Amazon Introduces Alexa Smart Properties

Amazon introduced  two solutions as part of Alexa Smart Properties that will enable senior living and healthcare providers to integrate Alexa into their properties and empower residents and patients to stay connected, informed and entertained, just by asking Alexa.

"We believe the intuitive and accessible nature of voice and Alexa has the potential to help and delight customers in many scenarios, in and outside of the home," said Liron Torres, head of Alexa Smart Properties at Amazon, in a statement. "We're excited to extend the experiences customers already love to senior living communities and healthcare systems and give providers new ways to save time and personalize care for their patients and residents."

Alexa Smart Properties enables senior living residents to keep in touch with loved ones, connect with their communities, access community news, and more, using Amazon Echo devices in their rooms.

Administrators can offer access to tens of thousands of Alexa skills and tailor resident experiences by customizing community information like activity schedules and meal menus. Care team members can communicate with residents using Alexa communication features, which enable them to make Announcements, voice and video calls, or send direct audio messages to other Alexa-enabled devices throughout the property. Alexa can also help communities streamline check-ins, field requests for maintenance, and administrative tasks.

Healthcare providers can communicate with patients with features like calling and Drop In—without the need to enter patient rooms. Hospitals also can provide information customized to their facilities, like notifications about schedule changes or cafeteria menus, and skill experiences like games, podcasts, and more.

"Voice is intuitive for patients, regardless of age or tech savviness," said Peachy Hain, executive director of medical and surgical services at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, in a statement. "Since it's so easy to operate, patients can use Alexa to connect with their care teams and stay entertained as soon as they settle in, while care providers can streamline tasks to make more time to care for those patients. It's a total game-changer for enhancing our hospital experience."

In addition to support for senior living and healthcare, Alexa Smart Properties offers vertical solutions that enable Alexa experiences in properties such as hotels, vacation rentals, apartments, offices, and more. Alexa Smart Properties tools and APIs help solution providers manage and service Alexa-enabled devices remotely. By working with solution providers like K4Connect, Lifeline Senior Living, Aiva, and Vocera, senior living and healthcare properties can use Alexa Smart Properties to deploy and customize large numbers of Alexa-enabled devices.

"Working with Alexa Smart Properties has enabled Aiva to bring AI voice technology that can be easily customized, managed, and deployed at enterprise scale," said Sumeet Bhatia, founder and CEO of Aiva, in a statement. "Using Alexa Smart Properties, Aiva takes work off of nurses' plates and enables them to focus on direct, high-value care, while giving patients a better, more self-directed experience."

"Voice integration has the power to transform how resident requests are made and how staff respond," said Kim Judd, general manager of Lifeline Senior Living, in a statement. "Adding Alexa Smart Properties functionality to our CarePoint resident safety system enables residents to make hands-free help requests and receive verbal confirmation to know they've been heard. And staff can see the context of requests and triage more efficiently. It opens up new opportunities for better care, from simple requests to daily announcements, resident check-ins, even helping to ease social isolation. CarePoint with Alexa will be a real advantage for our customers."