Simplifying Connection: ViewClix and the Future of Family Communication with Dennis Ranck Co Founder - Episode 99

For caregivers and families, one of the biggest challenges isn’t just meeting medical needs—it’s maintaining connection. 💞 When seniors live far away, face cognitive decline, or struggle with technology, staying in touch can feel nearly impossible. That’s why this episode of the Caregiver Relief Podcast is so powerful.

Host Diane Carbo, RN welcomes Dennis Ranck, Co-founder and Vice President of Business Development & Marketing at ViewClix, to talk about how their innovative smart frame technology is revolutionizing communication for seniors and caregivers alike. Born out of Dennis’ own family caregiving journey, ViewClix was designed to overcome the barriers that leave so many seniors isolated.

From the very beginning, the goal was simple: create a tool that even seniors with dementia or no tech experience could use—without passwords, confusing apps, or button pressing. The result? A hands-off, intuitive device that allows families to share photos, make instant video calls, send gentle reminders, and even host group chats—all in one easy-to-use frame.

💡 In this episode, you’ll discover:

• The personal caregiving story that inspired ViewClix’s creation 👨‍👩‍👦
• Why features like auto-answer video calls and digital sticky notes are game-changers for seniors with dementia or mobility challenges 🖼️
• How Photo Chat makes storytelling interactive by letting families browse pictures together during a live video call 📸
• Why group calls without setup or links help families feel close—without the tech headaches 🙌
• The surprising ways caregivers use ViewClix to monitor changes in a loved one’s health, spot early warning signs, and reduce loneliness 🧑‍⚕️
• Heartwarming stories of families who’ve rebuilt bonds after years of separation 💕

Diane and Dennis also explore the emotional side of caregiving—how technology, when designed with empathy, can give seniors a sense of inclusion, joy, and purpose each day. For caregivers, ViewClix offers peace of mind, reduces stress, and strengthens family connections across any distance. 🌍

ViewClix - Sharing with Seniors

ViewClix makes video calling for seniors easy. The Smart Frame acts as a video calling device for seniors as well as the best digital picture frame for seniors.

Video Calling for SeniorsViewClix LLC

Whether your loved one lives independently, in assisted living, or in memory care, this episode shows how technology like ViewClix can grow with their needs—and with your caregiving journey.

Podcast Episode Transcript

Diane: Hi. Welcome to the Caregiver Relief Podcast. I'm your host Diane Carbo, a nurse and caregiver advocate with over 50 years of experience helping families navigate the challenges of aging. Dementia and caregiving.

Diane: Today's episode is all about connection, something every caregiver and family member values deeply, especially when caring for a senior loved one.

And I'm thrilled to welcome Dennis Ranck. Co-founder and Vice President of Business Develop and Marketing at ViewClix. That's V-I-E-W-C-L-I-X. It's a company that's revolutionizing how families stay in touch with their older loved ones, especially those living with cognitive decline or who may struggle with modern technology.

The ViewClix, smart frames are simple. Intuitive and truly designed with seniors in mind. From instant video calls and photo chat to thoughtful touches like digital sticky notes and group calls, ViewClix is helping thousands of families reduce loneliness and strength and relationships. Dennis is not only a key leader in the company, but also somebody with a very personal connection to this mission.

This solution was born from his own family's caregiving journey. So let's dive into how ViewClix is reshaping senior communication and how caregivers can benefit from this technology today. Welcome, Dennis. Thank you for taking time outta your busy schedule to share your information on ViewClix.

Dennis: Absolutely. Thanks for having me on, Diane, it's great to be here.

Diane: Before we get into ViewClix, can you tell us a little bit about your background and what inspired you to join your father in launching this venture?

Dennis: Yeah, so my background, I've got a degree in business with a focus in accounting.

So I was actually a beam counter, before ViewClix, and I still do that here. and I became an accountant because my father was an accountant and that's how he started out. And so we had always just worked together, on some other projects before ViewClix and then, from our family's own.

Experience of trying to stay in touch with my grandfather, his dad, and our frustrations were, granddad could no longer work Zoom anymore, just due to, or it wasn't Zoom, it was Skype at that point actually. Yep. He couldn't work Skype anymore just because his dementia progressed. And my grandmother, she had never been a technology person, so it wasn't like she could take that over.

And so given our frustration with that, we just decided to come together and say, if we have this problem, other families have to have this problem. 'cause we were living across the country and we just needed a simple way. To easily video call, to share photos, to send reminders, things like that without, grand dad having to do anything on his own.

And so my dad just came to me, Rob and said, Hey, I have this idea. He tinkered on it for a little bit and in 2016. We came together and started working on it and then in 2017 we launched our first smart frame. And so it's a pinch me moment that we're, coming up on 10 plus years working on ViewClix.

And it's just a blessing to continue to help families and, serve, build that connection. because we just know how important it is.

Diane: what I'm enjoying is all these caregivers that have gone through their journey or are in their journey are actually finding niches that need, attention.

And so I'm loving this because it is a rare, it's not a common thing, but it's so necessary and I love that it's made specifically. Now I see that, their smart frames are designed with simplicity at their core. So how did your team approach building something that seniors could use without any tech training?

Dennis: so our secret weapon is actually my mom who's been a caregiver for 30 plus years now. Lovely. And so every feature that we built, we actually has to get Kathy rank approved, or we say, would this actually work for a senior? And would it work for the family member too? Part of this is, a lot of our families use the Smart Frame hands off.

So a challenge that we have is designing features that can work for them, where they don't have to press any buttons. They don't have to say any commands or remember anything to do. It just works for them. So whether it's the auto answer for the video calls or the photos automatically updating, it could be the reminders automatically displaying.

Everything has to come from a standpoint of what if someone can't do anything? What if they have a mental disability, whether they have a physical disability and they can't, or what if they're just not interested in using technology? If they're just burnt out? They tried an iPad and got frustrated by it, and so how do we build technology?

That works for them without necessarily needing the classic input of they need an email, they need to remember their password. Press this button that, all those hoops that you know, they're relatively sim simple, but. When you're dealing with dementia or other disabilities, they really put a big roadblock for family members and our aging loved ones.

And so that's how we look at every single feature that we create is how can we not only make this simple for the family to manage? But also make it so that this is a feature that can be used by all seniors. So that's what really sets ViewClix apart, is, whether you're co cognitively, declined and starting down that road, or you're just don't want technology.

it's for everyone and it can really grow and change with your loved one.

Diane: I really like that approach because there are many seniors out there that are alone and socially isolated. families are no longer in the area. We live all over the country. Such as what you experienced with your, mom and dad, or grandparents.

So I love that because they're just. People that are severely depressed and they don't know how to stay socially connected and I think this makes it very easy. Now, you had mentioned to me about your mother's love for photos being a big role in ViewClix as early development. Can you share how Photo Chat features works and why it's so impactful?

Dennis: So photo chat is probably my favorite feature that we have because it combines two of our most favorite, most used features, which is the photo sharing and the video calling. So we would always get people who asked us, it's like, can I do a video call? And also, look at photos together.

And we were like, that sounds like a great idea. and a lot of our features come from customer requests where it's like, Hey, can you do this? Can you do this? And, if we have enough people asking or if it seems feasible for us, it's absolutely we can build that. And so how photo chat works is your shared photos that display in the slideshow on the frame.

you get to pick from those photos and then you start a video call and you're able to take your loved one through those photos. So it's really great where you're able to tell the story behind the photos. So we get a lot of, Hey, I just went on vacation. I want to tell my mom all about these photos that I took.

And so you're able to sit there together and you guide them through the photos while you're on a video call. So it's really fun and interactive. It brings the photos to life and it's just another great way to be able to connect and share memories and to talk. And, that's what we really need to do in this day and age is to connect, talk, build those memories together, whether you're talking about.

Old photos, you're looking at maybe your mom and dad's wedding photos and you're saying, Hey, tell me the story about this day. Or like I said, you're talking about your latest vacation photos. It's really just, it's about building that connection and that's what we're here to do.

Diane: What I love is you're actually including your senior loved one.

Even though they may have a condition where they're not, able to get out often they're still considered part of the family and they feel included. Absolutely. And I think absolutely. It's really important.

Dennis: Yes. just feeling included and. I feel like in the senior space It's almost, and it's a good thing. It's very well known now how. impactful, being isolated and feeling alone can be, and how much that can impact physical health. And so just building that connection where they can feel a part of things again, and they don't feel stressed, you know about, or frustrated when trying to use technology just pops up on the screen for them and you just get to smile and enjoy each other's time.

And it just really builds a strong connection.

Diane: I love that. And you know what? It gives them a reason to get up in the morning. I wonder what I'm going to hear about today.

Dennis: Yes, absolutely.

Diane: And I really like that because, seniors sit for days and may not have any contact with anybody. So I really like this.

Now you were talking about the auto answer, video calling. could you tell me a little bit about that and maybe share the way families and caregivers stay connected with their loved ones with this, Yes.

Dennis: So I say this is our bread and butter feature, which is a lot of people come to us for, which is our video calling.

And so how the video calling works is you'll start the video call, the frame will ring to announce the video call. Then it will automatically connect and start for your senior loved ones. So they don't have to press any buttons. There's no passwords. They don't need an email address, anything, any of those classic, barriers that they usually have to deal with, whether it's a iPhone or a tablet or a laptop.

They don't have to deal with that. So the frame automatically answers for them. And then most importantly, when you hang up the video call. The frame hangs up for them and it returns to its slideshow of photos. Oh, wow. So it's entirely hands off. There's nothing that, there's no training required. There's nothing that they have to learn or remember to do.

And this really brings video calling to everyone.

Diane: I really like that feature because there are times with people with disabilities or autism even, or, seniors, even in the early stages of dementia, they lack, the ability to initiate. Yeah. Something. they can ignore a phone, be a phone call, because.

While they hear it, they just don't wanna have the outside world come into their space. So I like this because it really forces those with dementia and I have to tell my family caregivers out there, socialization is so important that it is one of the key, things that a person can do to slow the disease process.

Yes. Or even, Prevent it from, getting worse.

Dennis: Absolutely, it's socialization is key and it's not necessarily, oh, you need to have a hour phone call every single day. it could be a couple times a week. It could be just a quick phone call to pop in and say hi and see how they're doing.

and it's just really small, start small, build up, and then you're able to socialize and have that connection. And over time you're really gonna see a difference with your loved one.

Diane: I noticed that you can do group calls with no setup or links, and that sounds like a big game changer to me.

Can you explain how those work and what feedback you receive from families?

Dennis: Yeah, absolutely. So we say our ViewClix group calling is the only group calling specifically designed for seniors. So that means, wow, we join the Zoom call and it's okay, I gotta find the special meeting link. I gotta make sure my Zoom is updated.

I have to make sure my camera's on. There's all these little steps again that you have to take to join these calls. And what we do is we take away all those barriers again. So you start the group call, the view, click frame automatically joins, and then other family members can simply join the group call.

So we support up to three callers plus the senior loved one. so four callers total. And so families just continue to really like the ease of use. there's no hassles. Like I said, they're not having to do, press this link, open your email, enter the passcode, all of those little things. It's just, okay.

I start the group call and it starts and everybody joins, and it's really that simple. and that's what we're about, is tech doesn't always have to be so complicated. We don't have to put all these little barriers in. Amen. We can just make it easy and just make it happen.

Diane: Yes. Now I see you have this sticky notes feature and it seems like such a caring touch to me.

What inspired this idea? I think it was probably mom and how do people use it day to day?

Dennis: So that one was actually, Rob sticky notes was Rob and part of it was just being able to send. it, there's so often where it's you send a quick reminder text or things like that where you might not need to hop on a video call.

You might not need to hop on a phone call and sometimes that can feel intrusive and you feel like, oh, I'm constantly having to call mom and remind her. Oh, you need to do this, or I'm gonna pick you up here. And it turns into this nagging feeling. And so what ViewClix in our Sticky Note feature does is it just pops up on the screen on schedule.

So you can set,daily, weekly, monthly, you can have it. Display for a certain amount of hours. And so it's really a less intrusive way to just provide reminders to your loved one without having to feel like you're constantly nagging 'em or constantly, oh, I need to call my mom. I need to do this.

I need to make sure, sure she did this. You can just set those up to automatically display and it's really just a peace of mind feature too. and the fun thing is just you can send just little love notes too, where it's like, Hey mom, I'm. Thinking of you. I love you. and so it's just, it's another way for families to stay connected without, bringing more complicated tech.

Diane: I'm getting a giggle when you said about nagging because one of the things that the seniors hate is being told they have to do something, and to remind 'em, I can remember, I can hear them saying that, I know what I'm doing. I don't need you to be. Nagging me or being on top of me all day long or worrying about me, that's not your job.

And I can see that it would be such a wonderful relief for a stress reliever for the caregiver so that they can actually, especially long distance caregivers or working caregivers Yeah. That can actually benefit from this in a way that says, take your lunch out or. Take food out for dinner tonight or whatever it is.

and I really like that, feed the dog or, whatever it is. I love that. And it's a nice way to remind and nudge generally Yes. Without being intrusive and, interfering in what they feel is like their life, their independence, and

Dennis: Exactly. Yeah, exactly. it just lets them still feel independent while you still feel like you're helping 'em.

And not nagging 'em all the time. And, that's what we're all about. And it's one of those things where you set it up and you don't, if you have a recurring one, you set it up once and don't have to worry about it, that sort of thing. Or you can send just a one-off message. So it, really just builds on that connection.

Diane: So many caregivers, and I've been guilty of this as well as you want a parent? Your parent? Oh, yeah. And that change in the dynamic, it, it causes real problems in it a lot of families, especially with those with dementia, because they don't have the insight into their condition and, they don't understand why you're being, bossy.

Or I'd be accused of being bossy. I'm the oldest sister, so there, I'm the bossy sister and I'm a know it all. Sister, and you know what? I used to be insulted by that, but now I embrace it.

Dennis: That's okay. someone's gotta do it.

Diane: Absolutely. I'll be the bad guy. And take the hit for the team.

Now, from a caregiving perspective, how can ViewClix help reduce feelings of isolation, especially those living alone or cognitive challenges like dementia?

Dennis: part of it is just using all the features that we have. So we talked about, the photo sharing where you can send family photos and include captions.

We talked about the video calling and the group video calling. but we also have, features like where you can share videos. so family videos and just continuing to build ways where people can connect with each other. and just meet them where they're at. you can schedule a video to automatically play, you can schedule a YouTube video to automatically play for 'em. So it's just about these little aspects of where, it's really the sum of its parts where it's oh, maybe today you share a few photos. Maybe tomorrow you share a video. And then you do a video call one day. And so it's like the, where it's just like you're trickling. It's, what they say with, penguins where it's like they're ping where they're giving them their little love notes.

it's just those little signs of love that build up over time where people feel that connection. And so that's what it's all about.

Diane: Yes. Do you have any, surprising stories of things you've heard from families using ViewClix?

Dennis: it's not necessarily surprising, but I would just say the heartwarming stories of people just being like, my mom was isolated before, she hadn't seen her brother in a long time, or hadn't seen a family member in a long time, and this allowed them to start rebuilding that connection because, either she wasn't able to call or the person wasn't able to call.

And so those are really just. The heartwarming stories we feel where it's like there was a lost connection where family members were distanced or separated, and then they were able to really come together over ViewClix and see each other again. And so those have just been the real heartwarming stories that we've heard.

Diane: You know what, I can imagine that because there are seniors that I know right now, I have a senior in my community that, hasn't seen her sisters in 10 years.

Dennis: Yeah.

Diane: And they talk on the phone, but they haven't seen each other. So I gotta tell her daughter, you gotta get this.

Dennis: Yeah, absolutely.

Because

Diane: she's definitely not a techie person. And it could be. And she's also an old rn, so she's don't tell me what to do,

Dennis: but she's

Diane: cool with the sticky notes.

Dennis: Yes, absolutely.

Diane: Dennis, for the caregivers listening today, what do they need to know about getting started with few clicks and how easy is it to set up?

Dennis: Yes. So when you purchase the reViewClix.com, you create your ViewClix account at the same time. So we already, when you we ship the frame, we pre-configure it to that account that you set up during checkout. So setup really is like five to 10 minutes where it's unpacking the frame, plugging it in, and connecting it to wifi.

And then once it's connected to wifi, you're off and running. So that means you can use the ViewClix app. Or you can use the ViewClix website, so you can use a laptop if that's your thing. Or if you just wanna use a smartphone or a tablet, that works great too. And so really, part of it is just, making setup easy.

So it's not like this complicated, setup process. It's ah, plug it in, connect it to wifi, and let's just start sharing.

Diane: I love that.I was wondering,I forgot about the app. I'm like, how do we, what do I have to do on this end? if I get, the frame and I'm like, how do I communicate?

So now I understand, that, see I'm a techie person kind of sorta. I missed that point.

Dennis: Yeah, absolutely. So we have the ViewClix app for Apple and Android, so smartphones, tablets, that sort of thing. you can connect that way. Or if you're a laptop person, a desktop computer, you can also use the ViewClix website to use the features as well.

Awesome. So there's a few different ways that you can share and connect with the frame. Just depends on what people's preferences are and that's what we're all about is just giving people options so they can share and connect in different ways.

Diane: Now, looking ahead, what's next for ViewClix? Are there new features or partnerships on the horizon to support family caregivers?

Dennis: I think for us is what we're looking to do is just to continue to build those family connections because we know the more that families share and the more they connect, it's better. It's for the best. So that's what we're gonna continue to do. probably some new features. I can't say anything right now.

That's okay. But just different ways. for families to connect and just building and getting more people into that sharing mindset, to build those connections. So that's what we're really focused on, is just building that family network out and continuing to build those family connections.

Diane: One of the things that I love about this is the other family members, the grandkids, the great grandkids, they are going to have memories of talking to great grandma or,or grandpa on the, on the, on a regular basis.

And yes, that's really, precious because we are such a,Society where we aren't together all the time like we used to be. Families would gather and now it may be once a year or only during holidays. And I like this for the, from the perspective that. A caregiver, even a long distance one will be able to pick up on changes that occur.

like if they had a urinary tract infection. Yeah. And you're talking to 'em and they're confused and,I just really like that you can, they will be able to stay on top of things and monitor things from, a distance, which I really like.

Dennis: Yeah, absolutely. And for us it's just video calls. When you're talking to someone, it's a lot different than a phone call.

'cause you can see their expressions. Exactly. You can see, maybe they've lost weight, maybe their hair is messy. And it's are you showering? those sort of things, these little cues that you can pick up on. That you can't necessarily pick up on a phone. You might see, oh, their room's looking a little messy.

That sort of thing. Something's changing, those sort of things. And so that's how we view video calls is just so much different than picking up the phone is you're able to just put eyes on them. We're not necessarily a granny cam or a nanny cam, we're a video calling service, but just being able to talk to them and seeing how they're reacting.

we've had a lot of stories from families where it's I would video call my mom. Weekly or daily, and they just noticed, hey, there's something changing with them. And, it could be a UTI or things like that. And then they were able to communicate with the person who's their local saying, Hey, something seems off with mom, or, Hey, let's schedule a doctor's appointment just to get you checked up on, just because it's a peace of mind thing where.

Oh,

Diane: absolutely.

Dennis: just being able to put eyes on them and to talk to them is just so much different than a phone call.

Diane: And I, one of the things seniors do is they have a tendency to fall. And many of them will hide that from their family members.

Dennis: Oh, absolutely.

Diane: Absolutely. And you can't, if you have.

eyes on them, it's not gonna be as easy to hide those things because, What I'm telling you, seniors can be sinister.

Dennis: I just think they don't wanna feel like a burden sometimes. And I don't want you worrying about me and those type of things. And it's not a bad thing to worry about your parents

Especially when they show up to the video call and they have a bruise on their forehead and you're saying, mom, how did that happen? and then you can, and part of it isn't necessarily to, baby them or things like that. It's more to provide them solutions of okay, what did you trip on?

what do we need to remove out of the room? So is there a cord? Is there a tight corner that we need to look at to rearrange some furniture? That sort of things. It's just being helpful, and being there for them.

Diane: One of the things I would suggest to my family caregivers that you can always, if you do notice things and there are falls, if you get a power of attorney.

So you can call or get a HIPAA form, sign so that you can call the doctor and say, Hey, could we get a home safety eval at the house to see if there's changes that need to be made? Families don't know that they can do that. And it really can make a difference because maybe there's rugs around or, and sometimes,I know me, I'd be saying, mom.

My mom's been dead for 50 years, but I'll talk about my mom. I would say, mom, I could, we see the refrigerator. What do you have in the refrigerator? I'd make her if she was able to see what she had in the refrigerator, because sometimes they don't eat well.

Dennis: Yeah, absolutely. And it's like you just, you're on a video call and it's like you've lost weight.

We need to talk and look at that. are there diet things that we need to look at? Is there medication changes that we need where medications are interacting together well? and that's just having eyes on people is just so much different and being able to talk to them is just so much different than, 'cause they're just, like you said, they don't want to be a burden.

They don't want to feel nagged, and they're gonna get on the phone and say, oh, I'm fine honey. And then you go there and you're like. I wish I would've known, and so that's what we're all about is not only building family connections, giving you that peace of mind that you're able to see them and put eyes on them and know that they're doing okay.

Diane: I can see this doing well in, for a family member, not just at home, but in assisted living or even in a nursing home.

Dennis: Absolutely. Absolutely. and we have a lot of frames, being used in assisted living, memory care, all those different independent living, you name it. so whether they're living independent on their own or they're getting care, it really fits every single scenario.

and that's what's great about ViewClix. We say ViewClix can grow and change with you, so they might be in independent living. And then they might change to assisted living. Yeah. And then they might change to memory care and ViewClix can transition every single way. And there's not a lot of technology out there that can do that.

they might have, and it's white way to move it. It,it's like they might be able to work a jitterbug phone in independent living, but once they get to memory care, they can't work that jitterbug phone anymore. Yeah. And so with ViewClix, it's like every step of the way ViewClix is gonna work for you, no matter your situation.

Diane: I love that. So tell me, how do we find you?

Dennis: Yeah, so the easiest place to find us is just to go to our website, ViewClix.com, V-I-E-W-C-L-I-X.com. you can find us there. We have great videos, where you can see the features and action. You can see how the frame works. and so you know, if you have any questions, you can always email us at info@viewclix.com.

Or you can give us a call, 800 3 0 4 4 2 8 1. and we're happy to answer your questions about ViewClix if you're interested.and so we're just here to help. So if there's anyone out there that you know isn't sure if this is the right. solution for them, reach out, we can talk to you about it.

And if it's not the right solution, we'll tell you. and we also have a 30 day return policy. for some reason you get the frame and it's just not a good fit. It's not mixing well, with their dementia. It's setting 'em off, that sort of thing. It's really rare that happens, but it happens.

And so that's why we have the 30 day return policy, where it's like, Hey, if it doesn't work for you. Just return it and you can get a refund from us.

Diane: Wow. Dennis, thank you so much for sharing your information about ViewClix. I'm so glad that you have a solution that, nobody else has because it just makes a difference in the seniors.

It actually gives the seniors a better quality of life.

Dennis: yes. Thank you.

Diane: Thank you, to my family caregivers out there. Remember, you are the most important part of the caregiving equation. Without you, it all falls apart. So please learn to be gentle with yourself, practice self-care every day because you are worth it.