Amazon announced the two new programs they integrate Alexa in hospitals and in community for the elderly. Both programs are run through Alexa Smart Properties, which allows organizations to control a system Centralized Alexa. Here are all the details.
Amazon Alexa for Hospitals and Elderly Care
“At the start of the pandemic, hospitals and seniors’ communities contacted us and asked us to help them set up Alexa in their communities,” he said. Liron Torres, Global Leader for Alexa Smart Properties, in an interview with The Verge. Hospitals needed new ways to interact with patients without using protective equipment. Instead senior communities wanted to establish a connection between residents, family members and staff, Torres said.
The program allows facilities for senior citizens to use Amazon Echo devices to send announcements or other messages to residents’ rooms. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many facilities relied on printed sheets of paper tucked under doors of residents to communicate changes in protocols.
The Alexa program allows them to send messages instantly in patient rooms. “Staff can be more available to perform other tasks,” Torres says.
Residents can too make calls through Alexa to family members or friends without having to rely on a staff member. The approved contacts would also be able to call through Alexa. The structure could enable calling for a series of approved contacts by the resident and family members upon their arrival.
Two community networks for the elderly, Atria ed Eskaton, they’re adding Alexa to some facilities. Amazon declined to disclose the cost of the facility program.
In hospitals, the Alexa Smart Properties program allows nurses to communicate with patients through call functions e intercom without having to enter patient rooms. Patients could ask questions while nurses would be able to control how the patient feels through the function.
“This allows hospitals to increase productivity and save on medical supplies,” Torres says.