Tag Archive for: aahsa

Minnesota-based Aging Services Group exclusively selects GrandCare for member organizations

Aging Services Group Chooses GrandCare to Help
Senior Living Providers Better Serve Older Adults at Home

Innovative Technology Empowers Consumers, Removes Distance as Barrier to Care

“GrandCare was a natural choice for us. We are seeing an exponential increase to our aging population, while the relative number of caregivers and physicians is in decline,” said Jared Schei, Executive V.P. of Aging Services Group.”

Aging Services Group, a subsidiary of Aging Services of Minnesota, the largest association of organizations serving Minnesota seniors, has partnered with GrandCare Systems, to change and enhance the way traditional caregiving services are deployed for older adults in the state.

GrandCare Systems utilizes digital health and socialization technology to reduce health care costs and improve outcomes by enabling designated family members, caregivers and healthcare professionals to remotely care for individuals in their home, regardless of location.

Aging Services of Minnesota is eager to equip their member organizations with a comprehensive, fully-featured and flexible platform, helping them to provide better, more efficient and more cost-effective care.

“GrandCare was a natural choice for us. We are seeing an exponential increase to our aging population, while the relative number of caregivers and physicians is in decline,” said Jared Schei, Executive V.P. of Aging Services Group. “We believe technology will greatly help amplify care giver efforts and promote patient empowerment and family participation. With its extensive capabilities, GrandCare fits the needs of our members across the long term care continuum, whether they are providing home-based, facility-based, short-term stay or hospice care services.”

Minnesota caregiving organizations like Knute Nelson and LB Homes already utilize GrandCare’s digital health and activity monitoring technologies.

“GrandCare has changed the way we offer care,” said Daphne Karpan, Palliative Care Manager, Knute Nelson in Alexandria, MN. “Knute uses it to remotely monitor our clients’ vitals and quickly identify if a physical nursing visit is needed. It’s been a valuable resource for our hospice clients who use it for end-of-life conversations and video chatting with family.”

Dell Med Prompt
The heart of GrandCare is a large, easy-to-read touchscreen placed into the client’s residence providing medication prompts, family communications, one touch HIPAA compliant video chat, messaging, patient assessments, discharge information, scheduling, care plans and more. It is designed to empower and engage the resident, while providing information to improve health and outcomes. A series of optional wireless telehealth sensors can be used to automatically report and graph vital readings, and even notify a staff member if readings are outside of designated thresholds.

“GrandCare is a holistic platform, customized to address all human needs from physical to emotional to spiritual,” said GrandCare co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer, Laura Mitchell. “With remote telehealth monitoring and virtual visits, distance is no longer a barrier to providing efficient, secure and professional care.”

About Aging Services of Minnesota
Aging Services of Minnesota is the state’s largest association of organizations serving Minnesota seniors. Together with more than 50,000 caregivers, Aging Services members serve 63,000 older adults every day in all of the places they call home, including home care and services, independent senior housing, assisted living communities and skilled nursing facilities. Aging Services of Minnesota is the state partner of LeadingAge and state affiliate of Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA).

Aging Services of Minnesota Media Contact:
JODI BOYNE
Vice President of Public Relations
jboyne@agingservicesmn.org
651.659.1430 (direct)

About GrandCare
Since 2005, GrandCare Systems has provided the most comprehensive caregiving technology on the market, enabling care professionals to provide safer, faster and more affordable care. GrandCare’s simple, touch platform enables a Resident to self manage chronic conditions, follow health instructions, view family pictures, receive incoming messages, watch videos, and participate in secure video chat sessions. 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 vitals, etc.)
GrandCare Media Contact:
media@grandcare.com 262-338-6147 @grandcare

GrandCare exhibiting at LeadingAge Conference – BOOTH 2340

GrandCare will be joining Unified Alerts in a booth at the Leading Age Conference this October. GrandCare is no stranger to LeadingAge or CAST. GrandCare founder, Charlie Hillman, is a CAST commissioner and back in 2005, GrandCare was chosen as one of only 30 companies worldwide to showcase at the once-a-decade White House Conference on Aging in the “IMAGINE” Pavilion by CAST.  Come and meet GrandCare Founder, Charlie Hillman, see the GrandCare HomeBase in action and learn how GrandCare’s fully featured technology can help your organization to save costs, transform your caregiving staff into SUPER caregiving staff, save footsteps, connect staff & family in a cost-effective way, provide detailed wellness & assessment information for nursing staff, etc.   Leading Age, formerly AAHSA, is an association of 5,400 not-for-profit organizations celebrating its 50th anniversary and dedicated to expanding the world of possibilities for aging.

 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZtGOshrBPU&feature=player_embedded]

How Sensors Trump Surveys When Researchers Monitor Elders: LeadingAge Article

I had to share this article from LeadingAge – – Thanks LeadingAge for your help and support to forward the notion of using Enabling Technologies to remain independent and at home.

Read the full Article from LeadingAge: http://www.leadingage.org/How_Sensors_Trump_Surveys_When_Researchers_Monitor_Elders.aspx

How Sensors Trump Surveys When Researchers Monitor Elders

by Geralyn MaganPublished On: Jul 25, 2011

Two recent studies suggest that using sensors to monitor the health of older people will yield more complete, unbiased and accurate information than using low-tech monitoring systems that rely on consumers to self-report their health status through verbal or written surveys.

Better Compliance

In one study, researchers at the UCLA Wireless Health Institute and the UCLA School of Nursing found that older people with congestive heart failure (CHF) who used a remote health monitoring system called WANDA experienced a 5.6% reduction in abnormal weight and blood pressure readings. WANDA, which stands for Weight and Activity with Blood Pressure Monitoring, tracks patient health, takes relevant measurements and transmits readings to health providers by phone lines, Wi-Fi, or 3G cellular networks.

3 features make WANDA an effective way to monitor health and prevent emergency situations, say researchers:

  • It features an automated system for checking vital signs.
  • It sends reminders to patients to reduce dataset gaps.
  • It delivers data to physicians in real time.

Researchers say these features make WANDA a better option for people with CHF than a low-tech system, tested in a 2010 Yale University study, which relied on patients to phone in their readings to health professionals. After 6 months, only 55% of patients in the study were still reporting their readings, according to Information Week.

Fewer Issues with Bias and Recall

In another study, researchers at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice found that sensors were just as effective as traditional written questionnaires in collecting accurate data about sociability and activity among older people.

During the small study, researchers asked 8 residents of a continuing care retirement community to spend 10 days wearing waist-mounted, wireless devices that continuously measured the amount of time they spent walking, sitting and speaking with 1 or more other people.

Researchers concluded that the electronically collected data correlated strongly with the results of four written questionnaires completed by study participants. In addition, researchers suggested that having objective sensor-generated information could eliminate the bias and recall problems people can display when answering surveys or submitting self-reports about their activities. Study participants reported that the monitoring devices were easy to wear but said they found the surveys inconvenient and difficult to complete.

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  • About LeadingAge

    Who We Are

    LeadingAge is an association of 5,600 not-for-profit organizations dedicated to expanding the world of possibilities for aging. We advance policies, promote practices and conduct research that supports, enables and empowers people to live fully as they age.

    The LeadingAge Mission

    Expanding the World of Possibilities for Aging.

    The LeadingAge Vision 

    Continually transforming society’s vision and deepening members’ commitment to expanding the “world of possibilities” for aging.

    The LeadingAge Promise

    Inspire. Serve. Advocate.

9-15 GrandCare Aging/Tech Topic: State-Level Aging Services Technology Provider and Policy Initiatives

Every Thursday at 2p ET (1p CT), GrandCare Systems hosts an aging & technology industry call.

Thursday, 9-9-10, 2p Eastern Time
Topic: State-Level Aging Services Technology Provider and Policy Initiatives

Scott Peifer, MPPA, MSW, Associate Director Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST) speaks

The State of Technology in Aging Services in Ohiohttp://www.aahsa.org/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=11941&libID=11955
CAST, AAHSA in partnership with Association of Ohio Philanthropic Homes, Housing and Services for the Aging (AOPHA) released its fourth of a series of state-level reports on technology in aging services – September 2010

Join us: http://my.dimdim.com/grandcare
Optional Dial In listed on the webinar

Scott Peifer serves as Associate Director of the Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST), a program of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA). In this capacity, Scott leads CAST’s state-level policy efforts to educate and advocate for the advancement of aging services technologies to improve the aging experience. Scott previously served as Policy Director of Aging for Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, leading the policy and legislative activities of the Pennsylvania Department of Aging, and served as a Legislative Director in the Pennsylvania State Senate. Scott began his policy experience in California, first working for the California Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (now Aging Services of California), and as lead staff of the California State Senate Subcommittee on Aging and Long-term Care. Scott has earned a Master of Public Policy and Administration and a Master of Social Work from California State University, Sacramento.

Sponsored by Worthington Distribution

KAHSA Starts today!

The Kansas Association of Homes and Services for the Aging Conference starts today and from what we hear, it’s buzzing with excitement!  Aging Service Providers are intrigued and interested in adopting technologies to allow their residents more indepedence, freedom, safety & social connection with family members around the United States.  The staff can have “peace of mind” knowing the residents are being well cared for, save footsteps and time, and effectively and easily communicate with each other and multiple family members through the GrandCare System.  Life is good with GrandCare Systems!

Live footage of HC lifecare’s (grandcare dealer) booth: http://sharing.theflip.com/session/88f384ea88c01113eb07f753a709aa47/video/13311225