Senior Living Technology Assessment Checklist
A structured self-assessment for Illinois senior living and skilled nursing operators — walk your facility with this checklist to find the gaps in nurse call, wander management, Wi-Fi, security, and documentation before a surveyor or an incident finds them for you.
How to use this checklist
Work through each section with your director of nursing, maintenance lead, and whoever currently answers technology questions. Mark each item as Working, Partial, or Missing. Any life-safety item marked Partial or Missing deserves a conversation this quarter — not next budget cycle.
1. Nurse call system
- Every resident room, bathroom, and common area has a working call point — test a sample weekly
- Call events are logged with timestamps you can retrieve for survey documentation
- Alerts reach caregivers on the devices they actually carry (not just a hallway light)
- The system carries a current UL 1069 listing you can produce on request
- You know who services the system, and their documented response terms are in writing
- Battery replacement for wireless devices is tracked on a schedule, not discovered at failure
2. Wander management & elopement risk
- Memory care exits have monitored doors with delayed egress where required
- At-risk residents have wearable tags that alert staff before an exit event completes
- Exit-attempt alerts reach staff in seconds — test the actual elapsed time monthly
- Wander events are documented automatically, not reconstructed from memory
- The system distinguishes between authorized staff egress and resident approach
3. Network & Wi-Fi
- Clinical systems (EHR, eMAR, nurse call data) run on infrastructure separate from guest Wi-Fi
- Wi-Fi coverage reaches every care area — including courtyards, therapy gyms, and memory care gardens
- You can produce a current network diagram within 24 hours if a surveyor or insurer asks
- Firmware and security patches are applied on a documented schedule
- Guest Wi-Fi is client-isolated and bandwidth-managed so streaming residents don't crowd clinical traffic
4. Physical security & life safety
- Entrances, medication rooms, and records areas have camera coverage with working retention
- Access to restricted areas is credentialed and logged — not keyed with shared copies
- Area of rescue stations are tested and documented per your AHJ's requirements
- Video retention meets your insurance carrier's and counsel's expectations — confirm the actual number of days
- After-hours door events alert someone who can respond, not just record
5. Documentation & survey readiness
- Response-time reports from nurse call are reviewable monthly, not just at survey time
- Equipment service records are centralized — one call or portal, not a filing cabinet per vendor
- You have current listing/certification documents for life-safety systems on file
- Staff training records for communication systems are current for your actual staff roster
- A single person or partner is accountable for the whole technology environment
Scoring your assessment
Count your Partial and Missing marks. Zero to two: your environment is in decent shape — keep the documentation discipline. Three to six: you have managed risk that deserves a remediation plan with dates. Seven or more, or any life-safety gap: treat it as urgent and get a professional assessment on the calendar.
A structured assessment like this is also the fastest way to brief a technology partner — walking in with your own gap list turns a sales conversation into a scoping conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should a senior living facility run this kind of assessment?
Annually at minimum, and always after a census change, a wing renovation, a survey finding, or a vendor transition. Life-safety-adjacent items — nurse call testing, wander management checks — belong in a monthly rhythm, not an annual one.
Do surveyors actually ask for nurse call documentation?
Surveyors evaluate outcomes and environment; when a call-response concern arises, facilities that can produce response-time logs and service records are in a far stronger position than those reconstructing events. Equipment listing documentation (UL 1069) is commonly requested during life-safety review.
Our nurse call system is old but works. Why assess it?
Age shows up first in parts availability and service response, not in daily function. The question isn't whether it works today — it's whether a failure next quarter gets resolved in hours or becomes a multi-week sourcing problem. An assessment tells you which before you need the answer.
Can we do this ourselves or do we need a consultant?
The checklist is designed for self-assessment — your team knows the building. Where a professional adds value is interpreting borderline answers: whether your Wi-Fi design actually supports clinical roaming, whether your wander management response times hold up at shift change, whether your documentation would satisfy a surveyor.
Want a professional walkthrough?
Nexus conducts documented on-site technology assessments for Illinois senior living communities — nurse call, wander management, network, and security in one visit, with a written findings report.
Request an Assessment