Changing Aging

It’s unreal how so many companies are scared of people - even their own people.  Yet people are their business.  Starbucks sees the power of people with their new consumer “idea generator” website.   I don’t like coffee, but I like what they’re doing.

At Ecumen, we also find that the best ideas come from people who know us best - Ecumen customers and Ecumen employees.  The power of people is the genesis behind Ecumen’s Innovation Station.  (note: this is a PDF link)

Housed on our intranet, it’s where teams of people shape new ways of doing things.  Last week was our annual celebration recognizing innovators, who have done a variety of things to improve the customer experience, including:

- Specialized behavioral Alzheimer’s training
- A new memory care community for people dealing with the most serious behavioral issues caused by Alzheimer’s, there are only 2 in Minnesota and a handful nationally
- New congregational senior housing.
- Expanding outside bricks and mortar to provide seamless care in a person’s home
- Expansion of technology such as wireless record keeping of care (no more paper) and
- Universal marketing, when a person walks into an assisted living community, everyone is empowered and trained to serve that person and provide a tour
- Making it possible for nursing home residents to eat when they want to eat, what they want to eat (No institutional 7 a.m. wake up call and everyone going to the dining line at once . . . yuck)
- Concierge service so that our customers have point of contact when they seek a service
- Going green . . .the only paper products that Country Neighbors of New Richland, Minnesota, uses are recycled paper towels
- “Guest” apartments so that potential customers can “test-drive” our communities
- Retrofitted dining trays for a person’s walker to enhance independence and allow a person to fully participate in buffet-style dining
- End of life care that underscores aging is all about living even at the very end of life.

THE POWER OF PEOPLE - WHAT POSSIBILITIES

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 15th, 2008 at 11:19 am and is filed under Innovation, Leadership. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.