“Sister Gadget” is leveraging health tech to take care of nuns around the world

Sister Patricia Anne (Pat) Pepitone has earned the nickname, “Sister Gadget.” As a Sister Life Minister, she’s responsible for the wellbeing of 40-50 nuns who are a part of the Sisters of Mercy. Many of these women live at or near the convent in Belmont, NC, but she also cares for women as far as Boston and Jamaica. As she observed the geographic spread of responsibility and an aging population, Sister Pat started looking for health technology solutions to solve some of the biggest needs in her community. 

You wouldn’t think that a 69-year-old woman – far from a digital native— would be exploring new technology to support a largely elderly, female population. Sister Pat shared that while she grew up without much of the tech we now consider ubiquitous and spent most of her career as an educator, she always had a knack for problem solving. This passion and curiosity led her to be the perfect person to address healthcare needs with digital health solutions.

Addressing healthcare needs among seniors

The Sisters of Mercy prioritize letting retired nuns age in place. Some chose to retire to an apartment-style community building in North Carolina, while others live independently elsewhere. With either choice, the women will be spending some time alone. Aging is different for everyone. Some people are 87, using walkers and wheelchairs but with full mental faculties, while others suffer from dementia or significant hearing loss yet are still mobile on their own two legs. 

Sister Pat came into adopting health technology due to the needs presented to her by others – either spoken or observed. After witnessing some falls that left nuns alone for hours without help, she started looking into the Apple Watch. Many senior sisters now wear them because of the fall alerts or arrhythmia detection features. If someone falls hard, the watch sends a message asking if the person is ok, and if they don’t respond in a certain period of time, it triggers an emergency contact notification or 911 call and shares their location. Sister Pat has seen this work again and again in times of need, and noted that it also provides peace of mind to her as well as those wearing the watches. After outfitting one sister with an Apple Watch, the wearer fell 3 days later, and she joked “I didn’t want her to test it so soon!” I inquired about alternatives like Life Alert and learned that the one-time fee of an Apple Watch is more cost effective than a subscription to Life Alert for their population. (The majority of sisters with phones already use iPhones.) 

Meeting seniors where they are

Sister Pat emphasized that she tries to right-size the solution to each person’s preferences. Many sisters love the Apple Watch, yet there are some who would prefer something less high tech. She has outfitted women under her charge with a simple water-proof wrist-based medical alert bracelet that pings an emergency contact if they activate it. One woman didn’t want a cell phone but wanted a way to connect with emergency services if she got in a car accident. Sister Pat found SkyAngel 911 FD which attaches to a key chain and works similarly to OnStar in a car,  and connects with 911 operators if needed. 

The Sisters of Mercy retirement home near Charlotte, North Carolina has two arms—one side houses the independent living apartments and the other side is an assisted living and nursing home, called the Marion Center. The Marion Center has built-in call buttons in the rooms which connect with the nurse’s station. Sister Pat recognized the need to expand that service to the independent living area as well but was confronted with a significant cost to outfit the building as well as displacing people during renovations. She came up with a solution—adding Amazon Alexa’s to people’s rooms with a custom command of “Call the nurses station.” In one instance, a sister fell and couldn’t get up. While she was laying down wondering how she would get help she remembered her Alexa and was able to call for assistance. The time spent alone and worrying was reduced to 30 minutes instead of potentially hours waiting for someone to check in. 

Looking towards the future

Sister Patricia Anne’s passion for her work is obvious. She approaches every need as a problem to be solved efficiently and cost effectively, while also deeply understanding individual preferences. Senior health technology isn’t a one-size-fits all solution, but rather Sister Pat has a toolbox that she’s curated and vetted that she can pull from as needed. Outside of the Apple Watch and Amazon Alexa, she’s addressed hearing loss with internet-ordered amplifier hearing aids that are a fraction of the cost of those customized by an audiologist (though if that level of care is needed, they defer to a medical provider.) Additionally, she outfitted community tv lounges and conference rooms with Bluetooth headphones so the nuns can enjoy a show together or participate in video meetings. An unsolved problem: helping those that now find sounds too loud and can’t enjoy the organ music during mass. 

When I asked if there was one thing she’d like to share about seniors and technology, Sister Gadget said to keep things simple. She suggested having a third-grade teacher write instructions for activating devices with lots of pictures instead of technical jargon. The human element cannot be overlooked either—she spends a lot of time sitting down and explaining how to use devices — both to make sure that it is done properly and ensure that the sisters are comfortable with their new technology. 

As the population continues to age, Sister Pat’s work serves as an inspiring example of how technology can be leveraged to support aging in place and maintain independence. Her ongoing quest to solve new challenges highlights the continuous need for innovation in senior care. Ultimately, Sister Patricia Anne Pepitone’s approach reminds us that with the right tools and a compassionate touch, technology can significantly improve the lives of our elderly population.

Katie D. McMillan, MPH is the CEO of Well Made Health, LLC, a business strategy consulting firm for health technology companies. She is also a curious researcher and writer focusing on digital health evidence, healthcare innovation, and women’s health. Katie can be reached at [email protected] or LinkedIn.