GrandCare Nominated for the 2013 Senior Living Awards – Most Innovative Product

SENIORHOMES.COM
2013 BEST SENIOR LIVING AWARDS


nominee-large“The SeniorHomes.com 2013 Best Senior Living Awards aims to identify and highlight top resources, people, providers and organizations in a wide variety of caregiving and senior living categories. Using a combination of public votes and a professional, standardized rating process, we’ve uncovered the most comprehensive, useful resources, influential people and forward-thinking organizations in the senior living space.”

MOST INNOVATIVE SENIOR LIVING PRODUCTS

“With the coming wave of aging baby boomers, hundreds of entrepreneurs are bringing innovative senior living products to the market, many designed to help seniors maintain their independence at home. We’ve identified the most innovative, out-of-the-box products which offer seniors independence or improved lifestyles.”

VOTE FOR GRANDCARE TODAY!

Since 2005, GrandCare Systems® has provided the most comprehensive caregiving technology on the market today, 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 something seems amiss.

When PERS alone is just not enough…

I read a great article today by MobiHealth News’ Neil Versel.

“Panic Buttons for Seniors Must Go”

He shared a story about his own grandmother who was living in a facility with panic buttons. She had a fall and because she was unable to press the button, she ended up not receiving help for 8 hours. He called for more passive monitoring soutions that did not require involvement from the individual in order to effectively work.

Clearly at GrandCare, this topic is of utmost importance… I don’t think there has to be only one solution. Perhaps a combination of several pieces can cover several areas.  We combine digital health technology (what are her vitals, is she taking her medications, touchscreen education, prompts & assessments) as well as Activity of daily living remote monitoring…what you were talking about – a series of motion/temp, door, bed sensors can passively give relatives and caregivers information on someone’s routine activities… could this have saved her life? Not sure… but you certainly would have known MUCH sooner that she hadn’t been moving around, perhaps she missed a medication dosage, perhaps you’d be notified she didn’t access the fridge at mealtime or hadn’t used a bathroom in a number of hours.

07a_GrandCare_Taking_BP_on_the_HomeBase_full

The perfect fit is having a combination of a PERS in Conjunction with a system like GrandCare.  If someone is experiencing chest pain and is capable of pressing a button, a crisis mgmt system could be a life saving device.  If someone is having other symptoms (excessive weight gain, wandering, noncompliance, failure to return to bed during the night, etc), the only way you would remotely know that is from a Digital Health/ADL system.  There are some very forward-thinking providers and in-home caregivers out there that have seen the professional caregiving POWERED by technology is the way to go.  I think many times a provider looks at technology as THE solution and instead, it needs to become a vehicle to provide a solution instead of letting the tech define the care.

So who is blazing the trail? Who is doing this right… Just a few honorable mentions go to:

LivHOME’s CareMonitor™ powered by GrandCare Systems®:
One of the largest in-home care providers who combine hands-on care management, caregiving & technology as one complete solution to keep folks independent at home.
www.livhomecaremonitor.com

Lutheran Homes of NY in Jamestown, NY:
They have created SMARTMENT™ homes that combine GrandCare’s digital health monitoring and socialization along with a Personal Emergency Response System and Activity of Daily Living Monitoring!!

I believe the digital health and activity monitoring space is heating up…It’s an exciting time to be a part of this disruptive industry!  Thanks again to Neil for the insightful, personal and thought-provoking article!!

Laura_05
Laura Mitchell, GrandCare Systems
VP Business Development
www.linkedin.com/in/laurahmitchell

Why Z-wave is Impacting Digital Health: A LIVE Interview

Recently at the Z-Wave Alliance fall summit, GrandCare’s VP of Business Development was interviewed on Digital Health, what GrandCare does and how Z-Wave is impacting the Digital Health market.  Watch what the Z-Wave customers have to say in this LIVE interview from Z-Wave Fall Summit Press Interview. Laura Mitchell chimes in at about 2 mins and 30 seconds.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78tQiPsYUQk&feature=youtu.be]

GrandCare’s Laura Mitchell Nominated for TrailBlazer Award

GrandCare’s own Laura Mitchell has been nominated by the Digital Health Industry for the WEGO Health Activist “Trailblazer” Award!

You can support this nomination by endorsing Laura today!

GrandCare spotlighted at Z-WAVE Fall Conference

GrandCare’s Laura Mitchell recently returned from the Z-Wave Fall conference after keynoting on Digital Health and the GrandCare System (how z-wave plays a critical role).  Z-Wave has really taken an active role in engaging in the digital health industry and GrandCare is excited to be spotlighted as a Z-Wave Featured Company on the Z-Wave Alliance Website.

“At the forefront of the Connected Aging space, GrandCare’s System connects via the Internet and communicates with wireless Z-Wave sensors throughout the residence. At our Fall Summit, VP of Business Development Laura Mitchell will deliver a presentation on the GrandCare system and how Z-Wave provides empowered independent aging.”    Visit the Z-Wave Alliance website here

Lindsey from Residential Magazine attended Mitchell’s presentation and had this to say:

By Lindsey Adler November 2,2012

… This year’s event highlighted three key note speakers, including Laura Mitchell, VP of Business Development at GrandCare.  GrandCare’s “aging in place” technology has benefited from situations where senior citizens are transitioned from hospital emergency rooms to outpatient centers and eventually their own homes. GrandCare’s value add is software, Mitchell explained, meaning they work with existing protocol devices to develop unique health solutions with any range of hardware. “The key to this industry is partnerships,” she said. For CEDIA dealers, this means developing working relationships with long term care providers, outpatient centers, and other healthcare facilities.

…

To read the full article, click here. 

Z-Wave Alliance Featured Company: GrandCare Systems

Demographics throughout the world point squarely to an aging population.  In the US alone, 77 million Baby Boomers have begun turning senior, and 44 million of these individuals are already acting as caregivers to elderly parents and loved ones. Many nations in Europe and Asia are even older per capita.  We are in the midst of a senior population bulge that will last for the next 20-30 years.

Accessible monitoring, control and alert solutions powered by Z-Wave provide invaluable assistance to the wellness and convenience of these Boomer seniors — as well as the elderly loved ones for whom they are caregivers. These connected aging solutions are, and will continue to be, a vital demand for this enormous emerging market.

Nick McLain, CEDIA – On Digital Home Health

Nick McLain has recently written a great article on entering the digital home health field. He covers not only the basic demographics and applications, but takes a moment to point out the challenges and need for integrators to really understand the health care industry.  He used industry experts: Laurie Orlov (Age in Place Technology Watch), GrandCare’s own, Laura Mitchell, and GrandCare partner, Tom Ardolf of Cybermation .

“This is more about understanding home health care and its industry than it is about understanding the technology, which most integrators can get pretty easily.” – Ardolf

Digital Home Health Continues Its Ascent –
But Is It Viable for the CE Industry?

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Nick McLain

Ed Thelen, 69, of Cold Spring is able to live in his apartment with the help of an integrated monitoring system marketed locally by Cybermation.
Jason Wachter, jwachter@stcloudtimes.com

“You’d be hard pressed to find a bigger endorser of digital home health technology than Ed Thelen of Cold Spring, Minn.

That’s not how the 70-year-old originally felt when his daughter, who also acts as his caregiver, proposed getting such a system a year ago. “My first reaction was, ‘I don’t need anything like that,’” he says. “But she talked me into it, and I’m really glad she did. It’s absolutely wonderful.”

Thelen, who has Parkinson’s and diabetes, records his blood pressure and weight, and the results are sent to his doctor. The unit he uses, a Grandcare System, also has Skype capabilities so that Thelen can talk to and see his relatives, and in particular his grandchildren, often. “I can see them all the time now,” he says. “It helps me keep in close contact with everybody.”

Telehealth, digital home health, remote monitoring, aging in place, e-health, m-health — whatever you want to call it, the industry, which aims to deliver health care remotely through technology, is a burgeoning one. Laurie Orlov, an industry analyst and founder of Aging in Place Technology Watch, puts the size of the digital home health care industry at approximately $6-7 billion — and growing.”

…

Laura Mitchell, vice president of business development for Grandcare Systems, says many of her dealers lower the initial upfront cost of the equipment and instead spread it out over monthly fees. After the equipment is paid for, the monthly fees are pure profit.

Ardolf started offering digital home health products and services in 2010. After two years, he is so satisfied with it that he sold the low-voltage electronic portion of his business, and now Cybermation focuses exclusively on digital home health.

Read more at www.cedia.net/blog

Technology and Its Benefits to Helping Adult Children, Caregivers and Seniors Live Better Lives

We wanted to share another great blog article by Mark Phillips, Product Manager at GE Healthcare IT.

Can Technology Help Adult Children, Caregivers and Seniors Live Better Lives?

Mark Phillips

Every day the aging population is growing at a significant rate, and at the same time, technology is taking off at a remarkable pace. So why not combine the two to help adult children take care of their aging loved ones without sacrificing their independence?   He has successfully addressed the key needs the Aging and Technology industry faces and has defined them as below:

      • Support seniors in living their absolute best life where they want to live it!
      • Keep families and caregivers connected, even across long distances
      • Support and promote socialization
      • Promote safety and peace of mind
      • Assist with activities of daily living
      • Help coordinate the myriad of care activities
      • Enable easy interaction with community services and businesses
      • Are easy to setup, intuitive, and easy to use
      • Are affordable to acquire and to keep

Phillips goes on to describe the issues that caregivers and their aging loved ones face and then gives some viable techology solutions as a vehicle to provide better, individualized, and more efficient care. GrandCare is mentioned as a stand out solution “these guys are the blaze, the trail pioneers in the market…”  GrandCare’s VP of Business Development, Laura Mitchell, is described by Mark as “a tireless champion for aging in place technology and who has delivered many blogs and webinars to help spread the word”.

Check out Mark Phillip’s complete blog Here.

Knute Nelson Home Care opens in Little Falls

Recently opened in Little Falls, Minnesota, Knute Nelson Home Care offers skilled nursing services, home health care and various types of therapies for its clients. This non-profit organization focuses on providing services ranging from personal care like cooking and cleaning, to mental health assessments and ensuring a safe environment for the clients. One of the key features of the Knute Nelson Home Care is the utilization of advanced technology.

The most innovative of Knute Nelson’s technology is GrandCare which ties the technologies available, plus more, into one package.

“It includes a computer touch screen which has the medication reminders, Lifeline or PERS right there,” said Diede. “It will help manage our clients weight and blood pressure. It will show exercises for physical therapy, with a real therapist doing the movements right along with the client. Another feature is allowing family members to upload photos of the family to their loved one along with showing videos of a grandchild’s sporting event or recital in real time. There are also Skype capabilities.”

The full article can be found at mcrecord.com