Number 4 – The Perfect Number for a GrandCare Robin

There is much symbolism, strength, and beauty in the number 4.

Number 4 symbolizes building a strong foundation. There are 4 cardinal points: North – South – East – West. There are 4 winds. There are 4 phases of the moon. There are 4 seasons. There are 4 elements: earth, air, fire, and water. Number 4 is a perfect number.

And today we add another symbolic attribute to the Number 4: Years of Robin’s support, service, and teamwork at GrandCare Systems.

If you know GrandCare, you surely know Robin. In the four years she’s been with the company, shes worn a lot of hats.
She’s currently one part account manager, one part event planner, one part office manager, one part sales coordinator and one part um…whatever we think up next. Robin is a key player in day-to-day GrandCare operations. If you’ve seen GrandCare at a recent trade show, Robin made it happen. If you’re a GrandCare customer in senior housing, your primary contact is probably Robin. If you’re a GrandCare dealer, you’ve been to training coordinated by Robin.

And this week, we’re celebrating Robin’s fourth anniversary at the company.

We thought you might like to get to know Robin a little better, so we sat down with her and talked about her four years at GrandCare.

Q: What brought you to GrandCare?
A: I was looking for new employment at the time when I heard Laura (VP of Business Development) speaking at a Rotary meeting. I loved what she had to say about the company and the industry, so I reached out to her. She thought I would be a good fit (for a position that didn’t actually exist yet!) And she was right.

Q: What do you like best about working at GrandCare?
A: I love what the system does to help people, and I like being in a role to help put the system into the hands of people it can really help.

Q: What’s been your favorite experience working at GrandCare so far?
A: It’s more than one thing. It’s from big things, like going to CES, and being part of that enormous show with such a big impact on the industry, to little things like going on an installation and seeing the way our system has an impact on one person’s life.

Q: On a more personal note, why don’t you tell us what did you do on your summer vacation?
A: Our family doesn’t really take summer vacations. We take a Spring Break vacation, which generally involves going to a beach. This year we went to visit my son in Atlanta, then went further south and spent time with my parents in Florida. My folks are about a half hour from the beach, so we got some beach time in most days too.

Q: Tell us a little about yourself.
A: I’m married, with 4 children. I have 3 boys and a girl, ranging from 15 to 26. (Which is pretty amazing, given that Robin is only 29.)

Q: What’s one thing many people don’t know about you.
A: I take notes on napkins in meeting when I forget my notebook. (laughs) Look. I just got out of a 3-hour meeting. (It’s true. She’s taken notes on a napkin.)

Really, I can’t believe it’s been four years. It feels like yesterday that I started. But it’s been really, really good.

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.

 

It’s Your Last Chance in 2016

OK, so it’s not your last chance ever. But it is your last chance in 2016 to take advantage of this groundbreaking opportunity to change the way in which we provide care to our disabled and aging population.  This all-inclusive GrandCare training will cover the theory of connected aging, digital health, telemedicine, and enabling technologies for anyone who would like to remain independent. It also emphasizes caregiving tools for those wishing to provide faster, safer, better and more efficient care.

We will be holding our last affiliate training of the year November 15th through the 17th. Seats are limited, first come, first served —  but there’s still space for you! Click here to reserve your tickets.

Contents:

This fun-filled, educational training is a three-day deep dive, covering all aspects of technology implementation in the growing aging and disability market. These include medical, social monitoring technologies; installation and support; hands-on learning labs; sales and marketing and more. Lunches, refreshments, select Wisconsin-inspired dinners and optional entertainment provided.

Who should attend:

Technology enthusiasts, custom integrators, aging service, disability, mental health providers, professional care providers, healthcare providers, and senior housing organizations.

Don’t wait! Sign up today and watch your organization unleash the power of GrandCare in 2017.

GrandCare Goes to CEDIA

These are four CAN’T MISS items for your October Check List

This October, as we enjoy the brisk fall season, we will decorate for Halloween, purchase candy for the lucky trick or treaters, rake up piles of colorful fallen leaves, and in some areas get our snow blowers tuned up for the inevitable snow. But, there is another October opportunity that you won’t want to miss!

GrandCare is offering deep-dive training for new affiliates at CEDIA’s headquarters in Indianapolis. This comprehensive, 3-day look into the connected health and aging technology space includes a mix of instructor-led sessions, roundtable discussions, and hands-on labs. Home technology professionals will learn key aspects of technology implementation in the growing aging and disability market.

CEDIA is the leading global authority in the home technology industry. It represents 3,700 member companies worldwide, and serves more than 30,000 industry professionals. CEDIA also prides itself on offering industry-leading education. This training is a unique opportunity for CEDIA members, who will receive the added benefit of a discounted price.

This training is for home technology professionals, technology enthusiasts, custom integrators/dealers/distributors, professional care providers, healthcare providers and senior housing organizations who are interested in being a GrandCare integrator or distributor. It covers all aspects of technology and successful implementation into the growing aging and disability market. Learn about medical, social and remote monitoring technologies; installation and support; sales and marketing, and more.

“This training is an excellent opportunity for home technology professionals to learn more about the emerging home health market and how those offerings could be incorporated into their business plan,” said Luke Amos, CEDIA Senior Director of Learning.

“We are enthusiastic about working together again with CEDIA and its members,” said Charlie Hillman, CEO of GrandCare Systems. “This training goes beyond a typical technical product training and educates on the extensive and fragmented healthcare, aging, and senior housing landscape.”

As an industry pioneer, GrandCare helped define the aging & technology market. GrandCare provides digital health, activity monitoring, socialization and caregiving technologies designed for the senior and disabled population. GrandCare clients include seniors and their families, professional in-home medical and non-medical caregivers, senior housing providers, healthcare systems, insurance providers, rehab/post-acute, and end-of-life providers. Dealers who attend this training will become authorized GrandCare affiliates.

This training is open to any and all CEDIA members and non-members. Make sure to add GrandCare Affiliate Training to your to-do list this October. CEDIA members receive a discount.

Get more information, or register for training.

Happy Labor Day from GrandCare

“I learned the value of hard work by working hard.” – Margaret Mead

For most families in the U.S., Labor Day symbolizes the end of summer. We celebrate with barbecues, parades, picnics with our families, and we maybe even squeeze in one last summer vacation. But do we take the time to appreciate why we have this holiday, and what we’re truly celebrating?

Labor Day was created in late 1800s to pay tribute to American workers. It became an official federal holiday in 1894, to honor working people, their achievements, and the contributions they make to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of the country.

So, as you celebrate this Labor Day, as you enjoy the last 3-day weekend of summer, GrandCare invites you to reflect with us on the daily contributions of the many workers who care for our elderly, our disabled, and our sick population. We’re truly appreciative of the amazing work these compassionate and hard-working people do for the weakest, and most vulnerable of our citizens. We rely on these workers to heal, support, care, and yes, clean up, as they go about the messy, challenging, rewarding, and difficult work that comes with any kind of caregiving.

GrandCare exists because we’re passionate about helping those who help others. Our mission is to empower the elderly to live their lives fully, happily, and independently. And we empower those who care for them to give the best possible care.

This Labor Day while we enjoy the company of our friends, neighbors, and family members, let’s remember our nation’s workers. Let’s remember the contribution of our nation’s hard-working caregivers, tothe health professionals in the trenches, giving the day-to-day care, their hardworking administrators, and all of those unpaid family caregivers who devote endless time and dedication for their loved ones.

This Monday, let’s be sure to take the opportunity to say, “We appreciate you and we thank you!” And then, let’s be sure to do it again on Tuesday. Because every day, they are there for the people who need them. Just like GrandCare.

Happy Labor Day!

Meet the founders of GrandCare: Charlie & Gaytha Hillman

 

Everyone knows that Charlie and Gaytha Hillman founded GrandCare Systems (before innovation in aging was even cool.) They started the company back in 2005, before the industry was even yet to be.  They blazed the trail, and educated people on why technology was a good idea, any technology, and not just GrandCare. They weathered the storms of a young and fragmented aging and healthcare industry, and came out better for it. The GrandCare technology became one of the most robust, tested and comprehensive technologies out there, perfect for the senior and disabled population.

Here’s what you might not know about Charlie and Gaytha. Busy as they are with their company, they spend a lot of time giving back to the community. And recently, they were  nominated by members of the community for the Champions of Change award, to celebrate their commitment to volunteering throughout the community. We wanted to share with you this other side, the side that originally drove the passion behind starting a holistic and helpful company such as GrandCare.

Here’s their story:

Charlie and Gaytha Hillman are a couple who have been giving back their entire lives, and who make giving back part of everything they do. They’re multi-talented people, busy with their business, and their hobbies, and their family, but they are deeply generous with their time and energy, volunteering in a wide range of activities. And they don’t just show up and pitch in, they have a long history of thoughtful, committed leadership.

Education is important to them, and their service reflects it. Charlie was elected to the school board, and served as president. Gaytha is a longtime board member for Columns, the organization responsible for raising thousands of dollars for college scholarships each year. An engineer who is good at math and science, Charlie is a volunteer tutor for students struggling to prepare for the ACT, and Gaytha serves on the Ambassador Council for UW-Washington County.

They’re also committed to the environment. Gaytha has served on the board of RiverEdge Nature Center, and of the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust. When she maxed out her term of board service, she continued to volunteer. You may not think of her as the techie one of the two, but she designed and developed OWLT’s first database, and has since been back to design upgrades as the organization has grown.

If you know anything about Charlie and Gaytha, you know that they’re musicians. And that’s another area in which they give back. They both sing in the church choir, and frequently prepare special music programs for their church. After church, Gaytha offers free guitar lessons to anyone in the congregation interested in learning. When their children were young, Gaytha organized the McLane Talent Show. More recently, she performs in the Moraine Chorus, and in a quintet that frequently donates its talents to events hosted by non-profits. She has performed in community theater with Spotlight Productions and Musical Masquers, as well as volunteering with the Kettle Moraine Youth Symphony, and the West Bend Children’s Theatre, where she always seems to be cast in a male role.

Speaking of Church, Charlie has been president of his Church Council, and the church retired its debt under his leadership. He also donates his technical expertise to the church as head of their Tech Team.

Charlie grew up in West Bend, and the couple has lived here most of their married life. Our community is important to them. They’ve been active in the Chamber of Commerce, and Gaytha has served as its chair. She and Charlie are among the first people to support new businesses in town, enthusiastically trying out new shops and restaurants, and recommending them to friends. Gaytha has also served on the board for the Volunteer Center, and Charlie has served on the city’s Economic Development Corporation. He was also a longtime member of the Noon Rotary and served as its president. And the year they co-chaired the United Way campaign, they not only exceeded their fundraising goal, they set a record that took years to beat.

If you know Charlie and Gaytha, you also know that they’re serial entrepreneurs. Even by their work you can see the spirit of giving that burns so brightly in these two. One of their earlier ventures, HNet, was the first internet provider in West Bend. In addition to providing access to the Internet, the Hillmans educated businesses on the benefits of email, and donated websites and service to local non-profits. Their current venture, which keeps them busy, is GrandCare Systems. It’s a software system designed by Charlie to help elderly people stay in their homes safely. He was inspired to create it as something that would help his own great-aunt Clara. But he realized it could help many more people.

They were ahead of their time, and so part of their job in the early days was to help the country create and build the market for technology designed to help seniors. They were invited to participate in the White House’s first conference on aging to help educate the market on what was possible. And as high tech as their venture is, every chance they get, they hire their employees through Workforce Development, another way they offer a hand to someone who might need a little extra help to make a success of themselves.

Many people in their hometown know Charlie and Gaytha, and many people in town call Charlie and Gaytha friends, and it’s no surprise. They’re everywhere. And everywhere they go, they’re giving back.

GrandCare Systems, founded by two people who have dedicated their lives to caring about others, and who care deeply about the lives of their customers.

Thanks Charlie & Gaytha for your service to the community, to your family, to our families, and to an industry that needs you.

Kiplinger Showcases GrandCare Technology to Help Seniors Remain in Their Homes

Kiplinger, a national financial news magazine, recently gave a shout out to GrandCare Systems in an article called “Technology Helps Seniors Remain at Home.” GrandCare was highlighted as a device to help seniors remain independent in their own homes.

“Most of us want to remain at home as we get older, but safety and health issues and social isolation can interfere with that plan.” The article praises GrandCare for being a technology that addresses both of those issues, and that enables seniors “to stay put indefinitely.”

The author specifically mentions GrandCare’s comprehensive health and wellness features. Using home health devices, such as blood pressure monitors, weight scales, glucometers, and pulse oximeters, seniors can take their readings at home, and those readings are automatically (and wirelessly) transmitted and recorded to the GrandCare System in the residence. Family members and caregivers can login in remotely to view the readings at any time, and identify trends. They can also set rules to receive email, phone, or text notifications whenever a reading falls outside of a chosen range, or whenever the senior forgets to take a reading. And they can take printouts of the readings with them to doctor appointments.

The article also commended GrandCare’s socialization and communication features.

“With an interactive touch screen from [GrandCare] Systems, you can look at a photo of a grandson’s Halloween costume or a video replay of his baseball home run. You can listen to music, play word games, read the news or surf the Internet. No need to know how to use a computer.”

The article quotes GrandCare customer Randall Schafer, 61, of Houston, whose 90-year-old mother has a GrandCare system in her home. Schafer said that he and his mother especially love the video chat feature of her system.

“‘My mom is in love with our dog, Daisy,’ Schafer says. Her ‘face lights up’ when she sees the schnauzer, he says.” The GrandCare system makes it so easy to do, that she can simply push a button to start the video chat.

Read the entire article.

The Connected Aging & Health Wave: Are you on Board?

Extensive Industry & GrandCare Implementation Training: July 25-27, 2016 at the CEDIA Training Facility in Indianapolis, IN

GrandCare is all about connecting. We connect seniors, their families, professional in-home caregivers, senior housing providers, healthcare systems, insurance providers, rehab/post-acute facilities, and end of life providers.

This July we are offering another way to connect with your customers. Please join us for a comprehensive three-day connected health and aging technology training at CEDIA headquarters in Indianapolis July 25-27.

Get Connected…

…in this deep-dive session, you’ll learn about the key aspects of technology implementation in the growing aging and disability market, with our mix of instructor-led sessions, roundtable discussions, and hands-on learning labs.

Connect your Caregiver Clients…

You will learn about medical, social and remote monitoring technologies; installation and support; sales and marketing; the hearing loss industry; easy computing for seniors; and more.

Connected Opportunities…

You can leave as an authorized GrandCare, ClearSounds and MyGait resellers from this one-time invaluable opportunity.

This training offers you a unique opportunity to brand your company as the go-to solution in the aging, disability and connected health technology space.

The training includes:

  • Practice installing and implementing the GrandCare socialization touchscreen monitor and all of the optional accessories including telehealth, HIPAA-compliant video chat, and activity monitoring
  • Building sales strategies and effective online marketing campaigns for this technology
  • New possibilities created by healthcare reform
  • Long-term care opportunities

This comprehensive and deep-dive training is open to technology enthusiasts, custom integrators/dealers/distributors, professional care providers, healthcare organizations and senior housing facilities.

Let us connect you!

Questions about the training? Contact info@grandcare.com or call 262-338-6147

Register for Industry & GrandCare Implementation Training at CEDIA HQ in Indianapolis, IN.

Additional Upcoming GrandCare Affiliate Training:
August 17-19 at GrandCare HQ in West Bend, WI

In the Spotlight: Ed Kmetz from Pure Sight & Sound, Inc.

Pure Sight & Sound provides design, installation, and consulting services for residential and commercial technology systems in Pennsylvania. Ed Kmetz, president of Pure Sight & Sound, has been a long time visionary, as one of GrandCare’s early implementation & integration experts in the senior and disability market.

We had the opportunity last week to sit down with Ed and really find out what drew him to GrandCare and explore his passion for helping others, particularly in the aging and disability space.

Q: Thanks for talking with us, Ed. Can you start by telling us a little about your background? How did you become involved in technology for seniors?
A: My background is all in technology. After graduating with a materials engineering degree from Drexel in Philadelphia, I immediately went into international sales and engineering, studying in Japan and working globally in Asia, Canada, and Mexico for 15 years.

About 13 years ago, I started my own company doing audio/video and automation in homes and businesses. I hadn’t thought of technology for the aging/disabled market specifically until I learned about GrandCare. I thought it was such a great idea and it fit right in with an initiative I started years ago called “The Grandma Guarantee.” This means Grandma will be able to operate everything Pure Sight & Sound provides, and with little to no training.

Q: Why did you choose GrandCare?
A: In part, because GrandCare started developing their software technology in 2005, clearly making them the pioneer. When I started working with GrandCare, they were the only company that combined the various protocol-driven home and activity sensors, telehealth devices and touch-based socialization platform into one complete package. As great as it was then, they’ve come a long way since. And the support has always been fantastic.

Q: Who is your target audience for selling GrandCare?
A: We sell our GrandCare Systems to two main groups of people. Our first target is the clients of home care agencies, and our second target is hospice (end of life care) facilities.

Q: How do you approach marketing GrandCare?
A: I have a wonderful international business network that I’ve built through the years in this industry. So of course, I leverage that. But it was also important to make closer, personal relationships with local homecare agencies and hospices.

Q: What’s one misconception about aging that you’d like to change?
A: That aging folks are intimidated by technology. Some are, of course, but for the most part, if we can get them touching the interface, we can get them comfortable in a very short time. We bought my mom a computer for her 75th birthday, and had to upgrade her hardware for her 80th!

Q: If you could tell everyone in the world one thing about GrandCare, what would it be?
A: We’ve had better support from GrandCare than probably every other vendor we work with. (And we work with a LOT of vendors!)

Q: What are you most passionate about?
A: I’m passionate about making sure that my customers are comfortable with, understand, and can actually use everything we supply.

Pure Sight & Sound provides design, installation, and consulting services in Pennsylvania, for home theater systems, smart home technology, audio, video, automation, and a variety of other types of residential and commercial technology systems, including GrandCare technology, for assisting seniors and the disabled population. For more information about Pure Sight & Sound, visit www.puresightandsound.com, call 570-992-2992, or email Ed at ekmetz@puresightandsound.com.

For more information about GrandCare, and our growing dealer/reseller/aging service provider network, visit www.grandcare.com or email us at sales@grandcare.com. Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Upcoming GrandCare Affiliate Training:
July 25-27 at CEDIA HQ in Indianapolis, IN
August 17-19 at GrandCare HQ in West Bend, WI

GrandCare’s Training at CEDIA Makes the News

GrandCare has made the news again. Residential Systems, a magazine for professionals in the home technology arena, featured GrandCare’s 3-day, deep-dive training workshop, which is being offered later this month at CEDIA headquarters in Indianapolis.

The training is a comprehensive, three-day connected health and aging technology training, especially valuable for custom home integrators interested in the growing aging technology market. It’s a deep dive that includes a mix of instructor-led sessions, roundtable discussions, and hands-on labs, “to help home technology professionals understand key aspects of technology implementation in the growing aging and disability market.”

The training will be held at CEDIA’s headquarters in Indianapolis, July 25 – 27,

“This training is an excellent opportunity for home technology professionals to learn more about the emerging home health market and how those offerings could be incorporated into their business plan,” said Luke Amos, CEDIA senior director of learning.

The bootcamp-style training will be hands-on, and will include installation and implementation of an actual system and peripherals, including Bluetooth health devices, integrated HIPAA-compliant video chat, and activity of daily living monitoring. The training also includes strategies for breaking into the market, a comprehensive sales and marketing session focused on sales strategies, effective online marketing campaigns, the competitive landscape, healthcare reform, long-term care opportunities, and how to brand your company as the “go-to” in the aging and health technology space.

“We are enthusiastic about working together again with CEDIA and its members,” said Charlie Hillman, CEO of GrandCare Systems. “This training goes beyond a typical technical product training and educates on the extensive and fragmented healthcare, aging, and senior housing landscape.”

The event is co-hosted by GrandCare and CEDIA, and will include special guest speakers Michele Ahlman, CEO of ClearSounds Communications on hearing loss in the aging population and Jeff Hill, CEO of MyGait on easy senior computing solutions.

“This training goes beyond a typical technical product training and educates on the extensive and fragmented healthcare, aging, and senior housing landscape.”—Charlie Hillman, CEO of GrandCare Systems

Learn more or register online.
Or contact GrandCare at info@grandcare.com, or (262) 338-6147.

See the complete text of the Residential Systems article here.