At Jewish HomeLife, caring for older adults means being available for the everyday questions as well as the more urgent needs. JoyLiving helps the Atlanta organization make that first conversation possible at any hour, without depending on a 24/7 front desk.
About Jewish HomeLife
Jewish HomeLife is an Atlanta nonprofit senior-care network that has served local families since 1951. It describes its mission this way: “Guided by our Jewish heritage and values, we support the senior population through health and daily living solutions.” Respect, dignity, community, and resourcefulness are among the values it names in its approach to care.
Its network of care spans independent living, assisted living and memory care, skilled nursing, rehabilitation, private home care, and palliative and hospice care. That breadth makes access to clear information important for residents, families, and the people supporting them.
The challenge: being there when residents call
A resident's question does not necessarily arrive during front desk hours. Someone might call to ask about an upcoming activity, find out what is available for dining, or request help with a day-to-day need. Each call deserves a response, but keeping a person at the desk around the clock comes with a significant staffing cost.
Jewish HomeLife needed a way to extend access after hours without letting important messages sit in voicemail until the next shift. An automated answering service could pick up the phone, but residents also needed useful answers, and staff needed enough context to follow through on requests that required a person.
Implementing an AI receptionist for senior living
Jewish HomeLife put JoyLiving's AI receptionist for senior living, Joy, in place as a first point of contact for resident calls. When a resident calls, Joy listens to the question and can respond to common inquiries about activities, dining, community information, services, and other everyday topics. The caller does not need to open an app or wait for someone at the front desk to become available; the interaction happens over the phone.
The implementation is designed around a clear division of work. Joy handles questions it can answer immediately. If a caller needs staff attention, Joy captures the request instead of treating the call as a missed message. That lets the resident explain the need in the moment while giving the team a more actionable handoff for follow-up.
Jewish HomeLife also set Joy up to send email and SMS alerts to multiple team members. Inquiries can be directed to the people positioned to respond, rather than relying on a single front desk employee to listen to voicemail and relay the details. Messages can carry information such as the resident's name, location, phone number, and reason for calling. Urgent issues can be surfaced promptly rather than waiting in an inbox for the next shift.
What residents are calling about
The calls cover more than one kind of need. Activities and programming account for the largest share of caller reasons provided for this story, followed by general information and resident support. Dining and amenities are part of the mix as well. That variety is why the receptionist needs to do more than take a name and number: some callers need an answer right away, while others need their question passed to a team member.
Top reasons callers reach out
Breakdown of caller reasons provided for Jewish HomeLife.
A more reliable path from call to follow-up
After several months of use, Joy has given Jewish HomeLife a way to make resident support available at any hour without taking on the expense of round-the-clock front desk coverage. For routine questions, a caller can receive an immediate answer. For requests needing human attention, the message goes to the appropriate team members with the details they need to act.
The experience is not simply voicemail with a different greeting. Joy serves as an always-available first line of support: answering what it can, identifying what requires follow-up, and helping the right information reach the right person. The Executive Director's feedback speaks especially to the timeliness and clarity of those handoffs.
“Joy continues to work extremely well for us. We are receiving notifications in a timely manner and she is distributing the messages to the appropriate team member(s). I feel like the messages are clear, detailed and supply correct follow-up information (resident name, location, phone number, etc.). Your support from the very first day has been outstanding; follow up is always timely and helpful; adjustments and recommendations for more efficient operations have been appropriate and implemented well.”
For Jewish HomeLife, the result is a simpler way to balance availability with personal service. Residents have someone to speak with when they call; employees receive clearer requests and can spend less time fielding repetitive questions or manually relaying messages. The team remains central to the response, with Joy helping every inquiry find its next step.