You Gotta Let me Know… Should I Stay or Should I Go Now…

At GrandCare we love receiving stories like this one, about how technology like GrandCare can be used to help seniors stay independent, and in their own homes. We thought you’d love it too.

My dad and I are very close. He is still active and tons of fun, but he’s getting older (aren’t we all) and we can’t help but worry about him. After mom passed away, we have been trying even harder to make sure he is healthy and isn’t too lonely. We have dad over for dinner a few times a week and he has church on Sundays. But, I know he misses mom so much and feels isolated.

We tried to talk dad into looking around at all of the amazing senior housing communities in our area, but he is adamant. He doesn’t want to leave the home that he and my mom lived in for the past 40 years. We didn’t know what to do. How could we feel good about him being alone, while empowering him and making sure he wasn’t too disconnected. After some online research, we selected GrandCare. A touchscreen system to empower dad with reminders, while feeling connected to family. And, we were able to set up just a few motion sensors that could tell us if something seemed wrong.

Before GrandCare, I could tell that dad just wasn’t engaged. My mom had been the glue that kept all of us connected. But now he is way more connected to us with GrandCare’s video calling and picture sharing features. It’s also kept him in the loop with news updates, weather, sports and anything else that he might be interested in. I even noticed he loves watching old music videos, re-run episodes from youtube and card games on GrandCare.

I used to worry all the time. Is he ok? Is he up and about today? How would I know if he wasn’t?  And he hated when I would call to ask these things. But now with GrandCare I don’t have to. I already know that things are just fine. His GrandCare’s motion sensor will reach out and tell me if he didn’t access the kitchen in the morning or if he doesn’t return from his morning walk. Now when I call we can talk about more interesting things like last night’s baseball game. 

As if that isn’t enough, GrandCare helps dad remember when to take all of his medications. It also reminds him to take his blood pressure every day like he’s supposed to. He loves it because he would prefer it’s GrandCare (and not me) that reminds him. And I love it because GrandCare allows me to not worry.

For my dad, GrandCare is perfect. And, it will also let me know when we might need to make changes (e.g. adding more sensors or bring in added caregiving services).

For HIPAA and security purposes, this scenario is based upon stories and lifestyles of the 50+ population. Names and identifying details have been changed.