RiverSpring Living from the Bronx, NY, was a big winner Wednesday when medalists were announced in the 2023 McKnight’s Tech Awards competition.

RiverSpring had a hand in three separate honored entries, a feat believed to be unequaled for a single awards cycle over the 13-year history of the esteemed program.

Overall, more than 40 medalists were given out Wednesday across the Skilled Nursing, Senior Living and Home Care tracks.

RiverSpring scored right away with the Gold Award in the Building Bridges category for its entry, “Digital Photo Frame for End-of-Life Care.” 

Staff at RiverSpring Living said they make it a point to minimize loneliness. For the resident at end of life, in particular, hearing the voice of a loved one or familiar song can be invaluable, they maintain.

Using the AURA Picture Frame has allowed staff to be a bridge between the family and resident when they cannot be there in person, leaders noted

  • The Silver Award went to Des Moines, Iowa’s Life Care Services for “Using UKG to Advance Workforce Management.” 
  • The Bronze Award was given to Cypress Cove, Cypress Living, Cypress at Home from Fort Myers, FL, for “Successful Employee Disaster Fund Campaign Aided by Technology.”

In the Quality category, Wesley Enhanced Living Main Line, located in Media, PA, was the Gold winner for “Fall Prevention with VST.”

Wesley Enhanced Living instituted VirtueSense’s VSTAlert to bring team members greater awareness of their residents at highest risk of falls and take home the category’s top prize.

Wesley leaders said the results of using VSTAlert “speak for themselves” — with rooms that had VSTAlert monitoring registration ZERO falls in the five months of this year, which has led to better care for all patients.

  • The Silver Award winner was RiverSpring Living from the Bronx with “AccuVein Technology Results in Better Phlebotomy Results.
  • Columbus, OH-based Provectus LTC, meanwhile, was the Bronze medalist with “Medical Director Group Improving Quality of Life in Skilled Nursing.”

RiverSpring’s Hebrew Home at Riverdale emerged as the Gold Award winner in the Keep It Super Simple (KISS) category.

It partnered with NexStride earlier this year to use the company’s gait assistance device, an advanced neurological device that can be attached to walkers or canes to provide both auditory and visual cuing while ambulating. That cuing has proved essential for patients suffering from many neurologic conditions.

As a result, patients have decreased their fall risk, increased their gait speed, lengthened their stride and shown overall improvement in balance and function, building leaders reported. 

  • Judges gave the Silver Award to Bloomfield, NJ-based Juniper Communities, which entered “Voice-Enabled Technology Bridges Residents and Families, Residents and Community.”
  • The Bronze Award went to Ingleside at King Farm from Rockville, MD, for … “Cool at Rock Creek.”

The Innovator of the Year category was a popular one, and it was topped by Gold medalist Tutera Senior Living & Health Care. The Kansas City-based provider’s entry was titled “Tutera Nearly Eliminates Unfilled Shifts, Drives Census Growth.”

Tutera leaders said they were looking for help scheduling and filling work shifts at its 71 communities. That’s where SAMI — which is delivered by ShiftKey + OnShift —came in handy. 

They explained that with it they are able to see a complete view of schedules of both internal team members and independent healthcare professionals in one system. This led to more effective scheduling and greater engagement by employees themselves, they said. “SAMI has helped dramatically decrease open shifts,” the winning entry noted.

  • The Silver Award went to PruittHealth, of Norcross, GA, with “PruittHealth’s Fall Prevention Feat.”
  • The Bronze Award was won by Miami Jewish Health & VirtuSense for “Maintaining Dignity and Safety with AI Monitoring.” 

The Tech Partner of the Year category was extremely competitive, and in the end, Swift Medical Inc. came out on top with “Advancing Patient Outcomes with AI in Wound Care.”

Swift Skin and Wound is a digital, artificial intelligence-powered wound care solution that helps healthcare providers deliver standardized, accessible and equitable wound care for every patient, company leaders explained. It accomplishes this with advanced, high-precision imaging, compliant documentation, clinical analytics and remote care, they added. 

The product is an FDA-registered technology that is easily accessible through a smartphone. That functionality helps clinicians deliver effortless wound care to any patient in any care environment, including skilled nursing.

  • The Silver Award was given to ShiftKey + OnShift for its entry based on “SAMI Provides Organizations Total Workforce Visibility & Optimization.”
  • The Bronze Award was won by Bloomington, MN-based MatrixCare for “MatrixCare’s Clinical Advanced Insights: Partnering Data and Efficiency.” 

An independent, national judging panel of 23 key stakeholders adjudicated entries, which were submitted in late spring. Entries were assessed on their overall value in improving resident care and services, impact, relevance, execution and creativity.

Articles summarizing the Senior Living and Home Care track winners can be found on their respective McKnight’s websites. In addition, the Best of Show winner is featured in today’s McKnight’s Tech Daily newsletter news stack.

Finalists were announced in August in separate Skilled Nursing– , Senior Living– and Home Care-focused articles.

Winners were feted during Wednesday afternoon’s ceremony, which will remain available for online viewing in archive for the next 12 months. Medalists also will be celebrated at an in-person ceremony Oct. 2 in Denver, which is open to anyone interested. Anyone planning to attend can RSVP here.

In addition, each Gold Medal winner will be featured in upcoming McKnight’s newsletter coverage.

Wednesday’s announcements concluded a full day of activity. Three thought-leadership webinars preceded the ceremony at the McKnight’s Technology Summit. Session titles were: “How emerging technologies and AI are transforming senior care,” “Staffing in the automation era: Right and wrong ways to use AI,” and “Creating senior living communities that flourish.”

The sessions also will be available for online viewing in archive for a year.

Sponsors of the 2023 McKnight’s Tech Awards + Summit include LifeLoop (formerly iN2L + LifeLoop), IntelyCare, MatrixCare, ShiftKey + OnShift, and PointClickCare.