tech-powered care webinar series

GrandCare Systems hosts free webinar series on successful technology integration in care models

Arguably the segment of our society that has most strongly felt the impact of COVID-19 is in the aging services industry. Almost overnight, senior housing communities and in-home care providers realized they had an urgent need for virtual technologies, telehealth, virtual caregiving, and video conferencing, to help their residents remain sheltered in place. To help organizations understand, plan, and make the best decisions, GrandCare announced the launch of a new webinar series this June titled, “Technology-Powered Caregiving.”

This informational 3-part webinar series will help you discover the latest and greatest products available to help you and your clients with social engagement, telehealth, remote activity monitoring, cognitive assist and family coordination technologies, with a specific focus on the disabled and older adult population. The series will cover issues such as how to choose technology platforms, the groundwork and infrastructure, if any, needed to get started, and best practices for successful integration into your existing workflow procedures.

Registration is required for these free webinar sessions, which include:

  • June 18th: Technology-Empowered Living for People with Developmental Disabilities (12pm CT) Register
  • June 26: Connected Residents & Telehealth Programming for Senior Housing and Long-Term Care Communities (11am CT) Register
  • July 1: Virtual Caregiving & Telehealth In Professional In-Home Care. How, Why and ROI.  (1pm CT) Register

“In a matter of months, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything, particularly how we perceive aging, healthcare and caregiving services,” said GrandCare CEO Laura Mitchell. “This webinar series will explore the various technology options from video chat to remote patient monitoring to telehealth visits. We will discuss how to implement, and we will have organizations speak about their own successful practices. We think you’ll find it invaluable.”

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For more information about GrandCare, visit: www.grandcare.com, call 262-­338-6147, or send an email to: info@grandcare.com.

virtual visits and Telehealth

Solution to Distancing and Quarantine? How about Some Virtual Visits and Telehealth

The spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the United States makes this a difficult time for senior housing communities. The risk level may be unknown, but our focus is clear: keep our seniors safe, protected, and connected to loved ones.

Virtual visits can help alleviate loneliness and isolation in quarantined residents. Telemedicine and telehealth are obvious ways to reduce physical exposure while maintaining healthcare services. The more providers embrace technology in times like this, the safer everyone will be.

Time is of the essence, but it’s hard to fund and deploy telehealth and virtual visit technology for your residents quickly. That’s why we want to put GrandCare in your hands at cost so you can quickly and affordably implement these vital technologies.

Payment options are flexible.

Feel free to reach out to me directly for immediate support. Stay Safe.

Laura Mitchell
CEO, GrandCare Systems
262-338-6147
www.grandcare.com

GrandCare CEO to Speak at Connected Health Summit

Over 60 percent of American seniors (65 and older) use the internet on a daily basis. Around four out of ten seniors say they have a smartphone. Acknowledging this, home service providers, home builders, in-home care agencies and retailers have now started to think of ways to incorporate technology into the places where seniors are living their golden years. Gone are the days of technophobes and the resistance to enabling technologies for aging. Whether it’s Alexa, Fitbit activity tracking or Sleep Number’s tech-enabled mattresses, technology is changing the way we age.  

“The adoption of technology is becoming a critical component of caregiving from family caregivers, to professional care organizations,” says GrandCare CEO, Laura Mitchell.  “The number of individuals needing care is surpassing those able to provide it, providing a huge gap in care. Caregiving organizations will use technology to amplify their caregivers, reduce costly windshield time and offer more proactive and predictive care.” 

The incentives are remarkable and it’s not only fiscal. Using GrandCare, individuals can also improve their mental state-of-mind by staying connected to their families through video chatting, messaging and be reminded of medications, daily tasks and upcoming baseball games. All of which are ways to keep their minds and their bodies active. 

This is the focus of the Connected Health Summit presented by Park Associates in San Diego August 27-29. Mitchell and other industry experts will present on topics ranging from technology in professional care organizations, social implications and empowering patients.

Laura Mitchell

GrandCare Systems Selects New Chief Executive Officer, Executive Team

Remote patient monitoring and virtual caregiving technology pioneer GrandCare Systems announced today the appointment of GrandCare founding member and board director Laura Mitchell as GrandCare’s new Chief Executive Officer. Mitchell replaces the current CEO, Charles Hillman, who started the cutting-edge software company in 2005. Hillman, an engineer and MIT graduate, will continue to lead the GrandCare vision as Founder and a trusted Advisor. Mitchell has also recruited a new Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to expand GrandCare’s flexible and affordable “point-of-care” platform options for various settings.

“I am honored to have been elected as GrandCare’s next CEO. This is an industry that I have been immersed in and passionate about for the past 15 years,” said Mitchell. “We are seeing rapid growth in the adoption of caregiving technologies, in both the home caregiving and senior housing industries. It is a privilege for me to be leading GrandCare during this period of opportunity and growth.”

Mitchell brings 15 years of connected health, technology and aging expertise, as well as her core competencies in strategic business development, marketing and lead generation, to this executive role at GrandCare. She was a founding team member of GrandCare in 2005, where she served as the VP of Business Development and Chief Marketing Officer for over a decade. In 2015, she founded Laura Mitchell Consulting (LMC), a strategic business development, marketing and consulting agency with a niche in healthcare, aging and technology. Mitchell will continue to lead her strike team of six at LMC, in addition to her new role as CEO of GrandCare Systems.

“Laura brings new life and rejuvenation to GrandCare during these critical years when the industry is actively seeking remote monitoring technologies,” said GrandCare Founder Charlie Hillman. “Her unparalleled expertise and business acumen will help take GrandCare to the next level.”

The use of technology in the aging industry is rapidly increasing. According to Aging & Technology Industry Analyst and Expert, Laurie Orlov, “Technology to help care for an aging population matters now more than ever — the $29.8 billion market is poised to match the aging demographic of 48 million seniors aged 65+ and to help fill the gap of individuals available to care for them.”

“More seniors want to remain independent, but might need a little support and connection,” said GrandCare’s Chief Operating Officer Gaytha Traynor. “GrandCare can help provide that support and connection, and the cost is less than the cost of one week in an average care community”.

Mitchell was a founder of the aging and technology industry’s first aging and technology weekly industry webinars, a co-founder of the Aging & Technology Alliance (AgeTek) and was an early educator for EHX (Electronic House Expo) and CEDIA. She has been featured in Forbes magazine, awarded Dealerscope Magazine’s “Top 40 under 40,”​ the 2014 Connected World Women of M2M, and the 2011 Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit “Flame Award” for Innovation and Leadership. She has spoken at industry events throughout the United States, and has authored global white papers and articles on the topics of longevity, technology, remote patient monitoring and marketing to the aging population. Mitchell serves on the Historic West Bend Theatre Board of Directors, and serves as a Director of Boomers & Marketing for USPR.

ABOUT GRANDCARE

GrandCare is designed to reduce healthcare costs and improve outcomes by enabling designated family members, caregivers and healthcare professionals to remotely care for an individual in a residence, regardless of geographic location. The heart of GrandCare is a large touchscreen in the residence, which provides the individual with social communications, instructions, reminders and medication prompts. Optional telehealth & activity sensors wirelessly report information and can send alerts if something is amiss. No computer skills are needed for the resident. For more information, visit: www.grandcare.com, call 262-­338-6147, or contact info@grandcare.com.

All By Myself: GrandCare Combats Social Isolation

Isolation and loneliness are epidemic amongst older people. Your children move away, you retire and lose your work network, and maybe even lose your spouse. Perhaps driving is no longer an option and there are fewer friends to meet out. This type of isolation can have a tremendous impact on happiness and overall health. The problem is even worse for those in rural and remote communities where neighbors are few and far between.

If you can’t move, how do you stay connected and in the loop? GrandCare can help. GrandCare has always believed that technology can play a big role in mitigating the feelings of loneliness and isolation, and actually help to bridge family together using video chat and messaging. And we’re not alone. Just recently Nelson Communications Cooperative received a grant to do just that. With GrandCare as their chosen technology partner, Nelson is hosting a pilot program to alleviate isolation for seniors living in rural Wisconsin.

Do you know any seniors who might be feeling isolated or lonely? Maybe we can help. Here’s a video overview of the various ways to stay connected with GrandCare.

 

Photo by Larry Jacobson
virtual long term care

Benefit Specialists Recognizes GrandCare as the Cadillac of Virtual Long-Term Care

Benefit Specialists, an industry leader since 1980, is a privately owned, full service insurance brokerage firm specialize in both employer-provided and voluntary benefits for companies of all sizes across a broad array of industries. Affiliated with over 50 of the largest national insurance companies, they specialize in providing customized solutions for companies looking for group and individual insurance products and benefit plans which will meet the unique needs of employees.

Recently, Benefit Specialists wrote an interesting article discussing the impact that emerging technologies are having on long-term care environments. Check out the excerpt below, which explains how GrandCare is reshaping the healthcare landscape.

“For those who want to maximize their peace of mind, Gomez says the Cadillac of virtual long-term care is a remote-monitoring system like that offered by grandCARE.

With this system, activity sensors are placed in a senior’s home. To use grandCARE, Managed Senior Care first evaluates what a typical ‘good day’ looks like for a senior and sets alerts accordingly. For example, if a senior typically has breakfast by 9 a.m. and the refrigerator hasn’t been opened by that time, an alert may go out to a caregiver.

As with Banner iCare, seniors using the grandCARE system are set up with a tablet. In this case, it’s an oversized tablet that can be remotely activated. If a caregiver needs to check on a senior, he or she can open Skype which will activate the camera and microphone on the tablet. At that point, the caregiver can look for the senior and call out to him or her to determine whether help is needed.

‘One of the reasons we like this product is because it’s respectful of the senior,’ Gomez says. ‘You know when people are watching. There is no secret monitoring.’”

GrandCare Expands in UK

You thought GrandCare was a small tech firm from southeastern Wisconsin.

Well, that’s true. But did you know that we’re also expanding into a 2,500 square foot office in Manchester, England?

That’s right! GrandCare UK just inked a five year lease on office space in Altringcham. This will allow us to grow and distribute GrandCare all over the United Kingdom. Our customers will include the National Health Service, private homes, and assisted living facilities.

Read all about it in the Manchester Evening News. And then watch GrandCare UK’s latest TV commercial below.

https://youtu.be/z7amRiWU7PI

Family. The Sweetest Mother’s Day Gift of All

Mother’s Day can be traced all the way back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, but the more modern day precursor was in the mid-1800’s with the formation of “Mother’s Day Work Clubs,” helping women with childcare. Post-Civil War, these clubs became peace organizations to promote reconciliation between former Union and Confederate soldiers. And in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson officially established the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

Most celebrate Mother’s Day with flowers, chocolates, family events and maybe even brunch. This Mother’s Day why not offer mom the greatest gift of all, the gift that keeps giving, the gift of family communication. GrandCare is the gift of constant family socialization, photo sharing, Facebook integration, video chatting, games, trivia, weather, news reports and more. The best part is that Mom doesn’t have to know anything at all about computers or Facebook in order to take full advantage of the rich memories.

Use Code “MD2017” for a $200 discount on a GrandCare System for your mother. Only two systems per customer. Offer expires May 31st. Only available online. (www.grandcare.com)

“More phone calls are made on Mother’s Day than any other day of the year. These holiday chats with Mom often cause phone traffic to spike by as much as 37 percent.”

You get the peace of mind that comes with easy, non-intrusive activity monitoring. It also brings the more distant family members right to her touchscreen, so they don’t feel left out. Not only that, but if your mom is managing a chronic health condition at home, GrandCare can help with that, too. From on-screen medication reminders, to automatically recording her vitals every day, GrandCare never forgets.

To make it easy, we’ll even give you a sweet Mother’s Day deal. From now until May 31st, if you order a GrandCare System online, use discount code “MD2017” and save $200. (www.grandcare.com)

This could be the greatest Mother’s Day gift ever. So let Mom enjoy Facebook photos from the entire family on her GrandCare System, play some card games, and place one-touch video calls to the grandchildren. And you can still do brunch, too.

GrandCare Expands Global Footprint, Wins UK Naidex Professional Award

From Aberdeen to Exeter, from London to Dublin, GrandCare is globally expanding all across the United Kingdom. GrandCare’s UK partner, ATEL, is a pioneer in universal design and smart living with a full range of solutions for people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, and other age-related ailments.

The group has been commissioned by Local UK Authorities to scope and design a number of pilots. The pilots will be used as proof of concept to shape new models of care in the UK’s Health and Social Care sector. GrandCare is a key component to these pilots.

The GrandCare technology has been fully internationalized for use in the UK, including the use of British English, system-wide.

Recently, the GrandCare solution was chosen for the prestigious Naidex Professional award. GrandCare UK received the award at the England-based Naidex show. The Naidex organization celebrates a service, technology or product that directly benefits those working in the care, rehab, or independent living industries, making an immeasurable contribution toward the healthcare profession both now and into the future. GrandCare is honored to be named the 2017 winner.

More about ATEL (www.adaptivetechnology.eu)

GrandCare Systems and AllHealth CHOICE Announce Strategic Partnership Offering CHARLIE

Technology-powered Care Management and Virtual Caregiving Services

GrandCare Systems (GC) and AllHealth CHOICE (AHC) announced today at the Louisville Innovation Summit that they have formed a strategic alliance for AllHealth CHOICE’s exclusive integration of CHARLIE, a GrandCare technology, in its innovative virtual caregiving and care management service.  CHARLIE was designed to enable the elderly, chronically-ill, and disabled population to remain independent, healthy, and safe at home.

“We are delighted to partner with AllHealth CHOICE who truly have the vision, an established process and the clinical expertise to make cost-effective virtual care a reality.”

Leveraging CHARLIE, AllHealth CHOICE integrates the latest in remote activity of daily living monitoring, telehealth, socialization, patient engagement, and care coordination technologies into one comprehensive service combined with dedicated care managers and navigators.

AllHealth CHOICE, powered by CHARLIE, offers true patient-centered care management. The result is improved patient care and better patient outcomes. This innovative approach proactively reduces critical events and hospital re/admissions by transmitting red flag and preventative information to medical providers, the care manager, family members and loved ones. The integration of CHARLIE, tailored care management, and increased patient engagement is demonstrating improved results. One healthcare provider saw the use of CHARLIE resulting in a whopping 60% reduction in hospital re/admissions and ER visits.

“For more than a decade, GrandCare has worked to develop a comprehensive, patient-centered technology to improve care for individuals in their own homes,” said GrandCare founder and CEO, Charlie Hillman. “We are delighted to partner with AllHealth CHOICE who truly have the vision, an established process and the clinical expertise to make cost-effective virtual care a reality.”

“AllHealth has successfully and seamlessly integrated a professional and compassionate care management team with a proven point-of-care GrandCare technology, CHARLIE,” said AllHealth CHOICE CEO, Sabrina Patterson. “We are offering our flagship product, CHARLIE, to help patients and providers achieve better outcomes at a more affordable price.”

AllHealth’s care management team creates an individualized care plan and then customizes CHARLIE to specifically meet the patient’s needs. CHARLIE senses changes in monitoring patterns, health vitals, and alerts the care manager as well as any other designated individuals such as the healthcare provider or family member for immediate and early intervention.

AllHealthCHOICE will be showcasing CHARLIE and the AHC care management approach at the Louisville Innovation Summit on October 10th and 11th from 8am – 4pm. GrandCare’s Charlie Hillman is slated to speak in the Senior Cyborgs: The Rise of Digital Health panel on Monday October 10th, at 2:15pm.