GrandCare at Moraine Park Technical College

GrandCare’s founding member and VP of Business Development, Laura Mitchell, gave a talk for nursing students at Moraine Park Technical College. The subject of her presentation was “Disruptive Technologies in Aging and Healthcare.” Both GrandCare and Moraine Park are located in West Bend, a city of 30,000 people in Southeastern Wisconsin.

Laura discussed the disruptive demographic of the “aging tsunami,” caused by baby boomers reaching retirement age, exacerbated by the rising cost of health care. That’s where technologies like GrandCare can help, by facilitating remote patient monitoring, providing secure video chat and medication management.

It was the last day of the nursing students’ first semester of study at Moraine Park Tech. “It’s encouraging how receptive and inspired these future clinical providers were with the presence of telehealth and telemedicine technologies,” Laura said. “Especially considering that technology will play a large role in the delivery of personalized, predictive and proactive care.”

These young, engaged students are a new generation of clinical caregivers. They aren’t afraid of technology. They expect it. Their older counterparts can often seem more cautious and less accepting of advanced technologies. When shown GrandCare, the Moraine Park Tech students immediately began to get excited and brainstorm implementation strategies.

Laura, who speaks all over the country on connected health, digital caregiving and aging, doesn’t usually get the luxury of working with organizations in her own back yard. “I love that we’re engaging local people and local organizations,” she said. “Innovation doesn’t need to happen only in Silicon Valley. We can obviously benefit greatly from technology interventions, especially here in the Midwest.”

RSS Monitoring Using GrandCare to Help State of Ohio Give Better Care

 

The State of Ohio is one of GrandCare’s newest fans. And it’s not just because of our rock star good looks.

A recent segment on ABC 6 On Your Side highlighted GrandCare affiliate RSS Monitoring, and its successful implementation of GrandCare technology, to help save the State of Ohio a lot of money in taking care of disabled residents who need nursing care provided in their homes.

The State of Ohio is experiencing a shortage of home health aides. It’s cheaper for people to receive care in their homes, but the staffing shortage meant that people were getting less care than they needed, or care that wasn’t as good as it should be. That’s why, four years ago, RSS turned to GrandCare for a solution.

“The technology in that case takes the place of a staff person,” said John Martin, Director of the Department of Developmental Disabilities. “It’s one of those neat things where we’re both good stewards of the taxpayers’ dollars and it improved the quality of life of some of the folks we’re serving.”

The numbers of dollars saved are larger than you might imagine.

According to the ABC news report, “Martin said each person who uses that technology saves the state between $10,000 to $100,000 compared to the cost of having an around-the-clock home health aide.”

Residents are helped by a variety of GrandCare’s monitoring capabilities. Examples include:

“People with autism who function better with a predictable routine can have a sensor in their shower to make sure they’re getting their morning started on the right track. People who suffer seizures can have a sensor detect if they’ve fallen and might need help.”

The residents like the results.

“People help me out,” said Becky Ross who suffers from seizures and now has sensors on her floors to detect if she’s fallen. “I can be more independent (with the sensors).”

If the sensors in Ross’s home go off, she will get a video call to make sure she’s okay. If she’s not, emergency help will be sent to her home.

Currently 170 people have sensors like that installed in their homes. Thanks to the success of this four-year venture, Gov. Kasich’s budget would now expand the program to cover roughly 600 people.

GrandCare is proud to be a part of this effort. We created GrandCare as a way to improve the lives of so many people. And we’re delighted that in the process of helping their residents, Ohio has found that our systems can help save their taxpayers big money.

See the ABC News video

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)

Senior Cyborgs: The Rise of GrandCare?

“Cyborgs” makes you think of science fiction creatures. You probably picture people whose abilities are extended beyond normal human limits by technological enhancements built right into the the body. Or maybe you think of Arnold Schwarzenegger trying to save Sarah Conner.

But what if it’s true? What if we could help people overcome their physical limits using enabling technology? What if the elderly and disabled could extend their independence, live in their homes, stay healthy and active, simply using technology?

It’s not a far-fetched, sci-fi fantasy anymore. People really can, and do, use technology to improve lives and not just to help with superhuman feats, but to assist with everyday tasks, and to maintain independence.

What’s even better is that the technology doesn’t have to be built into their bodies to be effective.

“There are strong forces against changing established business models. It’s hard to change what’s been working for businesses.” – Charlie Hillman

GrandCare’s founder and CEO Charlie Hillman was among a panel of experts on aging, healthcare, and technology, who talked about exactly that topic last week at the Louisville Innovation Summit. The presentation, called “Senior Cyborgs and the Rise of Digital Health,” was a discussion about the types of technology currently available to help seniors live better lives, as well as the direction the industry is moving, and how to motivate those who care for seniors to see the possibilities.

Other experts on the panel included Laura Mitchell, founder of Digital Health & marketing firm Laura Mitchell Consulting, Norrie Daroga, founder of iDAvatars, and Richard Staynings, cybersecurity expert at Cisco.

The panel was covered by the publication TechRepublic, which asked the question: “If we know the tech works, why isn’t it seamlessly integrated into senior living facilities, hospitals, etc.?”

It’s an important question, because the powerful assistive technologies can only help seniors who use them.

“If people don’t embrace it,” Hillman said, “it’s likely to fail.”

Of course, seniors can only use the technology if it’s available on the market. And sometimes the issue is that the technology, even when it exists and is proven, isn’t made available.

“There are strong forces against changing established business models,” Hillman said. “It’s hard to change what’s been working for businesses.”

The article also quotes Staynings, who suggested that the US is behind the rest of the world in how it approaches healthcare payment. As a result the incentives for assistive technology aren’t as strong as they should be. The health providers who could be recommending technology to their patients don’t have a strong incentive to do so.

“The US is about 10 years behind the rest of developed world in [its] approach to telehealth and telemedicine,” said Staynings, “which is a more efficient way to deliver care to older adults.” The payer model, he said, is “1940’s based–very out of date.” Pay-by-performance, in which doctors are rewarded for having their patients reach certain health goals, rather than simply by the visits or procedures performed, is not yet widely implemented.

As powerful as the technology is, the panelists all agreed that healthcare will never be about the technology, about the next cool invention. The technology isn’t important for its own sake. “It’s about providing value to patients.”

Read the full article.

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.

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.

 

GrandCare hailed as “Granddaddy of all Tech Tools for Seniors”

GrandCare was back on TV.

In a feature on ABC News 19 (WXOW in La Crosse), GrandCare was highlighted as one of five tools recommended to keep seniors living safely and independently in their homes as long as possible.

The segment, called “Making Technology Work for You,” which aired on May 3, described the technology available today to help seniors and people with disabilities live more independently and enjoyably as impressive. “As people are living longer, technology is only getting better.”

The segment featured Stacy Mitby, Service Coordinator for Western Wisconsin Cares, a nonprofit that provides long-term care services in the western region of Wisconsin, with the mission of  keeping members as independent as possible. It operates under a contract with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

One of the things Mitby liked about GrandCare is that, “it’s programmable, so you don’t need to go through an agency. It can alert your family or your friends, your support system, if you need help.” She also praised how easy it is to use. “It’s technology I can use, without having my children teach me.”

GrandCare was described as the “granddaddy of all tech tools for seniors.”

“The systems cost $699, plus $49 monthly subscription fees, but they pack in a lot of features. The GrandCare System has many of the same features you’d find in other tools, such as smart watches and medicine dispensers, plus it can be used in any setting and can record blood pressure, weight, pulse, blood glucose and temperature. It’s a communication, care management and activity sensor all wrapped into one touchscreen device.”

GrandCare Makes Healthcare Accessible Via Telemedicine

 

GrandCare is in the news again. Rural telephone companies have partnered with local health care providers to improve access to care using telehealth devices. GrandCare is instrumental to this effort, according to Rural Telecom magazine.

The article “Making Health Care Accessible via Telemedicine,” features innovator Dave Wolf, CEO and general manager of Gardonville Telephone Cooperative in Brandon, MN. Wolf used GrandCare’s monitoring system as the vehicle to partner with Knute Nelson, a senior care organization serving rural Minnesota, to offer in-home services to hospice patients. “They want to go home and be surrounded by family and a familiar environment,” Wolf said.

GrandCare is proud to help.

In the article, Wolf praises GrandCare for its simple and intuitive design that makes it easy for seniors to manage, as well as its security features.

“These are very simple and intuitive and designed for someone who may be a little foggy and on meds,” he said, adding that it’s also easy to lock out unintended users. “We don’t want family visitors jumping on the tablet and clogging it up with games or videos.”

Wolf identifies two other reasons he chose GrandCare: quick installation, and a monthly payment schedule rather than a long-term contract. Wolf pointed out that these features, important to all clients, are especially important to hospice patients where time is of the essence.

In his experience, patients and caregivers liked many of the features of the GrandCare system, for example the medication reminders, music and entertainment features, and video communication with health care providers, caregivers, and family members.

GrandCare’s Clinical Advisor, Daphne Karpan worked with Wolf to help make the partnership a success.In the article, Karpan praises Wolf and rural telecommunication providers for bringing high quality care to people who might otherwise not have access, saying, “Meeting the folks at Gardonville and working with other small telephone companies over the years has given me newfound respect for this group. They work hard, and they care about people.”

Karpan notes that progress has been made toward reimbursement for telehealth.

Medicare is doing pilot programs on telemedicine and home-based care, and it’s starting to do some limited reimbursements. While this is a slow-moving regulatory process, Karpan said the fact that Medicare reimbursements are now based on patient outcomes is good news.

The article also highlights the importance of HIPAA compliance for telehealth reimbursement. Successful partnerships use tools such as GrandCare that meet or exceed the requirements of HIPAA.

The advances in telehealth create a big opportunity. Using a tool that is a proven market leader, and that works, such as GrandCare, will be key to success. As Karpan explains:

“So many health care agencies are coming online to offer in-home services. If you get the package and system figured out, you’ll be the one to get that business.”

GrandCare is a caregiving tool that 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. No computer skills are needed for the resident to fully engage in all of the touchscreen features.

GrandCare is the winner of the 2012 CEA Innovation Entrepreneur Award for Small Business of the Year, and is a two-time winner of SeniorHomes.com’s Most Innovative Senior Products Award.

GrandCare is a Featured Product in Senior Home Safety Article

Many seniors ask themselves, “Can I live alone safely?” The answer is a resounding “yes” according to GrandCare Systems. This good news is made clear in a recent article by Brittany Kovalick of Beltone.

Just before mentioning GrandCare, the article explains:

For seniors with health concerns, home-monitoring services can give you and your family greater peace of mind. Home monitoring services install wireless sensors in key areas of your home — such as the bathroom, bedroom and kitchen. Sensors can track your normal patterns of behavior. If they identify unusual patterns of behavior — your refrigerator door didn’t open — family or friends can be alerted. One service offers daily reports on movement in the house that caretakers or children can track on a web page or mobile phone.

GrandCare provides all these services, and we also offer a wide set of features that positively impact all areas of a senior citizen’s life. From games and video chatting to weather updates to pictures and messages from family, all on a large intuitive GrandCare touchscreen, GrandCare is a complete solution for the needs of your elder. Zero computer or technical expertise is necessary. In fact, most of GrandCare’s customers don’t even relate the GrandCare experience to using a tablet or a computer, it’s just that easy.

To find out more, please contact GrandCare at info@grandcare.com or call us at (262) 338-6147.

CEPro Highlights GrandCare’s Return to Home Tech

GrandCare Returns to Home Tech Channel, Teams with CEDIA on Aging-in-Place

Julie Jacobson · February 19, 2016
Read in full at www.cepro.com

GrandCare is coming back to the home technology channel, hoping integrators are ready to sell and install solutions for seniors, handicapped individuals and others aspiring to live independently.

For its first years in business, the company used the custom installation channel to deploy its products. It’s fair to say GrandCare was the leading force in educating integrators on the home-health market and encouraging other aging-in-place vendors to participate in the effort.

While home-health technology enjoyed a high profile for many years in the channel — from about 2009 to 2012 — few integrators were able to make a significant dent in the market. In 2013, GrandCare left the channel to focus on institutional sales to healthcare and affiliated organizations.

“GrandCare is re-launching a dealer program because the timing is right,” Laura Mitchell says. “Everyone is aging. That’s a demographic we have on our side.”

CEDIA [www.cedia.net], the trade association for home technology professionals, is getting in on the action too.

More information on the new GrandCare Dealer Opportunities is coming soon, with significant discounts for previously authorized GrandCare Dealers!