EMEnRose Magazine

Hebrew Home at Riverdale Launches Virtual Reality Program
Residents of the Hebrew Home at Riverdale are experiencing the wonder and excitement of virtual reality in a new expansive technology initiative.

RiverSpring Living's Hebrew Home at Riverdale, the iconic Bronx-based long-term care community, announced today a major push into technology with an expansive augmented and virtual reality initiative for its 600+ residents.

Residents of the Hebrew Home at Riverdale are experiencing a new virtual reality program through a partnership with Boston-based Rendever. Rendever, a leading provider of virtual reality services to the healthcare industry, has created a custom VR experience for the Hebrew Home community, transporting older adults around the world.

This VR effort is making the impossible possible. The limitations of age and physical fragility, in addition to the impact of COVID, has reduced and, in many cases, prevented residents of the Hebrew Home from traveling outside of the campus. Virtual reality has opened the doors of possibility to change that. 

This technology is being used in a variety of initiatives:

Globetrotting Near and Far

Residents are being transported to the Eiffel Tower, the Great Wall of China and to the neighborhoods where they grew up. Because of technology, there is no limitation to where and when they can explore.

Attending Family Gatherings … Virtually

The Hebrew Home is equipping family members of its long-term care residents with GoPro cameras to film weddings, graduations, little league games and other important family events and gatherings.  

Footage is uploaded to the VR headsets and shared with residents. Trained therapists work with residents, talking about the meaning of the family event, how they feel, and memories of spending time with them when they were younger.  

Easing the Agitation of Dementia

Preliminary usage of VR at the Hebrew Home indicates that residents suffering from early stages of dementia are engaged and demonstrate increased attention and decreased agitation when using VR headsets that display family or calming images.

Preparing for Home After Rehab

Families of rehab patients are provided GoPro cameras to film each room in the home.  These videos are uploaded to a virtual reality headset so that the patient can virtually walk through each room. Therapists can see the room on an accompanying iPad, helping the patient navigate. If changes need to be made — such as removing rugs to prevent falls, opening more space between a couch and table for a walker or wheelchair to get through, the therapist provides feedback before the patient heads home.

Augmented and virtual reality is creating worlds to see and meet people beyond the Hebrew Home's Riverdale campus. With this new technology initiative, Hebrew Home residents are just a headset away from endless possibilities.

About RiverSpring Living

RiverSpring Living, backed by over 100 years of top-rated service as the Hebrew Home at Riverdale, provides progressive care to over 18,000 older adults of all faiths through compassionate care and vibrant community engagement, and is guided by Jewish values and a non-profit mission that advocates and celebrates a vision of empowered aging.

Contact:  
Wendy Steinberg 
718-581-1253 / 347-988-4446

UpKeep Edge Sensors

For over three years now, UpKeep has invested time, effort, and energy into UpKeep Edge—the company's second product that allows maintenance, reliability, and operations professionals to use data as the key to collaboration and success. 

Thrilled with the success the company has seen by their customers using Edge, UpKeep embarked on a journey to show how transformative and different Edge is by filing a patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. 

Now, two years later, the patent for Edge has finally been approved and issued as of Sept. 20, 2022. 

What Is UpKeep Edge?

UpKeep Edge leverages secure wireless internet of things (IoT) sensors and cellular gateways to deliver real-time data about assets and operating environments. Maintenance, operations, and reliability teams are better equipped with Edge to scale their ability to monitor the operating performance of critical equipment and facilities. Click here to learn more about Edge.

History Behind the Patent

Edge has been in the works since the summer of 2019 but wasn't widely released until more recently. 

"I had mentioned the concept of using sensors to track asset performance and level up maintenance practices to UpKeep's engineering team," said Ryan Chan, Founder and CEO of UpKeep. "Mark McKelvy, a Product Manager at UpKeep, was just as bullish on the idea as I was and volunteered to start the project from scratch."

After an initial proof of concept, Chan and McKelvy immediately saw the potential Edge could have on the industry. They knew others were working in the IoT space and leveraging sensors in various capacities, but they also knew UpKeep was doing something different by bringing sensor data to maintenance teams to help them monitor asset performance and get ahead of critical failures. 

"We believed it was something worth calling out and protecting. So we're thrilled to hear that the United States Patent and Trademark Office agreed with us," said Chan.

"This patent is a great achievement for the UpKeep team as it highlights our continued commitment to the kind of innovation that takes our customers' operations to the next level," said McKelvy. 

About UpKeep

UpKeep is an Asset Operations Management platform purpose-built to bring together maintenance, operations, and reliability data to help teams make important business decisions. Our mobile-first solution centralizes data from across teams and devices into one configurable and easy-to-implement solution that provides real-time data into the day-to-day maintenance life cycle, asset utilization and performance measurement to help optimize maintenance strategies, improve asset performance, and increase availability and reliability. 

Learn more at Upkeep.com.