‘heavy Into Tech’: Aspenwood Pilots, Deploys Ai And Other Tools In 2025

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The Aspenwood Company is in 2025 going deeper into technology with new investments and partnerships – but President Heather Tussing is hesitant of adopting new tech without a clear plan forward.

The Houston-based senior living operator is for example wary of adopting products just because they have AI in the title. Instead, such tech has to offer benefits at scale, according to President Heather Tussing.

“I just want to make sure that it’s efficient and it’s going to benefit our residents,” Tussing told Senior Housing News.

Aspenwood uses AI to analyze resident intake data to group them based on their likes and dislikes, as well as expanding on its potential with sales teams, according to Tussing.

Aspenwood is “heavy into tech” in 2025, and it is seeking to roll out at its 20 communities new capabilities such as fall-detection and remote monitoring with vendors including Inspiren and Mila.

Last year, Aspenwood notched some “explosive” growth thanks partly to a four-community acquisition. This year, the company has focused on growing and supporting its team through a variety of training programs, including executive directors and regional leaders, is looking to open its Crestmoor at Green Hills community later this month along with seeking out additional acquisition and management opportunities.

New partnerships to expand tech use

Aspenwood is in 2025 expanding its stable of tech partners with which to grow.

Aspenwood partnered with senior living tech company Inspren in March this year to coordinate care planning, fall mitigation and emergency call functionalities.

The company is in the process of partnering with Amba Health and Care, which uses sensors placed in mattresses and elsewhere in resident spaces, alongside door sensors and motion sensors, to detect falls and collect data on activities and daily health and wellness. The tech can alert staff when a resident is in bed, needs medications or has a change in their health or vital signs. And residents don’t need to place a camera in their room for it to work, making it less intrusive for residents, Tussing said.

“Through technology, you can diagnose UTIs, which have a significant impact on senior citizens,” Tussing said. “It also will let us diagnose early onset diabetes. If they’re not sleeping well, it can tell us that medications are not working appropriately … It can give people a voice who don’t have a voice, but it also can create a safer environment.”

Aspenwood is piloting Amba at two of its Houston communities within the next 60 days.

The company is also strengthening its remote patient monitoring systems for residents, allowing them to maintain their current physicians who have access to the data provided, which is important to the independent living residents in Aspenwood’s luxury communities.

Aspenwood is also rolling out Mila from Mila Health, which provides residents with open-ended questions and “learns” from past conversations, according to a press release from October 2024. The system also reportedly “motivates residents to comply with care plans.” The system is largely going to be centered in Aspenwood’s independent living setting and might see use in Aspenwood’s non-memory-care assisted living settings.

The company’s sales team is seeing streamlined efficiencies through an AI interface, which focuses on capturing information about the initial “why” a prospect is looking for senior living. In turn, team members are able to make more personalized introductions based on the information provided, Tussing said.

Tussing noted the company’s home office team is able to more easily share information directly with investor groups through its pilot with SeniorLytics that began in May, which tracks financial, care and labor data, rather than pulling and compiling select information to send them, making their jobs both easier and more efficient. Shifting to this system has aided the team in being able to be in communities more regularly and offer more training for staff.

‘Anybody can say anything’

Despite Aspenwood’s current tech push, Tussing has a healthy skepticism of new tech and AI. Any new decision to implement tech or partner with a new company is informed by the opinion of the company’s clients and equity partners.

“Anybody can say anything,” she said. “I want to make sure that it actually does what it says, and that it is what it is.”

Aspenwood deploys teams of leaders to communities piloting new tech in order to make sure it’s working properly and to connect staff with the vendor if they have any questions.

Tussing is looking to collect and gather specific information with the SeniorLytics pilot, including census information, financial information, clinical information and resident fragility, which is then translated into a single coherent dashboard. One thing they can help identify in particular is if a resident is paying at a specific care level, but being treated at a higher care level, ensuring the company is properly being reimbursed for its care services.

By narrowing down the type of data being tracked and shared, as the system can reportedly track a wide variety of data sets, it allows home office team members to more efficiently share information with stakeholders.

“What’s important is that we narrow it down to what’s the most important. Because if not, if we over-inundate people, then they’re not going to look at anything,” she said. “We’re being very selective in what we choose to put forward in that.”

At the end of the day, Tussing said new tech and recent advances give her confidence that the operator will “create the best environment” for residents and associates.

“Technology is the answer to a lot of that, not because technology takes the place of people, but it can free up people,” Tussing said.

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