Koelsch Communities and Eversound Partner to Solve Social Isolation and Hearing Loss at Senior Living Communities
November 5, 2018
BOSTON–Eversound, the provider of hearing technology and resident engagement solutions for senior living communities, has announced its partnership with Koelsch Communities, which operates 30 communities in eight states.
Eversound designs and develops proprietary audio technologies that help everyone hear clearly during movies, presentations and other group activities. Their patented wireless headphone system is specifically tuned to the needs of seniors and provides an enhanced listening experience compared to conventional hearing aids.
As part of the partnership, Koelsch Communities will be making Eversound available to residents at all of their communities including independent living, enhanced living, assisted living, and Alzheimer’s care.
“Eversound is so much more than a literal hearing aid or a hearing loss tool. Eversound’s product helps residents focus—in environments where it could be near-impossible—and enriches every activity we do here at Koelsch” said Benjamin Surmi, director of programs & training at Koelsch. “In some instances, we had thought residents wouldn’t engage because of dementia. We had no idea that the reason why they couldn’t participate was due to the widespread issue of hearing loss for our residents. Eversound has helped us re-engage each resident.“
So why Eversound? As many program directors find, they spend hours planning and preparing quality programming only to be discouraged by the number of residents who fail to show up or seem uninterested during events and daily activities. The issue may be as simple as this: residents are struggling to hear, thus leaving them unable to engage and get involved.
Eversound’s group listening system, which is designed specifically for older adults and improves quality of life through enhanced audio, provides a solution to this issue faced by every senior living community. Now it’s rolling out nationwide thanks in large part to this partnership with Koelsch Communities.
“While hearing aids can be helpful, they’re often overly expensive, easy to lose and challenging to operate for users who lack manual dexterity. We believe that beautiful, easy-to-use audio products can be the answer and our team is excited to deliver high fidelity sound to large audience members for less than the cost of one premium hearing aid,” said Jake Reisch, CEO and co-founder of Eversound.
“We are very excited to participate in this partnership with Koelsch Communities. The dramatic improvement that comes from giving the gift of enhanced engagement through Eversound is incredible for everyone—staff, residents, and loved ones alike,” added Alex Wilson, director of resident impact for Eversound. “The results are automatic, which immediately increases the morale of both the staff and residents significantly. Hearing loss is a natural part of the aging process, but when left unaddressed, it can lead to mental decline, social isolation and depression. With the 65+ population nearly doubling by 2050, we are excited to support one of the top leading senior living organizations address such a critical need.”
Koelsch Community active living directors have been raving about Eversound and the impact speaks for itself.
“During meals, specific residents who have a history of challenging meals began self-feeding with help from our team members—and that’s huge here,” said Elaine Dominguez, active living director at Cedarbrook in Fresno, CA.
“The new hearing system has helped us reach more residents than ever before. We use the system for everything and have had great success with singalongs, movies, art class, walking club, and so much more. The nurses were more successful with medications, and families are able to converse with their loved one—and they’re thrilled,” said Lisa Klich, active living director at Cedar Creek in Edmonds, WA.
Eversound is expanding installations with several of the largest senior living chains in the country with its easy to use, wireless headphone group listening system product specifically designed for the ergonomic, auditory and aesthetic needs of older adult users.
Third generation, family owned and operated Koelsch Communities has led the senior living industry for 60 years and currently operates 30 communities in eight states, with 9 new communities in development.