The OhmniLabs team has been busy lately working with partners to pilot test our robots in different home care agencies and retirement communities across the San Francisco Bay Area. We’ve enjoyed the opportunity to interact with elders and caregivers at these facilities, while also learning about the pain points in their daily lives.
The Heritage Pointe, an independent senior living facility in Walnut Creek, CA is one of our new test sites. We are placing our robots in a common area where elders gather for their daily activities, which allows their family members to virtually visit and join them during these activities.
Introduction to OhmniLabs Products and Services
We are also working closely with Home Care Assistance, the leading provider of in-home care throughout North America. Our goal is to access individual homes to test how elders can use the robots to interact with families living far away and for daily check-in services provided by their own caregivers. The CEO of Home Care Assistance had this to share about our collaboration:
“The OhmniLabs team shares our passion for technology, not just for the sake of technology, but toward the goal of improving healthcare outcomes and quality of life. Their robots have introduced opportunities to augment both client care and family peace of mind. Our innovation team is excited to build on our partnership with OhmniLabs," said Lily Sarafan, CEO of Home Care Assistance.
Interacting with the residents
Initial feedback from in-home users has been great so far and their families really love our robots! For example, one female user had this to share:
"The OhmniLabs robot has given me the priceless ability to stay in touch with my family on a daily basis. It's convenient, easy to use and an exciting experience. Their team is also very responsive whenever I have a question or need assistance with my robot," said Thelma Ackley, grandmother and OhmniLabs user.
Another user, remote family member Evan Gurnee said, “I'm absolutely an advocate for this technology. It has had a positive impact on my grandmother's life, allowing her to interact with all of us grandchildren much more than usual since we are spread out across the country. The robot is fun and engaging. I often use it to join my grandmother for a meal in the kitchen or sit with her to watch a baseball game while she provides her usual witty commentary."
We also work with other senior organizations, such as Avenidas, located in Palo Alto, CA. We recently conducted an outreach event at their community to showcase and demonstrate our robots to the residents at this facility. As a result of the event, several of them signed up to use the robots and which we are working to place into their homes this summer. We’re excited to see how we can bridge the physical gaps for their families. We were delighted at how many technical and forward-thinking questions the seniors at Avenidas asked us! This provided us with good insights into how open they are at accepting robots into their homes and in turn, we learned about their expectations.
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Outreach program at Avenidas
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Product Demo at Avenidas
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It is extremely satisfying to see how families are staying close and connected to each other using our robots. This is our passion and something we’ve strived for since day one. There are many other pilot projects coming up and we will continue to share them with everyone over the coming months.