AWS, to create these successful outcomes,” noted Mr. Keller. 

Nominations were judged by an external panel of industry experts. All winners were honored at a virtual awards celebration on October 20, 2021 that was held in conjunction with educational webinars with tech themes at the McKnight’s Tech Summit. To see the full list of inductees, and for more information about the program and to register for the events, visit www.mcknightstechawards.com.

For more information about career opportunities with Erickson Senior Living, please visit https://www.ericksonseniorliving.com/careers where you can search for available positions, learn about benefits and apply on-line.

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