AARP Bulletin Features GrandCare as a New Technology for Aging Parents

Form AARP Bulletin | Sally Abrams

New Technology Could Allow You or Your Parents to Age at Home

Devices give older people the opportunity to avoid or delay the nursing-home decision

Phil D’Eramo used to call his parents four or five times a day to make sure they took their medication. An only child from upstate New York, D’Eramo was worried, especially about his 89-year-old father, who has Alzheimer’s disease. Were Mom and Dad eating often enough? When his father went out for short drives, was he getting home safely? […]

Now he logs onto a website to check their activity, captured via cellular connection, and remotely monitors their medication. He sees the number of times Mom opens the refrigerator, and when Dad goes into the bathroom or heads out the door. The company can alert D’Eramo by text, email, Web or phone if something is out of the ordinary.

“A dazzling array of new technology is giving older people more confidence in their ability to live alone, and it’s helping families avoid the wrenching decision to move an aging parent from his or her home to a nursing facility. “Smart” technology such as sensors, voice activation, GPS, Bluetooth, cellular connectivity via mobile phones, smartphone monitoring apps and sophisticated computers are making aging in place a viable option for an increasing number of people.”

System Comp 2AARP highlights GrandCare Systems as one of these smart technologies:

Who uses it: Gladys Jules lives in Atlanta and has used GrandCare to check on her aunt and mother in South Carolina and to keep them socially connected. Jules’ daughter recently had twins and streams daily photos to her grandmother. Last September, Jules, 62, had colon surgery and now also uses GrandCare daily. She takes biometric readings, organizes her prescriptions and stores her medical information for her kids “just in case.”

What it is: A multipurpose system that tracks daily activity, has medical monitoring (glucose, oxygen, blood pressure, weight) and can display anything: diets, discharge plans, exercises. An interactive touch screen lets Dad watch videos, view family or Facebook photos, listen to music, play games, read the news and video chat with family.

How it works: It uses an Internet connection that communicates with wireless sensors you’ve placed around the house. Caregivers log on to a website to see their loved one’s activity, write them messages and make rules (“Alert me when …”).

Learn more about GrandCare Systems by visiting GrandCare.com.

Other technologies highlighted in the article include MedMinder, Reminder Rosie, Philips Lifeline with AutoAlert, GreatCall 5Star Urgent Response and MobileHelp.

To learn more about aging in place technologies and how they are read the full article from AARP.

GrandCare’s Laura Mitchell Connected World’s 2014 M2M Women of the Year Nominee

Top U.S. Connected Women Lead Connected World Magazine’s 2014 Women of M2M List

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/03/prweb11678174.htm

Connected World magazine names the 2014 Women of M2M in its Apr/May issue.

Carol Stream, IL (PRWEB) March 18, 2014 –
Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer, IBM’s Florence Hudson, Microsoft’s Julie Larson-Green, Ford Motor Co.’s Nancy Gioia, Qualcomm Technologies Inc.’s Peggy Johnson, and IBM’s Sandy Carter lead the blue chip roster that make up the 42 members of this year’s Connected World magazine Women of M2M. The women selected will be honored at an invite-only dinner, sponsored by Synchronoss and Aeris, to be held at Carlucci Restaurant, just outside of Chicago on April 10.

This year’s Women of M2M list is comprised of some of the most powerful women in the technology sector representing many of the largest companies in the world. These women were selected because they each brought a unique lens to their respective companies that has helped push connected technologies forward.

Connected World magazine is unique in its coverage of the rapidly growing space of interconnected technologies. Each of the women on the list has contributed to this, moving their respective company towards a common goal of bridging the gap between people and machines.

“There are few lists that celebrate successful women and only one that recognizes women of the M2M and technology space. Call it the Internet of Things or M2M, our industry and these women have enabled the world of people and machines to collide gracefully,” says Peggy Smedley, editorial director, Connected World magazine and president, Specialty Publishing Co. “I wish to extend my congratulations to each woman named, and am happy to be able to do so during Women’s History Month.”


About Laura Mitchell, VP Business Development, GrandCare Systems

Laura Mitchell, VP Business Development, GrandCare Systems

Laura Mitchell, VP Business Development, GrandCare Systems

Laura is a founding member of GrandCare Systems. A significant part of her initial role was to bring the product to market in 2006 through the development of a nation-wide distribution network. Laura specializes in Social Media and non-traditional, guerilla marketing strategies, furthering GrandCare brand recognition throughout the digital health industry, and has been featured in Forbes for her work.

She travels nationwide, providing educational presentations on digital home health, social media, using t echnology to mitigate hospital readmissions, and go-to-market strategies. Venues include the AARP National Convention, AHIMA, NAHB, Connected Health Symposium, ASA, CEDIA, CEA Industry Forum, and CES. She has also authored various magazine articles on the digital health market and go-to-market strategy.

Laura was a key organizer for the EHX and CEDIA Future Home Pavilion Educational Tracks. In 2008, she created the industry-wide Aging and Technology webinars. She was the recipient of the What’s Next 2011 Boomer Business Innovation Award for Excellence in Leadership and Innovation and was awarded the 2012 Dealerscope’s “40 Under 40” Award. Laura is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin in Madison and lives in Wisconsin with her husband, two boys and two dogs.


The 2014 Women of M2M:

Marylin Arndt, Orange-France Telecom
Cathy Avgiris, Comcast Cable
Karen Baer, AT&T
Saraswathi Balasubramaniam, Aeris Communications
Mary Barra, General Motors Co.
Terra Bastolich, NetComm Wireless
Sanida Bratt, Synchronoss
Terri Bresenham, GE Healthcare India
Stacey Burr, adidas
Sandy Carter, IBM
Tamara Chamberlin, Verizon Networkfleet
Sarah Cooper, M2Mi
Laura Crisp, Verizon Wireless
Pam Ferguson, Rogers Communications
Betsy Francis, AT&T Digital Life
Nancy Gioia, Ford Motor Co.
Kristen Hale, Spireon
Florence Hudson, IBM
Peggy Johnson, Qualcomm Technologies Inc.
Chandra Krintz, AppScale Systems
Julie Larson-Green, Microsoft
Peggy Lee, Jazz Wireless Data
Doris Mattingly, Lantronix
Marissa Mayer, Yahoo!
Pamela McCauley Bush, University of Central Florida
Desiree Mejia, Location Based Technologies
Linda Mills, Northrop Grumman Corp.
Laura Mitchell, GrandCare Systems
Donna Morrow, AirStrip
Mary Murphy-Hoye, Intel
Michelle Pampin, Cambium Networks
Cathy Peng, Ethertronics
Tiffany Sargent, Intel
Meg Selfe Divitto, IBM
Amy Sheng, CellScope
Patricia Steele, KPN M2M
Jen Stephan, ZoomSystems
Kathy Tan, Intel
Sophie Vandebroek, Xerox Corp.
Pat Watkins, Sprint
Jean Weiss, PeopleNet
Meg Whitman, Hewlett-Packard

Be sure to pick-up the Apr/May 2014 issue of Connected World magazine to find out more about the Women of M2M, as well as read their individual profiles. The issue is available in print or by downloading the Connected World app in the iTunes App Store or Google Play. Simply search for Connected World.

About Connected World magazine

Connected World is the business and technology publication that provides the intelligence industry titans need and the guidance consumers crave. It’s all about M2M. http://www.connectedworldmag.com

GrandCare slated to speak and showcase Toshiba GrandCare at What’s Next Boomer Summit…

Boomer Summit

Thursday, March 13
Manchester Grand Hyatt – San Diego

The What’s Next Boomer Business Summit, hosted by Mary Furlong and Associates, is an annual event that brings together the country’s top businesses and organizations that are focused on the boomer and beyond marketplace. Whether you are just getting started with your boomer business or looking to scale, this is where deals get done.

Featured Sessions:

11:30 am – 12:10 pm
Introducing What’s Next Boomer Summit’s very FIRST “Speed Dealing” networking session.

Organized by Katy Fike, Aging 2.0, Laura Mitchell, GrandCare, and Peter Radsliff of Presto Services Inc.

Are you an entrepreneur/vendor looking for investors, distribution partners and/or media coverage?
Are you an organization looking to tap into external boomer innovation technologies?
Are you an investor looking for deal flow?
Are you a writer looking to for story-worthy innovations?
Are you sick of relying on serendipity to drive your networking at conferences?

The ultimate speed networking session to pair innovators with funding partners, providers with enabling boomer products and writers with fresh and interesting content. This structured “Speed Dealing” will facilitate short and meaningful conversations between mutually interested organizations, looking to establish collaborative relationships. Space is limited! Sign up on-site for this session at the Registration desk! Bring your business cards and elevator pitch!

12:15 pm – 1:25 pm
Lunch With The Experts

1:30-2:10pm
NEW in 2014! BECOME A GROWTH HACKER IN YOUR ORGANIZATION

In this first ever workshop featuring “Reverse Mentors,” participants will learn how to hack their way through brand building, lead generation and customer engagement. With a focus on building brand and PR presence in the digital marketplace, marketers in housing, home care, caregiving and related services will take away hot tips to hack their way to the top of their industry.

MODERATOR: Lisa Price, Executive Director of Marketing, Zillner: LisaP@zillner.com

Laura Mitchell, VP Business Development, GrandCare Systems: laura@grandcare.com
Kevin Bracken, CEO, Gymsurfing: kevin@speakeasy.com
Jeh Kazimi, Founder & CEO, Breezie: jeh@breezie.com

More information online at BoomerSummit.com