Bridging the Gap: How Enterprise Mobility Can Combat Long-Term Care’s Top 3 Toughest Challenges

The long-term care industry plays a vital role in our society, providing essential support and care for our ageing population. However, the industry faces many challenges, with staff shortages, financial constraints, and technology integration topping the list. 

Challenge 1: Staffing Shortages 

According to the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), 92% of nursing homes reported turning away residents due to staffing shortages. This translates to a significant gap in care for those who need it most. 

Challenge 2: Financial Constraints 

AHCA/NCAL also highlights the economic challenges faced by long-term care providers. Over half (54%) of facilities report workforce shortages and rising operational costs, creating a tight financial squeeze. 

Challenge 3: Technology Integration 

While technology holds the potential to streamline operations and improve care, integrating new solutions can be a financial and logistical burden. Long-term care facilities need technology that is user-friendly, cost-effective, and readily adopted by staff of varying tech proficiency. 

Enterprise Mobility Solutions: Addressing the Challenges 

Enterprise mobility solutions can be a powerful tool for addressing these challenges. By equipping staff with mobile devices and purpose-built care applications, facilities can optimize workflows, enhance communication, save money, and ultimately improve patient care. 

Here’s how: 

Maximize Time and Efficiency:  Enterprise mobility solutions provide instant access to communication tools, medication administration systems, and patient records directly on a mobile device. This streamlines workflows, frees up valuable time for direct patient care, and reduces overall staff burden. These solutions allow limited staff to do more with less, and complete complex workflows from anywhere in the facility, making them more efficient and saving valuable time and energy. Seamless communication between staff members is crucial in long-term care. Enterprise mobility solutions facilitate real-time communication, allowing nurses, doctors, therapists, and other team members to collaborate effectively. Information can be shared instantly, ensuring continuity of care and reducing the risk of errors. 

Lower TCO: Financial constraints are a pressing concern for long-term care providers. Purpose-built healthcare devices offer a lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) compared to consumer-grade smartphones, as they are designed specifically for the demands of healthcare environments and require significantly fewer replacements while also offering a longer life cycle. Many solutions offer scalable plans with flexible deployment options, making them adaptable to each facility’s specific needs and budget. Enterprise-grade devices also have superior call quality, saving significant, costly time wasted on dropped calls and troubleshooting.  The increased efficiency and productivity gained from these solutions can translate to considerable cost savings in the long run 

Additionally, with an enterprise-grade solution, you can consolidate multiple devices, including pagers, walkie-talkies, scanners, phones, and laptops, into a single, powerful solution, reducing the need for expensive hardware maintenance and overhead. This not only saves money but also simplifies device management and reduces IT overhead 

 Tested Integrations: Enterprise mobility solutions are designed to be user-friendly, cost-effective, and easily adopted by staff of all technical backgrounds. Many of these solutions have been rigorously tested and validated to ensure seamless integration with critical healthcare applications. Their familiar form factor and intuitive design also make it easy for staff to adopt and use. These solutions often offer a streamlined deployment process and ongoing support, making it easier for facilities to get up and running quickly. By choosing enterprise mobility solutions, long-term care facilities can reduce the complexity and cost associated with integrating new technology.  

Investing in the Future of Long-Term Care 

By embracing enterprise mobility solutions, long-term care facilities can address staffing shortages, manage financial constraints, and improve their technology infrastructure. With improved workflows, enhanced communication, and better data-driven decision-making, these solutions can help create a more efficient and patient-centered environment for our aging population. 

Spectralink offers a range of enterprise mobility solutions tailored to the unique needs of the long-term care industry. For facilities looking to leverage existing cabling infrastructure, our DECT solutions offer seamless integration with existing networks and provide a cost-effective, fully scalable solution to keep care teams connected and safe in vast, challenging settings. 

For those seeking a complete healthcare workflow solution, our Versity smartphone combines powerful features like clinical integration, secure messaging, and advanced mobility capabilities into a single device, empowering overworked staff, enhancing care team collaboration, and improving patient care. And Versity has a much lower total cost of ownership than consumer devices.  

Ready to learn more about how Spectralink’s enterprise mobility solutions can help your long-term care facility thrive? Contact us today!