In the early 1980s, while caring for his mother, Carolyn, Tom MacDonald recognized the need for a new senior care community. Back then, active seniors had limited options seeking comprehensive services and amenities. Determined to make a difference, Tom embarked on a journey to establish an environment where seniors could thrive with diverse activities, wholesome meals, and compassionate, well-trained staff.
Tom designed the earliest communities using his expertise as a real estate developer and general contractor. 1985, the company opened its first assisted living community in Pleasant Hill. Dr. Don Engle, a retired professor of dentistry, joined as a founding partner in 1989, contributing valuable medical and business experience to the company.
Carlton Senior Living stands out as a family-founded and family-focused organization. Led by President Dave Coluzzi, Carlton now operates 11 thriving senior living communities across northern California. The company has earned national awards and recognition for resident care, health and fitness programs, and staff development initiatives. The founding family members remain actively involved, and the company’s continued commitment to its founding principles sets Carlton Senior Living apart.
As Carlton Senior Living celebrates 39 years of excellence, the organization remains dedicated to creating a positive and vibrant environment for seniors, embodying the culture of caring that has defined its legacy.
Carlton Senior Living Haley Morales 1-800-228-5866 carltonseniorliving.com
During the visit, Carlton Senior Living showcased the cutting-edge role of technology in revolutionizing the assisted living experience. The event presented a firsthand demonstration of how new technological advancements are utilized to improve the lives of residents. One of the highlights was SafelyYou, an innovative solution that effectively detects and prevents falls in memory care communities, offering residents and their families a sense of safety and peace of mind. Additionally, the Dining Rooms at Carlton employ TouchBistro, a state-of-the-art order-taking system that allows waitstaff to provide efficient and personalized service, ensuring an exceptional dining experience. The integration of iPhones further showcased streamlined care tracking and enhanced staff productivity at the facility, facilitating outstanding care while maintaining seamless communication and coordination.
The visit also served as an opportunity to explore the diverse and rewarding career options available within the assisted living industry. Engaging conversations were held, shedding light on the wide range of roles and responsibilities encompassing compassionate care partners, skilled nurses, creative activities directors, and dedicated administrators. Carlton leaders emphasized the significance of continuous education and professional development, underscoring the multiple avenues for growth and advancement within the industry. The event served as an inspiration to showcase the positive and enriching work available to those passionate about making a positive difference in the lives of seniors.
Carlton Senior Living extends sincere gratitude to the staff members of Senator Angelique Ashby and CALA representatives for their visit and genuine interest in the intersection of technology and career opportunities within the senior living industry. Together, they strive to enhance the lives of seniors and ensure that the sector remains at the forefront of innovation and compassion.
About Carlton Senior Living: Since 1985, Carlton Senior Living has been a trusted provider of senior care services, dedicated to enriching the lives of older adults through exceptional person-centered care. With communities throughout Northern California, Carlton Senior Living offers independent living, assisted living, and memory care lifestyles, ensuring a comfortable and supportive environment for seniors to thrive. For more information about Carlton, visit: carltonseniorliving.com.
Carlton Senior Living Haley Morales 1-800-228-5866 carltonseniorliving.com
Carlton Senior Living, a leader in resident engagement and an award-winning workplace, has again taken the lead in innovation by providing an Amazon Alexa device for each of its residents. Through Amazon’s generous donation program, Carlton has partnered with Speak2, a senior care-focused technology vendor, to provide a unique, game-changing experience for residents and families to connect and engage through voice-activated technology.
Carlton is always looking for innovative ways to help make the lives of residents, their family members, and staff more efficient, and bringing Alexa into the communities, with its unique and modern way of communicating with residents–was a natural next step. “Our culture is all about residents engaging with staff, the community at large, and their families. Providing a device that enables them to connect by simply using their voice was an easy decision,” says Dave Coluzzi, President of Carlton Senior Living. “Watching a resident who struggles with screen-based technology simply say ‘Alexa, call Maria,’ and seeing the smile come across their face as their call connects, it’s an unmeasurable feeling of satisfaction.”
When Amazon offered free Alexa devices several months ago, Carlton was eager to work with the tech giant to leverage their growing suite of artificial intelligence (AI) products that focus on Senior Living. “Being able to deploy 1,000 Alexas in a matter of a couple of months would not have been possible without Amazon and Speak2,” says Chung Chow, CFO of Carlton. Specifically, Chow was referring to the streamlined security, multiple layers of privacy protection, and ease of deployment. All this is made possible by the Amazon Hospitality platform, which allows providers to manage a large number of Alexas centrally while prioritizing personal privacy-no sensitive personal information needs to be shared or saved to use an Alexa device. “Our residents and families wanted to know that it was safe and our staff wanted to know it wasn’t a burden. Amazon and Speak2 came through on both of those things,” says Chow.
“It’s always easy to identify leadership and innovative companies in the Senior Living space,” said Jillian Guerra, partner at Speak2, who provides a content platform and management of Amazon’s hospitality suite. “When Carlton invested in Wi-Fi, their staff were excited to help and the whole culture and atmosphere were open to trying new things and making the most of the technology. Residents can make hands-free calls, get real-time announcements, and access on-demand information like dining menus and community activity schedules using just their voice. Our most rewarding feature is the Daily Affirmations, which we have populated with a variety of different voices across the whole country. The residents love this feature because it’s an actual person’s voice, not just Alexa’s voice, so it provides an extra level of human touch,” says Guerra.
Carlton Senior Living, which was recently named #1 in California and #2 in the nation for Best Workplaces for Aging Services™ by Fortune magazine, is known for incorporating innovative technologies and solutions into all that they do, and their alignment with Speak2 runs deep. Coincidentally, Carlton and Speak2 were each formed by their respective founders to meet the needs of their aging parents when no suitable solutions were available. That like-minded approach to business has allowed the Carlton-Amazon-Speak2 partnership to improve the lives of many-not only seniors.
Carlton’s next phase is to incorporate more smart technology like lighting, temperature controls, and security features across their properties. “We like to try out new technologies that can help our residents, and this first step with Alexa is only the start,” says Taren Petros, VP of Business Operations and Technology at Carlton. “Watch for more to come!”
About Carlton Senior Living: Founded in 1985, family-owned Carlton Senior Living communities provide Northern California seniors with an array of individually tailored care options – ranging from independent and assisted living to award-winning health and memory care programs. Residents enjoy delicious, healthy meals prepared from scratch. They may participate in a wide range of activities and entertainment in a comfortable, family-friendly atmosphere where they can make friends, enjoy life and continue to thrive. Carlton Senior Living’s mission statement encompasses commitment to love, honor and provide to all residents, family, and associates. It is this kindness and compassion, and “culture of caring” that makes Carlton unique. For more information, visit: CarltonSeniorLiving.com.
About Speak2: Speak2 leverages voice command, smart technology and cloud to change the way aging adults connect with their screen-obsessed family, friends, and caregivers. Speak2 allows people to send and receive messages, manage reminders and activities, consume information and gain assistance in the most natural way possible. A simple user interface is provided to the entire community of trust, making it possible for people to effortlessly engage and share the information they need. Whether by voice, app, web, or assistive smart technology, Speak2 brings people together. For more information, please visit: speak2family.com.
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