Finalists announced in 16th annual McKnight’s Tech Awards competition

Finalists in the 2026 McKnight’s Excellence in Technology Awards program have been announced, recognizing providers and technology firms that serve the senior living, skilled nursing and home care sectors.

The annual competition, now in its 16th year, recognizes achievements across 14 categories this year, including two new ones: Creative Use of AI and Tech Champion.

For-profit and nonprofit providers and vendor companies of all sizes were eligible to enter. Submissions were judged by an independent panel of 24 senior living and care stakeholders, who determined finalists as warranted.

16th annual McKnight’s Excellence in Technology Awards finalists

(Categories listed alphabetically; finalists listed alphabetically by entry name within each category. Each entry listed contains a provider and its vendor partner or vice versa, as applicable.)

Building Bridges

This category recognizes the use of technology to improve connections between staff members, care providers or residents/patients and their families. 

• “Arrow Senior Living – Level of care model”

  • EmpowerMe Wellness

  • Arrow Senior Living

• “Bridging care gaps through data exchange”

  • MatrixCare

  • Nazareth Home

• “Connecting care teams with intelligent hiring”

  • Apploi

  • Saber Healthcare Group

• “Documenting care gaps before the survey”

  • Gabby Health

• “How’s Mom enhances care, operations and resident satisfaction.”

  • SafeKeeping / dba How’s Mom

  • TLC Management

• “Responsive MD collaboration across communities”

  • Hucu.ai

  • MD for Seniors

    
    

Creative Use of AI

This category, new this year, celebrates how particularly creative uses of artificial intelligence were incorporated into products or services that made a significant difference for senior living and care operators.

• “AI-powered voice chat bot reduces anxiety, depression”

  • RiverSpring Living

  • Meela.ai

• “Nursing homes without walls: Attentive AI keeps seniors home”

  • Zemplee

  • Windsor Place At-Home Care

• “Retention Radar – Redefining retention with AI-powered insights”

  • LCS

  • Retention Radar, developed by LCS

• “Ryan: AI wellness companionbot for senior care”

  • DreamFace Technologies

  • Eaton Senior Communities, Kavod Senior Life, Christian Living Communities, Granville Assisted Living and Cherry Creek Retirement Village

• “Transforming home health wound care with AI innovation”

  • Swift Medical

  • VNS Health

• “Zero falls with AI: A new benchmark in care”

  • Helpany

  • United Zion

    
    

Electronic Health Records (EHR) Integration

This category honors stakeholders that have worked together to play a pivotal role in helping communities and/or agencies via electronic health records, thereby streamlining resident/patient information management.

• “A partnership for transformation: Mary’s Woods, Parasol Alliance and PointClickCare”

  • Parasol Alliance, PointClickCare

• Mary’s Woods“How Ascent gained 135 days of length of stay”

  • ALIS by Medtelligent

  • Ascent Living Communities

    
    

Emerging Technology

This category acknowledges innovators who have developed technology-driven tools showing great potential for improving care and/or the bottom line — even though they may not yet be fully in the marketplace.

• “AI-powered regulatory risk intelligence for skilled nursing”

  • SignalCare

• “AI recruiting for home care”

  • Care Hero

  • Impact Home Health

• “CareAxis: Reinventing care coordination and empowering VBC”

  • CareAxis

  • Genacross Lutheran Services and Linkage

• “CareDocs.ai intelligent therapy management platform”

  • CareDocs.ai

• “Complete platform for post-acute care transitions”

  • Olio Health

• “More good days: 40Hz precision light in memory care”

  • OptoCeutics

  • Masonicare (Masonicare at Mystic)

• “NASA-licensed radar: AI smoke detector for the heart”

  • Advanced TeleSensors

  • PAM Health

• “Wearable and sensor-fused safety without walls”

  • Intrex

  • Moorings Park Grande Lake

    
    

Falls Prevention, Management or Detection

This category recognizes the use of technology that helped senior living and care providers reduce the risk of falls-related injuries among residents, patients or clients.

• “Bristol Park at Cleburne: 74% fewer falls”

  • Teton

  • Sagora Senior Living

• “How real-time visibility cut falls by nearly in half in just six months”

  • Tenera Care

  • Aravilla

• “How United Zion achieved zero falls with AI”

  • Helpany

  • United Zion

• “Invisible fall detection, real-world impact”

  • Pontosense

  • Assisting Hands

• “Ninefold fewer falls through AI-powered passive monitoring”

  • Zemplee

  • St. John’s Lutheran Community

• “Pegasus Senior Living, Silverado and Phoenix Hipwear”

  • Phoenix Hipwear Corp

  • Pegasus Senior Living

    
    

Home Grown

This category recognizes senior living and care operators that have independently developed and implemented a technology-driven improvement that enhances care or services and/or the bottom line.

• “Advancing care through home grown AI solutions”

  • Signature HealthCARE

• “BetterConversations: Voice AI that builds emotional intelligence”

  • Saber Healthcare Group

• “Building more with less through AI development”

  • Jewish Home

• “Community Connect”

  • Connect Senior Services

• “Mobility as a vital sign: A surveillance system”

  • Vintage Faire Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

• “Retention Radar – Redefining retention with AI-powered insights”

  • LCS

    
    

Innovator of the Year

This category celebrates technological innovation that positively affected senior living and care operators’ provision of care, services and/or the bottom line.

• “Closing the digital gap in aging”

  • Jewish Home

  • TekHub

• “From watching to following through with AI”

  • CobiCare AI

  • My Parents Paradise at Montoro Preserve

• “Ignite + Exacare ai: AI-powered admissions transformation”

  • Exacare ai

  • Ignite Medical Resorts

• “Intelligent incontinence management and impact on staff / residents”

  • etectRx

• “Redefining workforce innovation in senior care”

  • Incite Workforce Solutions powered by SnapCare

  • Marquis Companies

• “Retention Radar – Redefining retention with AI-powered insights”

  • LCS

  • Retention Radar, developed  by LCS

    
    

Keep It Super Simple (KISS)

This category honors simple but effective applications of technology that improved the provision of care and/or services and/or operations.

• “How real-time visibility improved overnight safety and proactive care”

  • Tenera Care

  • Dublin Glenn Memory Care / Continental Senior Communities

• “Improve staff efficiency and care delivery”

  • Edgewood Healthcare / Meadow Wind

  • CarePredict and ALIS by Medtelligent 

• “Increased patient access with simpler documentation solutions”

  • Apricot

  • Choice Health at Home

• “One platform. Better staffing decisions”

  • Incite Workforce Solutions powered by SnapCare

  • Marquis Companies

• “Putting down the pencil: QAPI in one place”

  • CareAscendium

  • Plainview Healthcare

• “Simplifying admissions at scale”

  • MatrixCare

  • Advanced Healthcare

    
    

Quality

This category puts the spotlight on the application of technology to improve the quality of care or services. 

• “BHI turns fraud prevention into high-engagement resident programming”

  • The Smarter Service

  • BHI Senior Living / The Barrington of Carmel

• “Next-generation rehabilitation with Armeo Power”

  • RiverSpring Living

  • Hocoma

• “Protecting comfort care through passive fall protection”

  • Elysian Senior Homes of Red Wing

  • Viconic Fall Defense

• “Transforming data into 5-star quality outcomes”

  • Concept Rehab | Engage Consulting

  • The Caring Place Group

• “VNS Health and Netsmart HVLDL mortality risk dashboard”

  • VNS Health

  • Netsmart

• “Zero falls with AI: A new benchmark in care”

  • Helpany

  • United Zion

    
    

Resident Engagement and Recreation

This category highlights the use of technologies that senior living and care providers used to promote resident engagement, social interaction and recreational activities, enhancing the overall well-being and quality of life for residents, patients and clients.

• “Activity Planner Pro”

  • Activity Planner Pro by Aravine Consulting

  • Angels Senior Living at North Tampa

• “BeeHome: Reimagining resident engagement through AI”

  • The Forum at Rancho San Antonio, managed by LCS

  • Beewise

• “BHI turns fraud prevention into high-engagement resident programming”

  •  The Smarter Service / Trend Micro

  • BHI Senior Living / The Barrington of Carmel

• “How The Forum built one digital front door to community life”

  • The Forum at Rancho San Antonio, managed by LCS

  • Cubigo

• “Quiltt Connection Board: Ending isolation through engagement intelligence”

  • Quiltt

  • Whitefish at the Lakes, managed by Cornerstone Management

    
    

Resident/Patient Monitoring and Safety

This category celebrates senior living and care providers and vendors that have worked together to deliver innovations in monitoring systems and safety technologies that helped providers in their efforts to improve resident/patient well-being and reduce risks.

• “Clearing the air: A controlled study of continuous air purification in long-term care”

  • Pyure Dynamic Protection

  • Athenian Living and Shmuel Harofe Geriatric Center

• “How United Zion achieved zero falls with AI”

  • Helpany

  • United Zion

• “HW & WO of Noblesville: 69% fewer falls”

  • Teton

  • Gardant Management Solutions’ Heritage Woods and White Oaks of Noblesville

• “Modern resident safety without walls”

  • Intrex

  • Swank Assisted Living

• “Nursing homes without walls: Safer homes with AI”

  • Zemplee

  • Windsor Place At-Home Care

• “SmartHeart ECG speeds diagnosis and treatment”

  • RiverSpring Living

  • SmartHeart

    
    

Staff Scheduling and Management

This category recognizes the use of solutions that helped senior living and care providers optimize staff scheduling, improve communication and enhance overall workforce management.

• “Scaling workforce intelligence across senior care”

  • Marquis Companies

  • Incite Workforce Solutions powered by SnapCare

    
    

Tech Champion

This award, new this year, recognizes an individual or individuals who have had a significant effect on their organizations’ use of technological products or services to deliver outstanding results for individuals, departments, communities, facilities or companies with which they associate.

• “Empowering clinicians with real-world AI innovation”

  • WellSky

  • Ayisha Bradley, director of informatics and clinical reimbursement at Care Centers Management Consulting

• “From documentation to real-time clinical surveillance”

  • Vintage Faire Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

• “Reducing friction, improving care”

  • Signature HealthCARE

  • Doug Owens, chief information officer at Signature HealthCARE

    
    

Training and Education Solutions

This category highlights the use of platforms that senior living and care operators use to provide comprehensive training and education opportunities to their employees, ensuring continuous professional development. 

• “Archer Online Training Guide Program”

  • Arrow Senior Living Management

  • The Archer app’s Archer Online Training Guide, developed by Arrow

• “Beyond LMS: Workforce infrastructure for care”

  • Nevvon

  • Elara Caring

• “IREG: Building dementia-friendly communities”

  • Rendever

  • Integrated Real Estate Group