PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — At ActivAge Adult Day Care, activity directors at this business pride themselves on making most days a party for their patrons.
It’s themed experiences and dance parties that make Kris Chana, CEO of ActivAge, proud of his business.
“Every single day, our main focus is just having fun,” Chana said.
It’s a lively atmosphere in the middle of the day for the folks spending time here because of the hard work of these entertainment curators and the giant set of TV screens directly behind them.
“I have no idea how we did what we did before this,” Chana said.
Chana and his wife, Chelsea, started ActivAge a few years ago because they say that there aren’t many facilities like this across the country.
In 2021, they discovered a company called ConnectCareHero that creates programming for adult day cares.
They use artificial intelligence to curate playlists and activities that ActivAge can access in one centralized place that matches with the day’s schedule.
“This changes every single day and changes every single week and every month, you know?” Chana said as he showed the computer where the program is implemented.
It goes directly to the large screen and helps the party begin.
“We utilize this 16-foot wide by nine-foot-tall television using their software program that we worked on them to kind of, you know, create for us,” Chana said.
Not only does it create those curated programs, but it’s comparable to things like YouTube, where you can say whether you like what’s on the playlist and the program will either promote it or get rid of it.
“The system itself starts to curate more and more content that’s in alignment with that center’s demographics,” said Chana. “That’s going to ultimately create the most engaging content and the most engaging activity programing for their location.”
Having these programs, according to Chana, brings more joy to these senior’s lives.
“It gives them a new sense of purpose and meaning,” he said.
While Chana wants to expand nationwide, he’ll start with Sarasota, where he currently lives.
He projects it’ll be ready to go by the start of 2024 and fully equipped with this technology.
“It’s got storefronts and all the storefronts have different names,” Chana said of the new space in Sarasota. “And the feeling you would get in that environment is just unreal. It feels like a little town.”
Until that new flagship property opens its doors, his staff will keep the party rolling in Charlotte County using AI that’s creating a carefully curated atmosphere.
Chana says there’s only about 3,500 adult day care facilities in the U.S.
He says he hopes to expand ActivAge nationwide to about 100 locations by 2030.