Caregiver with mentally challenged senior man

Disability Care Staffing Solutions: How Enabling Technologies Are Solving the Provider Shortage

While many disability service providers struggle with staffing shortages, some are finding solutions to mitigate the problem, cutting costs and increasing independence and outcomes for their residents using enabling technologies.

We recently hosted an engaging discussion with three leaders from organizations utilizing enabling technologies such as GrandCare during our webinar, Combatting DSP Staffing Shortages with Assistive Technology. Our guest speakers included Brian Hart, the COO of LADD and the CEO of ShiftAbility, and Heather Weitz and Christine Gilbertson of Wisconsin-based provider, Opportunity Inc.

LADD is an agency in Ohio that, four years ago, wanted to use technology-enabled supports to change the way they delivered services. As they looked to solve a staff shortage, they devised a Smart Living model. “The Smart Living model is not just a piece of technology or software, it’s a new way of delivering services using technology first, value-added supports, a way we assess staff, cultural methodology of inclusive services, and a whole bunch of different models.” Out of that bore ShiftAbility, a consulting arm, as a way to share how to implement these models for other organizations.

A smart home uses technology like GrandCare touchscreens, sensors, health devices and med dispensers that work as a support system and other home technologies like smart refrigerators and stoves.

“There’s never going to be enough people to provide the support. If you want to provide more supports, you have to do it a different way.” Brian Hart.

Opportunity Inc. is a nonprofit organization in Wisconsin that provides supports in AFH (adult family home) settings and community supportive living settings. Heather and Christina work in the community supportive living program.

“GrandCare has given us a way to actually implement self-sufficiency. Instead of just having staff come in, teach them something and 20 minutes after we walk about the door they completely forget everything that we went through, with GrandCare we’re able to upload videos and add reminders. This has been a huge way that GrandCare has helped us get to the independent living skills and maintain those independent living skills,” said Christina.

A GrandCare system is a remote monitoring and remote support platform on a stationary 17-inch touchscreen that can be set on a countertop or mounted on a wall. The touchscreen can deliver cognitive assists in the form of reminders for ADLs, medication, calendar appointments and much more. It can connect with motion sensors in the home and health devices such as pulse oximeters. Notification rules, simple if-then statements, can be customized for each individual and their support team. The touchscreen provides secure video calls, plus the system includes games, live radio and other entertainment features.

“It helps with staffing as well. We have some clients in their own homes that just need us to go check that they took their medications. Now they can mark off that they did it, and if we need a visual we can video chat instead of having somebody go over. Some of them like that because they want their privacy,” said Heather.

Christina added that many of their high functioning clients use a button on the touchscreen to check in for the night, which sends a notification to the staff that they’re safe at home, and that allows the staff to focus on the people who they need to be physically present for.

“They like that they feel more independent. Instead of coming to us all the time they can go on to their own GrandCare system and look for their schedules, see if they have doctor appointments or when the staff might be coming, and what they’re going to be doing with staff that day.” Heather Weitz

What’s the ROI on Assistive Technology?

The first LADD smart home was part of a two-year study by Xavier University. Researchers set out to measure “occupational performance” (the ability to do everyday tasks without help), resident satisfaction, and the cost of care in the new smart home setting. The results were remarkable. LADD was able to safely reduce direct caregiving hours by an astonishing 75%. This had a profound impact on the cost of care. Prior to GrandCare and remote monitoring technologies, the cost of supporting these individuals was $5,260 per week. Supportive technologies slashed the support costs by over 50% to only $2,607 per week.

“The technology ROI is less than nine months. It’s getting even faster now as we get more efficient,” said Brian. “Each year we’re able to do more with the same amount of resources.”

Learn More

Want to learn more about the GrandCare technology, choosing residents, setting up tech, staff training and funding? You can view the recording of our webinar.

“The big issues we have in our field are staffing, funding and transportation. We can solve for a lot of staffing and funding using technology.” Brian Hart

Have questions or would like to see a free demo? Contact us.

Combatting DSP Staffing Shortages with Assistive Technology Wed May 3, 2023 12pm ET

Combatting DSP Staffing Shortages with Assistive Technology

GrandCare is teaming up with ShiftAbility, LADD and disability service provider Opportunity Inc. to provide a free educational webinar on how technology can help with staffing shortages on Wednesday, May 3, 2023.

Are you struggling with staffing? Are your recruiting initiatives falling short of your goals? Are you seeing an increase in need with a reduced caregiving team?

You are not alone.

Many disability service providers are understandably focused on dealing with the staffing crisis and have little time to explore things like assistive self-directed technology and remote supports. But what if you could solve your staffing issue and provide better and more cost-effective care through technology?

Xavier University’s Department of Occupational Therapy conducted a study of LADD’s smart home in 2020. The results indicated that remote patient monitoring and telehealth technologies including the flagship platform, GrandCare Systems, increased client independence, reduced in-person caregiving hours, and cut staffing costs by 75%. This helped with LADD’s staffing shortage, not to mention the profound impact it had on the cost of care.

Want to know how you can implement this kind of technology? Join us for our free webinar as we walk you through steps you can take to not only minimize the effect of low staff numbers and incorporate assistive/remote technology, but also increase independence and better outcomes for your residents in a way that could actually save you money. Hear about real-life examples from other providers, such as LADD’s smart living program, ask questions, and more. Provider attendees will receive a one-time special discount for purchasing GrandCare Systems. Contact GrandCare for more details.

We will cover:

  • Choosing your technology
  • Installation
  • Resident selection & training
  • How to set up onsite/remote staff supports
  • Funding sources
  • And more

Speakers:
Laura Mitchell, CEO of GrandCare Systems
Brian Hart, COO LADD & CEO ShiftAbility
Heather Weitz, DSP, Opportunity Inc.
Christina Gilbertson, DSP, Opportunity Inc.

When:
Wednesday, May 3rd
9am PT/12p ET

You can’t afford to miss this! Open to all. Register now.

How to Address Staffing Shortages with Remote Monitoring Technology

Disability and aging service providers are facing an increased need for care while also dealing with record staff shortages. These organizations are turning to technology solutions like GrandCare to continue serving clients in need without having to onboard more staff.

New Technology Features for Remote Monitoring and Support

With over 16 years of building and developing, GrandCare is the most comprehensive and robust technology designed to make remote caregiving more seamless, proactive and affordable. Most recently, GrandCare has built out specific features to serve the disability services market, in addition to the aging and post-acute marketplaces they already serve.

GrandCare now offers community GC touchscreens in addition to the individualized touchscreens in private rooms. These community screens go in public areas of the residence and can offer public messaging and one touch video call options to remote support providers. They also mirror resident touchscreens and discreetly remind residents if a task is due (such as medication or another to-do reminder).

Supported individuals can choose how to receive reminders at home or on the go by text message, colored light prompts or on their personal GrandCare touchscreens.

“GrandCare has created a product to directly support professional care organizations, while improving the health and happiness of the individual,” says GrandCare CEO, Laura Mitchell. “Now that we have seen proven success and reduction in cost and hands-on hours, we make it our mission to directly support each of our clients to ensure long term success and savings.”

To support multiple remote care staff and ensure accountability, GrandCare has created a more robust ‘Managed Alerts’ option for claiming alerts and documenting the resolution.

“The GrandCare Managed Alerts help our staff prioritize the most critical needs for the people they serve. For one person, certain sensor activity is expected, but for someone else it could show a support need. The managed alerts make that distinction.” – Hannah E., LADD

Funding and Implementation of Remote Monitoring Technology

While many organizations are on board with the new technology, some questions remain on funding, the new remote staffing model and how to successfully implement. GrandCare can help address all of these questions in an upcoming implementation-focused webinar for aging and disability service providers.

We will be hosting this free webinar Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022, from 3-4pm ET in response to the demand for assistive technology for disability smart homes and senior communities. Plus, attendees who join will receive a special limited time discount code for 5 free GrandCare Systems (terms apply).

Remote Monitoring and Remote Support Webinar

The Remote Monitoring & Remote Support Roadmap webinar will cover:

  • Personnel, including a project manager and participating support staff
  • Identifying and evaluating the home and installation environment
  • Determining who is a good candidate for remote monitoring and support
  • Assessing individual needs and mapping them to technology
  • Staffing the gaps
  • Training (supported person, natural supports, DSPs)
  • Staffing ratios and how to staff remote support
  • Setting up an on-call visit team for when in-person support is needed

Register online: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN___F2FVT8S1q9CxZoOytT5w

How to Best Implement Assistive Technology for Disability Smart Homes

About three years ago, GrandCare was approached by a Cincinnati-based disability support provider called LADD. They told us they wanted to completely reinvent their service delivery model using technology, and they asked us if we would help them do it. We said yes.

We worked with LADD and some of the people they support to develop new features and functionality specifically designed for the intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) population in community supported living settings. Then, about two years ago, four men moved into a brand new smart home–a home that had a GrandCare touchscreen in every room. These young men had never lived without supervision before, and weren’t sure they could.

That was two years ago, and the guys who moved into that house are still there today, living independently and loving it. They, and the smart home they live in, constitute an incredible success story.

But you don’t have to take our word for it. Researchers at Xavier University followed the project from the beginning and have now published their incredible findings. The highlights include:

  • LADD was able to safely reduce in-person support hours by 75%
  • This cut the total cost of support in half
  • The technology in the smart home paid for itself in under 9 months

Is your organization interested in replicating these results? You’re going to want to talk to the people who did it first: GrandCare and LADD. That is why we are co-hosting a free webinar on August 17th, 2022. Representatives from both organizations will be discussing everything we’ve learned along the way, and also the findings of the Xavier study.

Register now for this free, one-of-a-kind webinar.

Assistive Technology ROI for Disability Providers

Assistive Technology ROI for Disability Providers

Free Zoom Webinar
August 17, 1:00pm ET (12:00pm CT)
Register at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NrUHRoeARTuNDm2NpvRi2w

About GrandCare

GrandCare is a large touchscreen that can improve the lives of developmentally disabled individuals, as well as the disability support providers they depend on. GrandCare provides cognitive assists, remote activity monitoring and virtual visits that helps people with disabilities stay safe, social and independent. Learn more about GrandCare’s assistive technology for disabilities at our site.

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.”

Want to be informed on future webinar events? Subscribe to our newsletter.
For more information about GrandCare, visit: www.grandcare.com, call 262-­338-6147, or send an email to: info@grandcare.com.

Technology-Powered HomeCare: How to Get Started

Homecare companies are actively shopping for tech. Why? Staffing issues! They simply don’t have enough caregivers and they are not alone. This is a problem the entire aging service industry is experiencing with the expanding aging population and limited caregiving pool. Good technology can help you expand your services without adding more staff. And it can open up new revenue streams like virtual visits, concierge-style service ordering, telehealth monitoring and remote activity monitoring.

How do you integrate these new services into your existing business model? How do you price it? What does it cost? When should you do it?

Join GrandCare Systems for a free webinar to find out and differentiate your organization from the rest, plus improve your top and bottom lines.

Register for the webinar.

Thursday, November 14th

10am PDT
11am MDT
12pm CDT
1pm EDT

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.

Gray Matters Alliance to show GrandCare in Missouri

Wow! Our Missouri affiliate Gray Matters Alliance is going to be showing GrandCare at the Missouri Tech Fest on August 6th! Disability service providers and individuals will have the chance to explore Assistive Technology and Remote Support technologies…like GrandCare.

BOONE ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE BUILDING
1413 RANGELINE STREET
COLUMBIA, MO 65201

There is literally no excuse not to go because it’s 100% FREE.

high technology home care

Technology for In-Home Care: Show Me the Money!

Last week, we received a call from a guy who runs an in-home care franchise on the East Coast. He’s done a lot of innovative things with technology and now he was interested in GrandCare as an enabling technology for his company. We did a demo of the system and he was impressed. His following question was one we hear time and time again. “What’s the ROI?”

It seems obvious when you add enabling technologies that things become better, cheaper, faster and more efficient. Think about how far we’ve come with technology in agriculture, shopping and transportation. It only makes sense that adding monitoring technologies and video chat check-in technologies to home care would provide additional revenue options as well as a lower cost care alternative. But, where’s the proof? It got us to thinking.

We all know the statistics about the rising aging population, caregiver burnout and staff turnover–especially caregiving staff for home care providers. Companies are looking to technology to help. The question is not if home care technology can help. It’s how to implement it, how to price it, and how to make money with it. What is the ROI? We have thought a lot about this, and we have the answers you are looking for.

On Thursday, August 8th, we’re presenting an interactive webinar that will show you exactly that! How do you implement video chat, remote activity and telehealth technology into your current caregiving offerings? How do you price it? When will you see that Return On Investment? And how can you add new revenue models into your organization?

We think you’ll be impressed.

Mark your calendars and join us for this free 60 min webinar, sponsored by GrandCare Systems.

Register for Webinar

Thursday August 8th
9am PDT
10am MDT
11am CDT
12pm EDT

Three Ways To Increase Homecare Revenue–Without More Staff

What services do you offer to people who aren’t quite ready for an in-home caregiver? What services are you offering to people who could use more care hours but who can’t afford them? What services do you offer people who need care but you don’t have the staff to serve? If you answer “none” to any of these questions you’re leaving money on the table.

With the right technology you can provide remote monitoring, virtual visits, and telehealth to all of these customers, all without hiring an army of new caregivers. But you probably have questions.

What is remote monitoring or virtual visit technology?

How do I integrate technology into my existing caregiving services?

Which technologies are best for my company?

How do I package and price these new services?

To learn the answers to these and other questions sign up for our free webinar. You will learn what remote monitoring technologies are and how in-home care providers are using them to expand caregiving services without increasing staff. You’ll learn implementation strategies as well as how to package and price.

Join us: Wednesday, May 1st, noon to 1pm CST. Did we mention that it’s free? Sign up here! Can’t make it, but want to learn more? Contact us today: 262-338-6147 or email sales@grandcare.com