April 7, 2026
Spring is upon us, and it feels like the right moment to pause and share some exciting progress happening across The Kendal System — in technology, in care, and in how we’re thinking about the future.
The first quarter of 2026 has been one of the most productive in recent memory for our technology and information services teams across the system. From a new system-wide Service Desk to the launch of real-time CEO dashboards, our teams have been working hard to build the digital foundation that supports our mission. Here’s a look at what’s been happening.
| New Kendal System Service Desk |
One of our biggest projects this quarter has been standing up a new Kendal System Service Desk — and I’m happy to report we are on schedule. New software platforms are in place, and we are targeting a soft launch on March 30th, with affiliate onboarding to the new service workflows beginning shortly after.
Alongside this, our team has established baseline standards for technology performance and cybersecurity across the System. Over the next six months, we will be assessing each Affiliate against those baselines and delivering individual reports. This work is happening in parallel with several other improvement projects — our teams are managing a full plate, and doing it well.
| Q1 2026 Progress Highlights |
| March 30 | Service Desk soft launch — new IT service workflow goes live |
| April 1 | PointClickCare go-live at Kendal at Ithaca — the first affiliate to launch this major care platform |
| March | CEO Data Dashboards unveiled at the Winter Leadership Forum — live analytics now available to all System CEOs |
| Q1 | Kendal at Home completes SharePoint migration — Ithaca and Hanover are next in line |
| PointClickCare: A Major Milestone for Kendal at Ithaca |
April 1, 2026 marks a significant moment for the System: the first go-live of our PointClickCare implementation, led by Kendal at Ithaca. This is a large and complex undertaking, and the Health Services and Operations teams in Ithaca have been working extraordinarily hard to prepare.
Jason Eldridge, Director of Health Systems, and Cynthia Stephens, IS Project Manager (PMP), have been on-site in Ithaca this week supporting the team through final preparations. We are proud of everyone involved — this is exactly the kind of cross-functional collaboration that makes our System strong.
| CEO Data Dashboards: Smarter Decision-Making, Live |
At the Winter 2026 Leadership Forum, TKC’s Data Analyst Sean Spencer unveiled the new CEO Data Dashboards — and the response was buzzing with energy. The System CEOs now have access to live, meaningful metrics to help guide their leadership decisions in real time.
Sean is now refining the dashboards and building out additional modules for other areas of the System. This is the beginning of a much larger data analytics capability we are building together.
| SharePoint Migration: Moving Forward Together |
Our System IT Peer Group has been collaborating on the SharePoint migration — the move to a modern, shared extranet file platform. Kendal at Home was the first affiliate to complete the full transition, and it has been going very well. Kendal at Ithaca and Kendal at Hanover are next, and we look forward to welcoming them to the new platform soon.
| Smart Home Technology: Building the Future of Kendal Living |
Jason Eldridge is continuing to lead the development of the Kendal System Smart Home technology platform, working closely with Affiliate CEOs and Health Services leaders. Together, the group is making decisions about the first wave of technology that will be selected for Affiliate apartments and townhomes.
This work is still in its early stages, but the vision is meaningful: technology that supports independence, safety, and quality of life for residents — on their own terms.
| Looking Ahead: Artificial Intelligence at Kendal |
No technology update in 2026 would be complete without talking about AI. Since joining The Kendal System in March 2025, the question I am asked most often is: “What is Kendal doing about AI?”
The honest answer is: we’re being thoughtful about it. At the Winter Leadership Forum, we had a rich conversation with System CEOs about how to build governance, set boundaries, and begin testing AI in ways that reflect who we are as an organization.
Our philosophical approach to AI is a little different from what you might hear elsewhere. We are not thinking about AI as a piece of software you install and command. We are approaching AI the same way we approach every member of our community: with respect, care, and an expectation of integrity.
| Our Guiding Principle on AI At Kendal, we think about AI the way we think about the people who work and live here — as participants in our community who deserve to be engaged with thoughtfully, honestly, and with care. That means we will not rush to adopt AI for its own sake. We will ask: Does this serve our residents? Does it reflect our values? Does it make our staff’s work more meaningful, not less? |
As we explore specific AI use cases as a member of our team — from staff support tools to resident-facing communication services applications — we will be sharing more with you along the way. Our goal is not to be the fastest organization to adopt AI. Our goal is to be the most intentional.
| A Foundation Worth Building On |
When I look at everything our teams have accomplished this quarter — the Service Desk, PointClickCare, the dashboards, the SharePoint migration, the Smart Home work — I am genuinely proud. And I want to be honest: this is the foundation, not the finish line.
The work we are doing now — the standards we are setting, the platforms we are building, the governance we are putting in place — is what will allow us to move confidently into a future where technology genuinely serves our mission: improving the quality of life for the people who call Kendal home.
Thank you for the work you do every day. It is a privilege to support it.