Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1347119
64 I ICT TODAY COVID-19's DEVASTATING IMPACT ON SENIOR RESIDENTS At least a third of all U.S. coronavirus deaths in 2020 occurred within nursing home environments. 4 Providers traditionally have relied on a variety of decontamination methods to destroy bacteria and viruses, ranging from manual, "by hand" cleaning to the use of specialized equipment. Manual decontamination is an imperfect science and as was seen recently, supply shortages during global pandemics can have a dramatic impact on the ability to eradicate infectious pathogens from surfaces and air. This has created a circumstance in which the use of specialized equipment is preferable to sanitizing by hand. At the same time, conventional decontamination equipment is quite difficult and often inflexible. By deploying IoT technology, healthcare providers gain incredible control over a series of components in a layered approach to decontamination. Via a com- puter interface, such as a smartphone or a tablet, an administrator can send commands to a processor that initiates the cleaning of one specific room within a facility. With PoE-enabled intelligent decontamination, the microprocessor looks to a database to determine the types of equipment available in that particular room. It then initiates decontamination of the room based on the scripts pertinent to the type of equipment detected (e.g., UV light, gas vaporizer, air purifier) either sequentially or in parallel with a hybrid approach. Alternatively, the administrator may elect to have multiple rooms disinfected. Similar use cases are playing out in the hospitality industry. For example, PoE lighting devices are connected to DC power transmitters within The Sinclair Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas.5 This high-end smart hotel provides guests and staff with a connected experience through automation and control. First, group senior living homes are re-evaluating their processes and structures in the wake of COVID-19's devastating impact on senior residents once the virus infiltrates a facility. Even if an effective treatment or vaccine nullifies COVID-19's relevancy, other illnesses remain problematic in these spaces. The seasonal flu, among other communicable diseases, continues to require defined and potentially costly precautions and processes. Affordable and easily deployable IoT solutions installed to battle the COVID-19 pandemic will keep residents safe from new viruses even after the immediate pandemic subsides, while also keeping expenses aligned with profitability goals. Second, facility owners must meet growing resident preference for larger living spaces 6 while also confronting rising labor, construction, and real estate expenses. Power over Ethernet presents myriad opportunities for cost savings, namely from installation by regular construction crews instead of expert electricians. A standards-based approach, PoE leverages traditional equipment and practices and adapts them to the smart buildings market. The technology is also easily serviced by a large pre-existing IT workforce. It is why so many electrical contractors are diversifying their skill sets to also include power connectivity and building automation systems. According to the 2018 Profile of the Electrical Contractor research study, 72 percent of contractors work on some aspect of automation and controls. In addition to powering and controlling smart devices, PoE facilitates the collection and analysis of valuable smart device data, permitting an IoT platform to deliver business intelligence to a variety of stakeholders. TRENDS POINTING TO ACCELERATED ADOPTION OF POE Aside from the general, cross-market increase in accep- tance of IoT technology, there are several trends that forecast accelerated adoption of PoE specifically in senior living centers over the next several years.