Masonic Villages, a premier not-for-profit senior services provider in Pennsylvania, and K4Connect, a mission-centered technology company, announced today a strategic, multi-year partnership and the deployment of K4Connect's "connected-life" platform, K4Community. K4Connect creates solutions to serve and empower older adults and individuals living with disabilities, and its K4Community technology will eventually reach thousands of Masonic Villages retirement living residents at its Dallas, Elizabethtown, Lafayette Hill and Sewickley campuses.
The deployment of K4Community is a key component to a series of large-scale investments and initiatives by Masonic Villages to expand its services and provide greater access to technology for its residents, customers and patients through home and community-based services. The deployment of K4Community, in stages, follows a successful pilot at the Masonic Village at Elizabethtown location, which includes nearly 2,000 residents across a 1,400 acre campus. The campus also includes an on-site farm, dozens of clubs, and thousands of recreational, social, cultural and wellness events and classes annually, all of which are accessible through K4Community. During this pilot, K4Connect saw a 100 percent adoption rate for its home automation feature and an 88 percent adoption rate for its tablet application.
"We're thrilled to be expanding our partnership with Masonic Villages," said F. Scott Moody, Co-Founder, CEO and Chief Advocate Officer of K4Connect. "It has been an absolute pleasure to work with such a committed group of people who share our sense of mission and focus on serving others. For us, it's all about the end users, the residents, making their lives simpler, healthier and happier. Yet at the same time, Masonic Villages' staff will now have access to world class content management, facilities management and resident engagement capabilities to continue to expand their services at scale."
K4Community integrates the latest in smart technologies into a single responsive platform, enabling smarter living environments and healthier lives, while also fostering family and community engagement for senior living residents. With a single touch, community residents can control their homes; stay connected with loved ones through voice calling, video chats and photo sharing; and stay more engaged in community activities through event calendars and newsletters.
K4Community enables Masonic Villages to offer its residents value-added amenities, while increasing revenues and lowering costs. Because K4Community is a software platform, integrating the best of various hardware, software and systems into a single system, new technologies can be continually integrated into the future, something that is critical as the pace of technology development accelerates.
"We thoroughly researched our options and feel K4Connect offers the latest technology, convenience and safety," said Joseph E. Murphy, CEO for Masonic Villages. "This technology allows our residents to control their home environment, connect with loved ones on campus and across the world, and when additional needs arise, to assist them to remain independent as long as possible. We look forward to using this technology to augment our home and community-based services, benefitting an even greater number of people. It builds on the innovation Masonic Villages has driven across Pennsylvania for more than 145 years and provides us with the technical foundation for continued innovation and growth."
Attendees of CONNECT17, LeadingAge PA's Annual Conference & Expo, taking place June 21 – 23 in Hershey, PA, can learn more about how Masonic Village will use this technology on Thursday, June 22, from 2:30 – 4 p.m. ET in the session, "How Innovative SMARThome Technology and Design Helps Seniors Maintain Independence and Age in Place."
About K4Connect
K4Connect creates solutions that serve and empower older adults and individuals living with disabilities, enhancing lives through an integrated whole-life software that brings together the best in home automation products, health and wellness technologies, and communication and social functionality. The Company's products enable simpler, smarter living environments and healthier lives, while fostering family and community engagement. For more information, please visit www.k4connect.com.
About Masonic Villages of Pennsylvania
Masonic Villages of Pennsylvania has been in operation for more than 145 years, providing retirement living, nursing care and personal care services for senior residents, as well as a children's home and community outreach services. A charitable arm of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, Masonic Villages operates locations in Dallas, Elizabethtown, Lafayette Hill, Sewickley and Warminster, PA. In 2016, Masonic Villages provided more than $45.4 million in charitable care and services. For further information, visit www.masonicvillages.org.
