Yamaha Unified Communications is helping the residents of Cornerstone at Milford Assisted Living & Compass Memory Support in Milford, Massachusetts, stay connected during the coronavirus and beyond. The company donated a CS-700 Video Sound Bar™ to the facility as way for residents who struggle to see and hear calls on smartphones and tablets to have a more comfortable and enjoyable audio and video experience.

"Staying connected while apart is vital to mental health, especially for those who are living in retirement and care communities and aren't able to see their loved ones now," said Meghan Kennelly, Yamaha UC's director of global marketing and communications. "While mobile devices are convenient, they don't always provide sufficient volume or a large enough picture to see clearly. I saw how much my grandmother and others at Cornerstone were struggling with mobile devices, and Yamaha immediately wanted to help. The CS-700 was built around the idea that conversations — whether they happen in a meeting room or in a care facility — need to be clear and stress-free to be effective and enjoyable. We love hearing all the stories of the residents who now look forward to this time with their families."

After Cornerstone had to close its doors to visitors due to COVID-19, the senior community naturally turned to FaceTime, Zoom, and Skype calls via iPhones and iPads to connect residents with their families and loved ones. However, many of the residents had to hold the device close to their face in order to clearly hear the conversation and see their families. As a result, their families couldn't see or hear them well. Kennelly, whose 93-year-old grandmother is a resident of the Milford assisted living facility, reached out to the facility to see if Yamaha could help by donating a CS-700 all-in-one collaboration system.

"Our residents are really enjoying seeing and hearing their loved ones more clearly on the big screen," said Michelle Hamilton, director of community relations, at Cornerstone. "We are so appreciative of Yamaha's generosity to help enhance their virtual visits with their friends and families."

Perfectly suited for quickly adding natural collaboration amenities to nursing, retirement, and care facilities, the Yamaha CS-700 is designed to deliver the highest quality audio, video, and collaboration capabilities. The simple and smart wall-mounted unit is easy to install, deploy, and use. It features an adaptive beamforming microphone array for perfectly captured conversation; four Yamaha speaker elements to provide the highest degree of audio intelligibility; and a wide-angle HD camera for the far-end participants to see everyone in clear detail. Building managers simply connect the system to a display and any UC platform via a single USB. The CS-700 is also Zoom certified, which simplifies the call experience even further by automatically detecting the CS-700, enabling mute sync, and enhancing the audio in the Zoom cloud so background noise doesn't interfere with calls.

For any institutions interested in a CS-700 for their facility, Yamaha UC is offering the CS-700 at a 15% discount. Please reach out to uc-sales@music.yamaha.com for purchasing info.