No question, it’s been a tough year for everyone. Whether you’re a fifth-grader, a parent, an employer, or an employee, we’ve all had our own struggles related to the pandemic. Senior citizens have had their unique challenges, too. Regardless of where they live, many older Americans have found themselves isolated from their family and friends, not getting out as much, and not receiving visitors. It’s smart. It’s healthier. But it’s also downright boring. What’s there to do all day, at home, alone?
Seniors with GrandCare have fared much better. With GrandCare’s simple video calling app, they can easily visit with family and friends, wherever they are. And it’s so easy to use.
Being together is still the best. But GrandCare video calls are the next best thing, and it makes a big difference in seniors’ quality of life. There are no usernames, passwords or URLs to manage. There isn’t even a keyboard or a mouse, because you just don’t need them. You just press a button to start a video call, or press a button to answer one. Even those who, for dexterity or mobility reasons, can’t touch the screen, GrandCare makes sure they can still have successful, easy video calls every time.
But GrandCare offers more to keep seniors engaged and connected. The pandemic moved us to go all-in on social features. We’ve added new games and audiobooks. We’ve added live local radio stations, and old-time radio programs you can’t hear anymore like Car Talk, The Shadow and Dragnet. GrandCare will even tell you a joke, challenge you with trivia about history, sports, or current events, or entertain you with a fun fact. And we’re adding more new content every couple of weeks!
Sure, our mission is to keep people safe, healthy, and connected. But the bottom line is that we do what we do because we want to make people’s lives better. So, settle in to hear the next chapter of Anne of Green Gables, visit with your grandkids, or enjoy a game of Memory. GrandCare’s here for you.
https://www.grandcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Grandkids-and-Grandparents-engage-with-GrandCare.jpg8001200info@lmcllc.ushttps://www.grandcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/grandcare-logo-300x138.pnginfo@lmcllc.us2021-03-02 19:48:082021-03-02 19:48:08Experience, Engage and Keep In Touch with GrandCare’s Communication Devices For Seniors
We’d like you to meet our newest team member, Jen Kleczka. In fact, we’d like to meet her too, some day. Most of us are working from home, and have only seen our new Office Manager over Zoom. But we like her a lot, and we’re really excited to welcome her to GrandCare.
Jen’s a people person and incredibly organized. She also has a “can do” attitude, which is perfect for this job. GrandCare is in a period of rapid growth, and it’s her responsibility to keep track of pretty much everything, for everybody and in her limited spare time, do the bookkeeping. She’s been drinking from a firehose since she started and she still seems to be thirsty, which is a great fit for GrandCare.
“I love this company, and I love this job,” she said. “It’s exactly what I want to be doing at this stage of my life.”
Jen was born and raised in West Allis, but she’s been in West Bend for most of her adult life. Her children all graduated from West Bend schools. She has a breadth of experience in jobs she picked mostly to fit around her kids’ schedules when they were young, and then caring for her parents at the end of their lives. “I can do anything, as long as I’m busy,” she said. We’ve found that to be true. We’re keeping Jen very busy, and she handles everything we’ve asked her to do, and it’s been a lot.
When she’s not at GrandCare, her focus is on “family, family, family.” She loves to travel. Her youngest is a U.S. Marine, so whenever she can find a cheap flight, she flies to wherever he’s stationed. She’s also an avid camper. She and her husband help to manage a local campground called Timber Trail Campground during the summer. “Camping is our second family. Sometimes we stay there for the whole summer.”
We’re looking forward to the day when we can officially welcome Jen onboard with our signature employee onboarding at West Bend Tap and Tavern (conveniently located next door.) Until then, we’ll exchange many Slack messages and continue to have fruitful Zoom conversations. Welcome to the GrandCare family Jen and buckle up, it’s going to be a fun adventure!
https://www.grandcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Jen-Kleczka.jpg553882info@lmcllc.ushttps://www.grandcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/grandcare-logo-300x138.pnginfo@lmcllc.us2020-11-02 17:20:392020-11-02 17:20:39Introducing Jen Kleczka: the Newest GrandCare Camper
The day will come, hopefully soon, when this pandemic is behind us. When it is, will you be ready with a HIPAA-compliant telehealth platform?
The use of telehealth for senior health care visits has soared this year, from a low of just a fraction of one percent (0.1%) of Medicare primary visits in February of 2020 to almost half of all visits (43.5%) in April, just two months later. Safety is one obvious reason for this surge. But what made it even possible is that the federal government drastically reduced HIPAA restrictions on telehealth visits. Suddenly, anyone with Zoom could, and did, use it for health care visits, without worries about the repercussions of HIPAA data breaches.
The good news is that this effort to ensure access to health services has had the desired effect of helping seniors, who are especially at risk of the more serious effects of COVID, to shelter in place without sacrificing their health care. And, in fact, both patients and health care providers have seen the long-term benefits of moving many services to telehealth.
The bad news is that this relaxation of HIPAA enforcement won’t last forever. The Office of Civil Rights (OCR), which enforces HIPAA, issued the Notification of Enforcement Discretion for Telehealth Remote Communications During the COVID-19 Nationwide Public Health Emergency, which waives many HIPAA requirements for telehealth visits. Specifically, “Covered health care providers will not be subject to penalties for violations of the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules that occur in the good faith provision of telehealth during the COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency,” according to the US Department of Health and Human Services (HSS).
The HIPAA waiver is set to last as long as the publicly declared National Health Emergency, which is currently set to expire in January, 2021. As long as the federal government continues to prioritize COVID as a national priority, and US Health Secretary Alexa Azar continues to extend the National Health Emergency, the HIPAA waiver will continue. It will not be forever, and it may even be for very much longer. And that’s why this question is so important. Are you ready?
The only way to continue using telehealth for visits in a post-COVID world is to start looking for a HIPAA-compliant solution, the sooner the better.
GrandCare is one such solution. It is a remote monitoring and communications platform for seniors. It’s a proven solution that has been on the market since 2005. GrandCare’s large, simple touch appliance and home health care program helps professional caregivers and families to have HIPAA-compliant video conferencing, send messages, and monitor a loved one’s health & safety. It’s been adopted by senior communities, home health care providers, healthcare payors, disability providers, and even individual families.
Find out more about GrandCare at www.grandcare.com or call us 262-338-6147
https://www.grandcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/female-doctor-talking-with-colleagues-through-a-vi-NA5C4TA.jpg10071510info@lmcllc.ushttps://www.grandcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/grandcare-logo-300x138.pnginfo@lmcllc.us2020-10-23 16:15:132020-10-23 16:15:13HIPAA Compliant Telehealth – Is Your Organization Ready for a Post-COVID World?
Experience, Engage and Keep In Touch with GrandCare’s Communication Devices For Seniors
No question, it’s been a tough year for everyone. Whether you’re a fifth-grader, a parent, an employer, or an employee, we’ve all had our own struggles related to the pandemic. Senior citizens have had their unique challenges, too. Regardless of where they live, many older Americans have found themselves isolated from their family and friends, not getting out as much, and not receiving visitors. It’s smart. It’s healthier. But it’s also downright boring. What’s there to do all day, at home, alone?
Seniors with GrandCare have fared much better. With GrandCare’s simple video calling app, they can easily visit with family and friends, wherever they are. And it’s so easy to use.
Being together is still the best. But GrandCare video calls are the next best thing, and it makes a big difference in seniors’ quality of life. There are no usernames, passwords or URLs to manage. There isn’t even a keyboard or a mouse, because you just don’t need them. You just press a button to start a video call, or press a button to answer one. Even those who, for dexterity or mobility reasons, can’t touch the screen, GrandCare makes sure they can still have successful, easy video calls every time.
But GrandCare offers more to keep seniors engaged and connected. The pandemic moved us to go all-in on social features. We’ve added new games and audiobooks. We’ve added live local radio stations, and old-time radio programs you can’t hear anymore like Car Talk, The Shadow and Dragnet. GrandCare will even tell you a joke, challenge you with trivia about history, sports, or current events, or entertain you with a fun fact. And we’re adding more new content every couple of weeks!
Sure, our mission is to keep people safe, healthy, and connected. But the bottom line is that we do what we do because we want to make people’s lives better. So, settle in to hear the next chapter of Anne of Green Gables, visit with your grandkids, or enjoy a game of Memory. GrandCare’s here for you.
Introducing Jen Kleczka: the Newest GrandCare Camper
We’d like you to meet our newest team member, Jen Kleczka. In fact, we’d like to meet her too, some day. Most of us are working from home, and have only seen our new Office Manager over Zoom. But we like her a lot, and we’re really excited to welcome her to GrandCare.
Jen’s a people person and incredibly organized. She also has a “can do” attitude, which is perfect for this job. GrandCare is in a period of rapid growth, and it’s her responsibility to keep track of pretty much everything, for everybody and in her limited spare time, do the bookkeeping. She’s been drinking from a firehose since she started and she still seems to be thirsty, which is a great fit for GrandCare.
“I love this company, and I love this job,” she said. “It’s exactly what I want to be doing at this stage of my life.”
Jen was born and raised in West Allis, but she’s been in West Bend for most of her adult life. Her children all graduated from West Bend schools. She has a breadth of experience in jobs she picked mostly to fit around her kids’ schedules when they were young, and then caring for her parents at the end of their lives. “I can do anything, as long as I’m busy,” she said. We’ve found that to be true. We’re keeping Jen very busy, and she handles everything we’ve asked her to do, and it’s been a lot.
When she’s not at GrandCare, her focus is on “family, family, family.” She loves to travel. Her youngest is a U.S. Marine, so whenever she can find a cheap flight, she flies to wherever he’s stationed. She’s also an avid camper. She and her husband help to manage a local campground called Timber Trail Campground during the summer. “Camping is our second family. Sometimes we stay there for the whole summer.”
We’re looking forward to the day when we can officially welcome Jen onboard with our signature employee onboarding at West Bend Tap and Tavern (conveniently located next door.) Until then, we’ll exchange many Slack messages and continue to have fruitful Zoom conversations. Welcome to the GrandCare family Jen and buckle up, it’s going to be a fun adventure!
Click here to meet the whole GrandCare team!
HIPAA Compliant Telehealth – Is Your Organization Ready for a Post-COVID World?
The day will come, hopefully soon, when this pandemic is behind us. When it is, will you be ready with a HIPAA-compliant telehealth platform?
The use of telehealth for senior health care visits has soared this year, from a low of just a fraction of one percent (0.1%) of Medicare primary visits in February of 2020 to almost half of all visits (43.5%) in April, just two months later. Safety is one obvious reason for this surge. But what made it even possible is that the federal government drastically reduced HIPAA restrictions on telehealth visits. Suddenly, anyone with Zoom could, and did, use it for health care visits, without worries about the repercussions of HIPAA data breaches.
The good news is that this effort to ensure access to health services has had the desired effect of helping seniors, who are especially at risk of the more serious effects of COVID, to shelter in place without sacrificing their health care. And, in fact, both patients and health care providers have seen the long-term benefits of moving many services to telehealth.
The bad news is that this relaxation of HIPAA enforcement won’t last forever. The Office of Civil Rights (OCR), which enforces HIPAA, issued the Notification of Enforcement Discretion for Telehealth Remote Communications During the COVID-19 Nationwide Public Health Emergency, which waives many HIPAA requirements for telehealth visits. Specifically, “Covered health care providers will not be subject to penalties for violations of the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules that occur in the good faith provision of telehealth during the COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency,” according to the US Department of Health and Human Services (HSS).
The HIPAA waiver is set to last as long as the publicly declared National Health Emergency, which is currently set to expire in January, 2021. As long as the federal government continues to prioritize COVID as a national priority, and US Health Secretary Alexa Azar continues to extend the National Health Emergency, the HIPAA waiver will continue. It will not be forever, and it may even be for very much longer. And that’s why this question is so important. Are you ready?
The only way to continue using telehealth for visits in a post-COVID world is to start looking for a HIPAA-compliant solution, the sooner the better.
GrandCare is one such solution. It is a remote monitoring and communications platform for seniors. It’s a proven solution that has been on the market since 2005. GrandCare’s large, simple touch appliance and home health care program helps professional caregivers and families to have HIPAA-compliant video conferencing, send messages, and monitor a loved one’s health & safety. It’s been adopted by senior communities, home health care providers, healthcare payors, disability providers, and even individual families.
Find out more about GrandCare at www.grandcare.com or call us 262-338-6147