Connecting your menu, calendar and news
Calendar
Speak2 can integrate into existing calendar systems or Activity Management systems. Below are some considerations related to this:
- Many vendors consider Speak2 a competitor and are unwilling to share data.
- The features that Speak2 provides relating to “calendars” and “services” are unique, and we cannot integrate all aspects of our program to features with other calendars. E.g., we cannot create an interface for features such as attendance or declining balance with another system, as these are core features of Speak2.
- Most other systems do not have a complex voice interface. As such, it is not in the best interest of Speak2 to create that interface for the other vendors.
We acknowledge that transitioning to a new calendaring program can take time and be disruptive. Where we can integrate, we will. Where we cannot, we can provide services to execute data entry on behalf of the community for a period of time while a transition can be executed or for a cost over a longer period of time.
Dining Menu
The ability for residents to access dining information is a valuable feature of Speak2. Similar to above, we assume there is an existing menu/dining system in place in your communities. Speak2 can integrate and provides flexibility with dining integrations. Similar to an EHR integration, we follow the below steps:
- identify your dining system and the technical owner of the system
- connect the system owner with Speak2 to identify integration steps.
- identify any costs associated with this integration, E.g., many vendors have a monthly fee for integration access, or Speak2 may have costs if they exceed 10 hours of effort.
- create timeline for integration with start and end dates
- execute integration
- validate integration with local staff to ensure accuracy
We recommend starting this process as early as possible in the deployment phase of Speak2.
News/Messages
As a communication platform, Speak2 can amplify existing content. We recommend identifying any and all ways that communications are generated and share these with Speak2 as part of deployment. In some cases we can integrate to existing processes, or enhance processes and content creation with new tools. Areas to consider:
- Daily printing of menus and activity schedules
- Special printing about events
- Posters and signage
- Regular messaging from community, leadership ro resident groups,
- Transportation schedules
- Health notices
- External voices such as religious groups, volunteers, OT/PTs, instructors
Any content that is currently generated can be shared via Speak2. If systems exist for these items, we recommend identifying them during deployment. If theta re managed manually, we recommend investigating how Speak2 can automate those efforts.