Interactive partners with Homestyle for aged care IT solutions

Interactive has announced a partnership with Homestyle Aged Care to address various IT challenges faced by the aged care provider. Homestyle operates 10 homes and a head office in Victoria, and has been focusing on improving the quality of care for its residents.

The collaboration aims to provide a comprehensive IT solution that ensures the comfort and safety of residents, while also addressing the complex data requirements and compliance needed in the aged care industry.

The partnership comes in the wake of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, placing significant pressure on aged care services in Australia to deliver high-quality care consistently. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic further complicated operations for Homestyle, making the need for a reliable IT partner more pressing.

Chief Information Officer, Peter Gunn, emphasised the importance of this partnership for the organisation. "The Homestyle team is committed to ensuring that each resident feels secure, safe, respected, and cared for," he said. "This is not only exclusive to nursing teams but across all departments. For us to succeed in our mission, we needed to protect resident's data, ensuring that it is stored securely and is cared for by a team who are passionate about more than just technology."

Interactive's solution, known as Interactive Anywhere, was selected to meet Homestyle's needs as an end-to-end managed services provider. This offering includes support for cloud migration, on-site support, and regulatory alignment. Interactive will manage the IT environment for Homestyle, allowing the latter's team to focus on their core philosophy of holistic residential aged care.

Tim Sparks, Senior Business Development Manager - Cloud, Managed Services and Cyber Security at Interactive, commented on the partnership: "The ability to reassure family members that their loved ones are well cared for is a top priority for aged care providers, and this is largely underpinned by having the correct team to facilitate reliable communication. This focus on high-quality care combined with the challenging regulatory environment that encompasses aged care means that Homestyle requires a flexible approach to IT. We're really pleased to partner with Homestyle to help manage their IT environment."

Interactive Anywhere is designed to deliver full managed services across infrastructure, network, end-user support, and security. This comprehensive service provides Homestyle with a managed service partner capable of optimising existing assets and strategically upgrading infrastructure to embrace emerging technologies and future advancements.

Gunn concluded by highlighting the alignment between the two organisations' missions. "Interactive understood our mission as it strives to make technology human. They care for their customers just as we care for residents choosing to live in a Homestyle Home. We knew we would be in good hands."