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.
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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.
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“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!

 

 

GrandCare featured in The Guardian UK as a leading technology for aging

Ask Jack

What tech can I use to keep an eye on an ageing parent?

Stephen’s mother lives alone, and he would like some way of knowing that she’s OK, without her losing any of her freedom or independence

 

My mum is in her mid-sixties, and lives alone. She’s very active, but naturally we worry about things like: what if she falls or is otherwise incapacitated and can’t get to a phone? She has a Moto G (Android), so I’ve been looking for an app that can run in the background and notify me if certain conditions are met. Say, for example, she doesn’t use her phone for 24 hours. I’ve found one called Man Down, which I thought might do the job, but it would require her to log into the app regularly and set it up. I was looking for a “set it and forget it” solution. I’ve also searched for an IFTTT script – say, alert me if she doesn’t log into Facebook for a day – but with no success.

I’m looking for a light-touch solution. She’s not elderly, and I don’t want her to feel like she’s losing any freedom or independence. Do you have any suggestions? Stephen

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Countries in the developed world, particularly Japan, have aging populations, and monitoring the safety of older people is becoming a big business. It’s a market that American companies such as GrandCare Systems...are already addressing. The New York Times ran an interesting story about the subject: Technologies Help Adult Children Monitor Aging Parents. However, most require monthly payments, and I haven’t seen any similar services in the UK.

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Your mother will probably have heard of Age UK’s service, it retains her independence, isn’t intrusive, and would be entirely under her control. However, it’s relatively expensive, and it doesn’t do very much in comparison with American systems like GrandCare. That would allow you to monitor your mother’s weight and blood pressure, track her movements around the house, and know when she opened the fridge door, for example…

The cost depends on the features, and most are simpler and cheaper. However, a comprehensive system may well be worth the money if it enables an older person to continue living independently at home (in the US jargon, “aging in place“) rather than being moved to a care home

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Read the entire article here

 

GrandCare Systems starts at just $699 to install with a low recurring subscription charge.

Buy NOW

Knute Nelson awarded $350,613 for GrandCare technology incorporation

Today Knute Nelson of Alexandria, MN welcomed the MN Department of Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson to hear about their successful implementation of GrandCare technology into their home care service model.

Jesson announced $3.5M in grants to 27 home and community-based services, shining a spotlight on Knute Nelson, who received the largest amount of funding at $350,613.

“Home and community-based service providers are key to helping people with disabilities and older adults live independently, which is what most people prefer,” Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson said. “We have found that initiatives like this promote greater, lasting quality and efficiency and a better overall experience for people being served.”

MN Department of Human Services Press Release:

Alexandria site recognized for using technology to help for people with chronic diseases    July 01, 2014

ALEXANDRIA – Numerous providers of services to older Minnesotans, people with disabilities and the deaf and hard of hearing community will receive funding this summer to implement innovative projects designed to improve service quality.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services today announced $3.5 million in performance-improvement funding to 27 projects in 39 Minnesota counties. To be eligible for funding under the Home and Community-based Services Performance-based Incentive Payment Program, authorized by the 2013 Legislature, providers must put strategies in place to improve in a measurable way recipients’ quality of life and/or service quality, or deliver good, quality service more efficiently.

“Home and community-based service providers are key to helping people with disabilities and older adults live independently, which is what most people prefer,” Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson said. “We have found that initiatives like this promote greater, lasting quality and efficiency and a better overall experience for people being served.”

Jesson visited recipient Knute Nelon’s Grand Arbor senior housing facility in Alexandria today to announce the program and see a demonstration of the organization’s GrandCare technology. Knute Nelson Home Care is receiving $350,613 under the program to improve efficiency of services for people with chronic diseases living at home, including implementing GrandCare, an interactive touchscreen used as a communication portal between the client and family caregivers. Since 2012, Knute Nelson has used GrandCare to promote aging in place for older adults with support from a DHS Community Services/Services Development grant. 

  • Knute Nelson Home Care, $350,613 to incorporate GrandCare technology, an interactive touchscreen used as a communication portal between the older person and family caregivers, for people with chronic diseases living at home in Douglas, Grant, Stevens, Traverse, Big Stone and 20 other neighboring counties.

How do we shift the technology care delivery model to a pure outcome based solution?

The Digital Health Summer Summit was a success!  The team from GrandCare was there, showcasing the latest and greatest GrandCare System, designed for patient socialization and engagement, enhancing the patient experience, while enabling professional caregivers to turn their “man on man” caregivers into “zone caregivers”, providing better, more efficient, more cost-effective care.  Watch GrandCare’s chief medical officer, Laura Mitchell as she describes the shift in market traction and why our solutions should focus on the outcomes and not on the process.

The system is a vehicle behind a successful care delivery model, while putting the patient firmly in the center and emphasizing continuity and seamless transition throughout the whole care network (family, professional caregivers, healthcare providers, patient) and encouraging patient self care (chronic disease management), socialization with family and friends and virtual professional caregiving through HIPAA compliant video chat, medication prompting and check-in video visits.

GrandCare can better care delivery outcomes for:

– Professional In-home Care providers

– CCRCs without walls (Long Term Care Providers)

– HealthCare Providers (Hospital to Home Transitions)

– Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs)

– Hospice/End of Life Care

skype

Private Consumers can purchase direct: http://store.grandcare.com/category-s/1821.htmSystem Comp HR NEW

 

GrandCare Systems is featured in the New York Times and Yahoo News!

NY TIMES: Smartphones, Smartwatches and, Now, Smart Toothbrushes

By Eric A. Taub | May 7, 2014 | New York Times

IN the last few years, sensors have become small and inexpensive enough to make the monitoring of practically everything possible.

“Sensors also are helping caregivers see and respond to what is happening while patients are on their own. GrandCare Systems and other companies make devices to monitor a person’s home. If the patient, say, walks out the front door at 2 a.m. or opens the refrigerator 15 times an hour, the caregiver will get a phone call or a text message.”

Read the full Article

System Comp 2

Yahoo! We have the technology to reinvent aging, so why aren’t we using it?  

By Jeneen Interlandi | May 7, 2014 | Yahoo News

[..] The key to that, he [Charlie Hilman, Founder and CTO, GrandCare Systems] says, is to keep the interfaces simple and to integrate health and safety features with ones that facilitate connectivity. “We put a lot of stuff into Facebook feeds and Skype,” he says. “And the tablet era has really helped a lot because seniors love tablets: big, bright, backlit screen; no keyboard; no buttons.” In fact, tablets have become so popular among seniors that Hillman credits the devices with transforming the way they view sensor technology. “It took a while for them to get over the Big Brother aspect,” he says. “But now it’s, ‘Well, I don’t want to move to assisted living, and I don’t want somebody I don’t know coming into my home every day to deliver care.’ So this becomes a best option.”

Read the full article

GrandCare featured in “High Tech = High Touch”

A recent May 1 article in Health Data Management “High Tech = High Touch”, authored by Elizabeth Gardner, discusses the importance of technology for the senior population throughout the continuum of care and to help mitigate hospital readmissions.

She uses a few flagship technologies to exemplify how information technologies are helping individuals to stay healthy.

In a section titled “GRANDCARE: STAYING CONNECTED AT HOME“, Gardner interviews Evergreen, a Silicon Valley-based Long Term Care Provider utilizing the GrandCare solution, GrandCare’s VP of Business Development, Laura Mitchell and GrandCare’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Erick Eiting.

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Excerpt of the article:

A profusion of technologies can help people stay in their homes as they age, despite physical and mental disabilities: monitors and sensors to track vital signs and movement, the Internet for communication and entertainment, smart home features to control lights and temperature. However, tying them all together is a challenge beyond most elderly people and even the younger family members who may be caring for them.

That’s where GrandCare Systems, West Bend, Wisc., comes in. Started nine years ago, its goal is “to keep individuals safe, happy and independent at home, whatever that means,” says Laura Mitchell, vice president of business development.

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“I have a 95-year-old resident who reads bedtime stories every night to her great grandchild in Florida,” he says. “She just has to press the button with his picture and they’re connected. No turning anything on, logging in or memorizing phone numbers.”

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GrandCare Chief Medical Officer Erick Eiting, M.D., who’s also assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Southern California, thinks the system’s monitoring capabilities will be invaluable for improving communication between patients and their medical team.

“We can look at whether you’re taking your meds when you should be, and if not, why not,” he says. Problems with side effects can be headed off without requiring an office visit.

“We had one CHF patient who thought he was taking his meds, but we could see he wasn’t taking the evening dose of his diuretic,” Eiting says. “When we asked him why, he said it made him have to get up and go to the bathroom during the night. We increased his morning dose and that fixed it.”

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Click here to view the entire article

Digital Health & Professional Care: What’s the ROI?

Learn about how one GrandCare HomeCare provider successfully utilizes the GrandCare technology as a tool for clients to provide better, more cost-effective and visionary care. GrandCare & Knute Nelson co-presented at the AgeTech West Conference in Pasadena, November 2013. The audience: long term care and in-home care providers, looking to utilize activity and digital health telemonitoring and socialization technologies for a competitive edge and to improve their bottom line!!

Realizing the Value of Care Technologies through Implementation at Scale:
“The New Care Professional: Powered by Digital Health Technology”

PRESENTERS: Laura Mitchell, VP Business Development, GrandCare Systems and Daphne Karpan, Palliative Care Manager, KnuteNelson Home Care
Digital health, social engagement and remote monitoring technologies are designed to not only create a better care experience for seniors and their families, but equally important is enhancing the way professionals can manage the care needs of their clients. This session discusses how an easy-to-use, convenient technology platform has been integrated into a home care organization, empowering and transforming Professional Care Managers into efficient, more knowledgeable purveyors of care and support. Learn how integrating technology with hands-on services can change the way we care for those in need in the most efficient and cost-effective manner without compromising quality.

GRANDCARE SYSTEMS UNVEILS AT CES 2014 NEW ECOMMERCE WEB STORE

WEST BEND, Wisc. — January 6th, 2014 —

HomeBaseGrandCare Systems announced today at CES 2014 LVCC South Hall 2 Booth 25724 its new online web store at www.GrandCare.com, offering socialization, medication and telehealth packages. This debut launch of the GrandCare.com store showcases the company’s new direct-to-consumer model: a plug-and-play system that eliminates the need for professional installation.

“GrandCare is one of the earliest players in the aging and technology industry, which has given the company time to build out the most comprehensive and flexible platform on the market,” said GrandCare Chief Executive Officer, Dan Maynard.  “Seven years ago, the technology wasn’t there and we required professional installation through a network of dealers, but times have changed and now almost anyone can set up the GrandCare System, using our intuitive instructions and online help guides.”

The GrandCare HomeBase System is an easy-to-use and affordable consumer solution that offers a wide variety of sensor and feature choices in one comprehensive and expandable platform. It easily grows with changing needs.  Activity or digital health sensors can be added at any time.  The GrandCare HomeBase is the perfect solution for individuals that wish to remain independent, healthy and connected.

Family and friends keep in touch through photos, letters and one-button video chat.  Reminders and medication prompts can be enabled on the large and easy to read touchscreen.  GrandCare also enables family and professional caregivers through an online care portal. There they can set up alert parameters (e.g. being notified if someone fails to take blood pressure reading or doesn’t acknowledge medications were taken) as well as share care coordination notes.

The GrandCare HomeBase System can be utilized alone for socialization, reminders and prompts.  Digital Health Sensors and Medication Management features can easily be added right from the online store. More sophisticated packages including activity sensors and smart home devices can be purchased by contacting GrandCare directly.

About GrandCare Systems:
Since 2005, GrandCare Systems has provided the most comprehensive caregiving technology on the market, enabling individuals to remain safe, healthy and happy at home. GrandCare’s simple, touch platform enables a Resident to view pictures, receive incoming messages, watch videos, video chat with family, listen to music and play fun games. Using a series of wireless activity and telehealth devices, GrandCare can alert designated caregivers by phone, email or text if anything seems amiss (medications not accessed, glucose levels not taken, abnormal activity, etc.)

For more information: www.grandcare.com or call 262-338-6147.

GrandCare is exhibiting at CES 2014, LVCC South Hall 2 Booth 25724.

PR Contact:
Laura Mitchell
Media@grandcare.com
262-338-6147

GrandCare Systems Names Daniel Maynard as New Chief Executive Officer

WEST BEND, Wisc. – November 13th , 2013

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Digital health and remote monitoring pioneer GrandCare Systems, today announced the appointment of Daniel Maynard as GrandCare’s Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Maynard brings more than 25 years of industry experience to his new role having previously served as CEO and President of Connecture. Maynard replaces founder Charles Hillman, who has served as CEO since 2005. Hillman, an MIT educated engineer, will now serve as GrandCare’s Chief Technical Officer and as the company’s vision leader.

“We are delighted to add a person of Dan’s experience and expertise to the GrandCare team,” said Hillman. “Dan has a proven track record of driving and managing growth in the healthcare technology sector. I look forward to leading the product development team and providing a solution that is capable, reliable, scalable and affordable.”

“I had been searching for a proven, innovative technology solution with a large growth potential in the healthcare IT industry,” said Maynard. “GrandCare is already a well-respected and credible industry leader. I look forward to joining this great team and taking GrandCare to the next level.”

Daniel Maynard has held various executive roles in the health insurance technology industry, including sales, marketing, operations, software development, financial management and corporate development. Throughout his career, he has built and led several companies, including CCISoft, Riverwood Solutions and Connecture. In 1997, Mr. Maynard formed CCISoft, which he sold to Workscape in 1999. In 2001, he formed Riverwood Solutions and continued on as president and CEO throughout the 2004 merger with Connecture. He serves on the board at Hayes technology Group and remains a strategic advisor to Alithias and Connecture.

About GrandCare Systems:

Since 2005, GrandCare Systems has provided the most comprehensive caregiving technology on the market, enabling individuals to remain safe, healthy and happy at home. GrandCare’s simple, touch platform enables a Resident to view pictures, receive incoming messages, watch videos, video chat with family, listen to music and play fun games. Using a series of wireless activity and telehealth devices, GrandCare can alert designated caregivers by phone, email or text if anything seems amiss (medications not accessed, glucose levels not taken, abnormal activity, etc.).

For more information: www.grandcare.com or call 262-338-6147

PR Contact:
Laura Mitchell
media@grandcare.com
262-338-6147

Lutheran of Jamestown Smartments equipped with GrandCare receives positive evaluation from Leading Age

Kudos to GrandCare partners, Lutheran of Jamestown, for receiving positive evaluations on their usage of the GrandCare System for monitoring activities/wellness and socialization and family connecting, as well as various complementary technologies, throughout their Apartment “Smartments” community.

Sharon Hamilton, vice president of senior housing for Lutheran, an early and visionary adopter of remote monitoring and enabling technologies recently caught the attention of Leading Age for her usage of the GrandCare remote monitoring and socialization technology, as well as complementary technologies of other enabling and crisis management systems (think “help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”)

She was met with a very positive and encouraging evaluation by third party, vendor agnostic Leading Age of Washington, DC (formerly known as the American Association of Aging). Leading Age is an association of not-for-profit organizations dedicated to making America a better place to grow old.

Hamilton was smart to reach out to the organization and gauge an industry expert, who could take a non-partisan look at the usage of these technologies, in order to scale to a broader community base.

Dusten Rader from the Post Journal of Jamestown, NY wrote an interesting story titled, “Smartments Receive Positive Evaluation” on whether Leading Age found these Smartments to be effective and efficient. While conducting the assessment, the most cutting-edge of the technology solutions, including the GrandCare System were under a lot of pressure to prove their worth. GrandCare is a comprehensive digital health, activity monitoring, medication mgmt, socialization, video chat and infotainment technology to support individuals as they remain more independent, proactive, connected and self aware. The results were clear!

HomeBase

Leading Age’s senior VP, Robyn Stone was quoted in the Post Journal,
“I commend them on recognizing an opportunity,” Stone said. “And, also the notion that this isn’t something that was going to be done once and it’s over, rather that it’s going to be an interactive process. It’s hard for an organization to be a guinea pig, so to me that’s one of the assets of many of members – that they’re willing to think about the investment to really make this work. That is what I call continuous quality improvement.”

To read the full article click here: http://post-journal.com/page/content.detail/id/627641/Leading-Age.html?nav=5057

The Smartments: 737 Falconer St. in Jamestown. For more information, call 665-8197 or visit www.lutheran-jamestown.org