While the current state of the economy can be described as moody, in some industries, there is still potential for growth, namely in the cybersecurity sector.

Everyone knows that when there is an economic squeeze, businesses resort to self-conserving methods to keep their companies alive. Workforces are downsized, contracts are slowed, and executives everywhere search every nook and cranny for money-saving solutions. While the economic downturn has not allowed the cybersecurity industry to go unscathed, the need for it prevails, albeit in a more particular fashion.

As businesses search for savings, the key lies within platforms like Microsoft. Now, with tighter budgets and more stringent purchasing processes, businesses no longer want to spend money on individual products for individual problems ̶ they want a platform that solves all of them concurrently. As the saying goes, they want more bang for their buck. Microsoft is well known for its all-inclusive platform approach, and now that businesses are becoming exceedingly selective, cybersecurity is well on its way, too.

In addition to the economic conditions, cybersecurity has another motive to speed the transition to platform-esque systems. On July 26, the SEC announced that all public cybersecurity vendors will be required to disclose cyberattacks within four business days of the breach if they have a material effect. According to the SEC, the decision was made with the intention of “[hardening] the financial system against data theft, systems failure and cyber-intrusions.” What this means is that many businesses are forced to be more transparent about cyber breaches, giving executives the kick in the pants they need to become more acquainted with their cybersecurity solutions and improve their overall protection. Now that platforms have become the preferred management system for cybersecurity vendors, it is in the best interest of cybersecurity companies to evolve their approach to meet the growing expectations.

The increased vigilance paired with the watchful eyes of penny-pinching CISOs means there is a great opportunity for cybersecurity to expand into a more inclusive, multi-functional, and user-friendly platform that can meet the demands of businesses and individual clients. Improving the level of cyber protection is a mounting necessity across all industries, opening a gateway of opportunity for cybersecurity companies that choose to embrace the new market demands.

There have been mixed reviews about the new mandates released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, including a new proposal establishing minimum staffing standards for nursing homes nationwide. The proposal was made with the intention of raising the standard of service at senior care facilities that, according to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, will better serve residents by ensuring that they are able to receive the safest and highest level of care at all times (https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/hhs-proposes-minimum-staffing-standards-enhance-safety-and-quality-nursing-homes).

But not everyone is happy.

While the intentions of the CMS mandates are in good faith, many senior care facilities are fighting back, referencing multiple issues with the minimum staffing rule. The primary issue is funding. The CMS has stated that in order to fund the new requirements, the total cost over the next 10 years will be $40.6 billion. However, they have not provided any solution for procuring those numbers, sending facilities into a scramble over how to stay compliant without any financial assistance.

The need for such extensive funding is thanks to new requirements that include increasing on-site RN hours from 8 hours a day, seven days a week, to 24 hours per day, seven days a week. RNs must now account for .55 hours per resident day (HPRD), while nursing aides must account for 2.45 HPRD. However, implementing such a demanding mandate requires more cash for the additional RN and nursing aide hours. This is a major flaw in the proposal because facilities do not have the means of increasing wages for current staff or hiring additional staff because there are no funds to pull from.

While there is a waiver process, it is not user-friendly and difficult to navigate, slowing down the efforts to find new workers and, in the meantime, deeming facilities unfit to operate. To keep it brief, the jump from 8 hours to 24 feels excessive to many facilities, making it unreasonably difficult to stay compliant. Critics argue that such an ambitious move will only decrease overall access to care because so many facilities within the sector will be out of compliance.

In preparation for the new CMS requirements, it’s important to look closely at the rule's phase-in parts to ensure a smooth transition. If and when the rules go into effect, it will be in your facility’s best interest to get ahead on your staffing plans for the coming years to maximize recruitment and retention. Staying in compliance will reflect positively on your five-star rating, which will only serve to attract potential residents and staff alike, both of which you will need to remain in good standing. The HPRD requirement for urban buildings will be effective three years after it becomes final, whereas for rural buildings it will be effective after five.

This means it is incredibly important to stay on top of your staffing hours by tracking who is working and when. If you can get in the habit of overseeing the movements of your staff in live time, you will be more prepared to regulate who is working and plan accordingly when the requirements come into full effect. Regarding the 24/7 RN requirement, it will be important to act proactively by reanalyzing and redistributing your staffing hours to see better where your facility falls short.

The 24/7-hour rule will take effect two years after the final rule is published for urban facilities and three years for rural facilities, so the time is now to get all your papers in order.

While the new CMS mandates are not yet rigid, it behooves facility operators to prepare for the changes now.

We want to hear from you! Let us know how you feel about these new mandates with a comment below. 

The short answer? Update your internet speed and services.

Slow WiFi is the arch enemy of productivity and revenue. It severely impacts the fluidity of facility operations, decreasing the level of performance of SaaS apps, customer relationship management (CRM) programs, and financial processing programs. Facilities lose valuable time waiting for programs to load, money on poor services, and confidence surrounding security breaches.

In the post-Covid era, businesses have come to rely on internet access more than ever, raising the standards for what internet speed and services entails. As companies continue to make the transition to remote work, strong and reliable WiFi has gone from preferable to necessary. Without it, companies are stuck with a bandwidth that’s unable to support high-speed uploading/downloading, video conferencing, VoIP calls, large data transfers, and cloud applications. As a result, facilities not only waste thousands of dollars on traditional landline phones but they end up barring themselves from entering the latest market of cloud applications altogether, as many cloud programs now rely on high-speed WiFi to support its function. Decreased bandwidth is also met with impatience on the client end, causing businesses to lose customers who don’t care to wait for pages to load or cannot trust a business’s ability to operate safely and efficiently due to unreliable performance.

The bottom line is, slow internet is like a big hole in your pocket. High-speed WiFi can patch it.

Top Benefits of High-Speed WiFi:

1. Seamless transitions from task to task allows for effective collaboration despite employees working remotely or those working while traveling. With access to high-speed internet, employees can collaborate through shared platforms, share files, print documents remotely, and perform tasks as if they were in the office.
2. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone service renders landlines obsolete, saving time and money by replacing in-person meetings with video conferencing when possible.
3. With the additions of Ethernet ports, companies enjoy resilient and strong WiFi signal that supports multitasking across internet applications without service arbitrary data cap limitations, ensuring that businesses can operate at consistently high speed.
4. Greater security means that expensive security breaches are preventable thanks to more agile disaster response, which depends on speed. Fast backups ensure that companies can efficiently secure customer information and any other sensitive material at all times.
5. Superior hardware comes with superior service providers, meaning that in the case of bad weather conditions, electrical interference, and physical breakdowns, issues are resolved swiftly, avoiding downtime and lost productivity.
6. Increased efficiencies quickly absorb more direct savings than the initial installation cost.

The state of the economy has hit many industries hard, with the healthcare sector being no exception. With increased labor and direct supply costs, inflation costs, as well as a growing demand for diversified care solutions, the passing of recent federal mandates has left many in the Senior Living & Care industry scrambling to keep up.

Despite the further pressures, there are some positive trends that point to future business opportunities for progressive Senior Care Facilities. Since late 2022, unemployment and inflation rates have decreased across the boards, whereas consumer spending has remained constant. Senior care facilities have also benefitted from the deceleration of new construction sites, causing occupancy rates in current facilities to increase in response to the perpetual demand for senior home and behavioral health care.

Consumer demands and expectations continue to grow and evolve over time, making room for senior care facilities to leverage their businesses in new ways.

Here are three ways to take advantage of the current trends:

1. Pinpoint your facility’s unique selling point. Consumers want to have the best of everything, and usually that means having access to something others don’t. A great way to promote your facility is by demonstrating how you provide an exclusive service or amenity along with everything else that is typically offered. Residents and their families want to feel as though they are in the best of hands, whether it comes down to facility layout, dining options, recreational activities, or social engagements. The demand for more diverse health and wellness solutions means that your facility has the ability to stand out if you keep your residents’ best interests in mind at all times.
2. Stay up-to-date on the latest technological advancements designed to manage facilities of your size and scope. The more accurately you can expedite critical decision-making regarding your facilities, the easier it will be to generate revenue. Invest in an all-in-one online dashboard like primeVIEW, which allows you to track important data relating to your real-time census, as well as your labor, financial and clinical systems. When it comes to post-acute care, having QAPI compliant data like this at your fingertips is invaluable to running a smooth and meticulous operation.
3. Reevaluate your marketing and sales approach. In an era that concentrates on wellness and lifestyle, consider how best to promote the superiority of your facility compared to your peers. Potential consumers want to feel as though their overall health and quality of life is going to be improved by choosing you, and a large portion of that has to do with the coordination of care provided. Create a comprehensive care model with wellness plans that your facility can execute seamlessly every time; Not only will it increase the level of confidence your current residents have in you, but it will demonstrate to potential consumers that your facilities are capable of consistently providing favorable outcomes and solutions for everyone. 

Thanks to the exponential growth of technology in recent years, the answers are always at your fingertips, if you know how to use it. In senior living communities, this presents a significant issue for its aging populations, many of whom missed out on the technology learning curve. As a result, technology not only remains a foreign concept to a majority of residents, but its benefits are often overlooked and underutilized due to lack of education.

As technology continues to advance, the need for increased accessibility in senior living communities grows, making it pertinent that personalized tech support services are provided to all residents. The benefits of these services are two-fold, positively impacting both residents and staff. By having qualified IT professionals on-hand, residents can learn how to make the most of the technologically savvy world we live in, which in turn allows them to regain their sense of independence and feel more connected to loved ones and the greater world around them. Staff, on the other hand, no longer have to tend to the additional responsibility of being tech support proxies and can focus on more pressing responsibilities. Providing services that make integrating technology simple for aging residents and staff alike dramatically increases the overall quality and sophistication of care.

Personalized tech support services cover many areas of senior care; from wearable health monitoring devices to smart home technology. Senior residents and their families deserve the highest level of care, and with the right instruction, technology can get them there.

Five Benefits of Personalized Tech Support Services

1. Residents learn how to independently navigate applications and devices designed to monitor their own health, increasing their sense of autonomy and allowing them to stay up-to-date on their medical records.
2. Hands-on instruction setting up networking tools such as Facetime, Zoom, and social media platforms keeps residents in touch with loved ones and the rest of the world.
3. Tech advisors help residents build a more comfortable living environment by introducing home improvement products such as voice-operated Alexa, which helps alleviate some of their common daily difficulties, such as having to stand up to turn off a light switch, close blinds, or tune into their favorite radio station.
4. Tech advisors provide a far more extensive background in IT solutions than staff, therefore they are better able to address technology issues promptly and effectively. This increases both the efficiency of facility operations and the level of day-to-day communication between residents, their families and staff. 
5. Residents feel more safe and secure in their homes, confident that they can rely on technology to alert necessary parties and assist them in the case of accidents, falls, and other emergencies.