Tag Archive for: Age in Place

GrandCare Targeted as Must Have Comprehensive Tool According to Writer, Christine Halaba

Through the years, different generations found ways to help their elders cope with aging and its effects. The efforts of recent generations led to fruitful solutions such as the birth of home health care in Chicago and other parts of America. This allowed seniors to receive the health care services that they need in the comfort of their own homes. Aside from this, today’s generation has another weapon in its arsenal – technology.

We are living in a digital world, so it’s no surprise that several outstanding individuals found ways to create devices that are meant to aid the older portion of the population with their needs. These genius innovations are meant to assist aging adults – with the help of their caregivers – as they face the challenges of aging. If you are looking to equip your loved ones with necessary items to help ease the obstacles of growing old, check the gadgets below:

Medical Alert System

Several difficulties arise as people grow older and one of these is problems with mobility or balance. Older people are likely to fall down and injure themselves. In case this happens to your loved one, how will she be able to ask for help? Medical alert system, or Personal Emergency Response System (PERS), allows your loved one to contact you or her caregiver in case of an emergency.

Thanks to constant innovations, the PERS gadgets available in the market today are wireless and more mobile. You won’t have to worry anymore whenever your aging parents are out of your sight because they now have a means to contact you. At the same time, your parents will be at ease about moving around freely because they know that you are only a click away.

Automatic Pill Dispensers

Sometimes, people decide to hire home care because their loved one is becoming forgetful. This is especially problematic when your loved one has to take different medications for their ailments every day. With all those medicines, it might be difficult for her to remember which one to take at what time.

Good thing electronic pill dispensers are now available in the market. Electronic pill dispensers doesn’t only dispense pills, you can also set them to remind your loved one what medicine to take at what time. Not only that – this gadget can also alert you when your stock is running low! An automatic pill dispenser will allow your loved one to easily get her medicine and reduce the risk of forgetting when to drink them.

Pre-Programmed Phones

Most people rely on smartphones to stay connected with their friends and families anywhere. Despite this, older adults tend to shy away from phones. It can be difficult to convince your elders to use mobile phones because they sometimes find it too complex. That’s why the arrival of senior-friendly phones in the market is such good news.

Mobile phones are a good way to be in contact with your loved one especially if they are out visiting their friends or just strolling around the mall. Plus, it has other applications that can entertain your loved one like music and games. Just make sure that before you give the phone, your number, any of your immediate family member, and your caregiver’s are already pre-programmed in the phone directory.

GrandCare Systems

The three devices stated above are just some of the gadgets that your loved ones should possess at all to help them cope with the effects of aging. Although if you want, there is one tool that can deliver all the benefits of the said three gadgets and more! The GrandCare Systems is an advantageous device that allows your parents to contact their family and friends, view medication reminders, and access information. Basically, it combines the advantages of many separate devices into one tool!

Despite its many uses, your parents don’t have to be tech savvy in order to use GrandCare. In addition, you can access the care portal using any device and leave notes and reminders or just check on your parents. GrandCare is your parents’ all in one tool for communication and information.

Today’s generation is using technology wisely to create devices that will aid the older population as they deal with the effects of aging. Just remember that these tools are not meant to fully replace caregivers, rather, to help them assist an aging person. Before you buy any of the gadgets listed above, remember to discuss it with your loved ones first. Including them in the decision-making process – especially one that involves them – is a must.

Author Bio

Christine Halaba is a Communications degree holder and a freelance writer from the Philippines. Her contributions as a writer can be seen in different blogs for home care, advertising, and health and wellness. Her hobbies include leisure and traveling.  

Developing a New Model of Care

 

By: Laura Mitchell

The digital health technology industry is ramping up quickly, and everyone understands the critical and immediate need for enabling technologies to turn our man-on-man caregivers into zone caregivers. The technology works. Study after study proves that telemedicine does benefit patients, medication adherence technologies do help mitigate hospital readmissions, and that loneliness and isolation do decrease. The implementation difficulties lie not in the technologies themselves, but instead in the delivery of the model of care, utilizing these new omniscient technologies. So, how do we do it? That’s a whole different question.

The most difficult thing in this “new” aging in place technology industry is determining who uses the technology, who pays for it, and how to encourage resident and caregiver compliance with technology.

At GrandCare, we utilize digital health, activity remote monitoring, touchscreen-based socialization, media sharing, and video chat as a platform to connect caregivers to aging loved ones or clients, while providing the caregivers with proactive, preventative information to enable the safety and independence of the care recipient.

Sounds like a good idea, right?

We thought so…in 2005. That’s when we started this amazing and fantastically frightening journey of trying to convince the industry that there actually was a need. The trick at the time was to persuade the world that technology could actually play a role in helping to care for a loved one. The technology would NOT be a cyborg that dismissed the need for a personal caregiver, but instead could enhance hands-on caregiving. The notion would be that the centerpiece socialization piece would engage the care recipient by providing games, entertainment and information (weather, news, etc.), while connecting them to family through picture/video sharing, letter exchanges, scheduling, and one-touch video chatting.

Meanwhile, a series of optional wireless devices (bluetooth blood pressure devices, glucometers, motion detectors, indoor temperature readers, etc.) would sit passively around the home and report on potential red flags. For example, if a person did not get out of bed in the morning, didn’t access a fridge at mealtime or if the indoor temperature was out of range, someone could be notified.

To those nay-sayers of technologies to promote independence at home, I honestly don’t get it. Perhaps these are the same folks that were completely appalled at the idea of telephones. Would anyone personally visit anyone anymore? Or remember when answering machines came out and it was appalling to think about talking to a machine? I was involved in the very early days of an Internet Service Provider (the first in our county in Wisconsin) and I recall teaching classes called Internet fundamentals where I explained the “Internet” using library analogies, taught the finer arts of how to install Netscape Navigator on a CD. I taught HTML fundamental classes and advised a number of local businesses on how the Internet was going to better their businesses and why they needed websites. I recall many saying the idea was interesting, but their customers would NEVER be directed to a computer and instead would always demand to talk to a live person. Some of these same companies provide today the finest web experience, online stores and help centers with live chat features (yes, this does go to a real person).

The amount of horrified comments about how folks would rather die than have any piece of assistive technology was, well, insane. Forget about the irony in which people posted how much they hate technology on an Internet chat forum, but why the fear? Why the anger?

#grandCAREworks #ItActuallyWorks

Laura is a founding member of GrandCare Systems and remains a strategic growth advisor for the pioneer digital health organization.

Going above and beyond the traditional PERS

If you were around during the 80’s and 90’s, I’m sure you remember that clever catchphrase, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up”, and the television commercials from a certain maker of a medical emergency response systems. Fast forward to 2015, and a lot has changed in the way of digital health technology. The advent of smartphones, tablets, watches, fitness wristbands, and other devices are changing our world and just how mobile we can be without losing our connection to everything digital.

Let’s face it, we live in a fast paced world and people crave their technology gadgets, addicted sometimes, and when said gadget goes down for any reason, say, your kid drops it in the toilet, or you leave it in the bathroom at the airport in your rush to make your connecting flight…your digital life is temporarily ‘over’.

But, if you are someone over the age of 65, life tends to slow down a bit. Trading in chasing around kids to soccer practice, and making the early morning client meeting for a more relaxed lifestyle tending to a flower garden at home, enjoying time volunteering for local community causes, or even just unwinding in a favorite recliner while reading a good book. However, this newfound freedom and independence often comes with its own share of dangers of the unknown.

today's caregiver

According to a recent article by Today’s Caregiver:

Studies report that 30% of people who are over the age of 65 (about 35 million Americans) fall every year, and that these incidences increase to 50% for those over the age of 80.

It’s been estimated that at least 60% of all falls occur in the home… people with neuromuscular or cognitive diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, ALS and even diabetes fall even more frequently.

Whatever the reasoning, the danger still exists for someone who has taken a fall, especially if they are elderly and alone. For those who are unable to get up from a fall, the amount of time they spend immobile will greatly affect the outcome of their health and rehabilitation. In other words, a fall that results in a serious injury may signify the beginning of declining health that may become an irreversible, downward spiral.

So, how can you ensure your loved one won’t become a tragic victim of this downward spiral from a fall that goes undected? You could opt for a personal emergency response system (PERS), such as the one from the tv advertisements, but those require your loved one to actually push a button. What if your loved one suffers a medical episode which hinders their ability to push this button? This is a gap of the traditional PERS solution, a gap that our technology can help fill.

Introducing the grandCARE system solution which incorporates a series of passive activity and motion sensing devices to better monitor patterns of behavior instead of requiring the user to push a button. If there is no motion, excessive motion, or activity patterns that do not fit the norm, an alert will go out regardless of the individual person’s ability to engage the push button. Download: Gaps of PERS System Flyer

Learn more about how passive activity and motion sensing devices can provide you added peace of mind by visiting our website www.grandCARE.com.

Better Care Logo - Square - Standard - TMSystem Comp HR

About grandCARE:

GrandCare Systems LLC, founded in 2005, offers the most comprehensive and holistic professional care giving and health coordination tool on the market.  grandCARE is a large touch platform which provides health instructions, secure video chat, wireless vital recordings and analytics, medication compliance, activity sensing, and family communications into one intuitive and expandable platform.  grandCARE focuses on true individual centered care, enabling better experience, better engagement, and better outcomes. For more information, visit: www.grandcare.com or call 262-338-6147.

 Media Contact:

Amy Schwengels       262.338.6147   media@grandCARE.com

Note: “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” is a registered trademark of LifeAlert.

GrandCare Systems debuts new website

You may recall that late in 2014, we announced our new brand logo, identity, and new color schematics as GrandCare Systems looked to modernize and give our brand an updated and refreshed look. Expanding on what we started, we are aligning our new brand identity to our completely redefined sales and marketing strategy in the hopes to better target our product solutions to the various customer markets we serve on our newly redesigned website: www.grandCARE.com.

Introducing: Our all new grandCARE program solution strategy featuring Professional Care, Community Based Care, and Family Centered Care programs. While our product and its capabilities haven’t really changed, what is different is the way we are presenting it to each of the individuals and organizations our product is designed to benefit.

“When I first came on board, I started to evaluate our website immediately, because it is the most highly visible sales and marketing tool we have. In most cases, our website presents the first impression we make to our customers. My goal when redesigning the site was to take the new branding and color schemes and build on those ideas by developing very distinct program solution paths for visitors to take based on their specific personal or business needs,” said GrandCare Systems Marketing Analyst, Amy Schwengels.

Who We Help_pg 1Selection Guide
Along with an all new look and feel to the site, the new website includes two new sections to help users decide which program solution is best for them: Who We Help and Selection Guide.

“We wanted to create a more straight-forward approach to how we engage visitors on our website. We feel that by creating the color-coded program solution paths along with useful selection guide tools, we are able to better communicate with our customers and make sure that they are able to find more meaningful content on our site,” added Dan Maynard, GrandCare Systems CEO.

Additional information, questions, or comments regarding the new website can be directed to Amy Schwengels, Marketing Analyst at 262.338.6147, or please visit www.grandCARE.com and drop us a line on our Contact Us page. A media kit and other marketing materials are available on our website.

HomeCare Magazine highlights grandCARE as an aging in place solution

HomeCare Logo

GrandCare Systems was recently featured in HomeCare Magazine in an article by Graham Miller about aging in place. Technology is transforming the way both aging populations and health care professionals view and manage health care, with the reality being that the best way to keep people out of hospitals and long-term care is through prevention. Digital health tools, such as the grandCARE system, can be the key to greater prevention and managing long-term health needs for seniors.

In the article, Graham Miller writes:

“Every day, tens of thousands of Americans are turning 65, and three factors—longer life spans, rising health care costs and aging baby boomers—are driving the growth of this demographic. An overwhelming percentage of these aging adults desires to stay at home, maintaining an active, independent lifestyle for as long (and as safely) as possible.”

“The Affordable Care Act has changed how both consumers and companies view health care,” says Dan Maynard, president and CEO of GrandCare Systems. “The cost of health care continues to rise, especially for the aging populations that require more frequent and longer-term health care monitoring.” A large part of the new legislation focuses on hospital readmission reductions and consequences for reactive versus proactive care, he says, and there are significant financial incentives for hospitals to actively work with Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs) to reduce costs associated with patient readmissions. Products like grandCARE incorporate resident information and support, captured resident data and professional caregiving tools, encouraging everyone in the caregiving support network to work together to achieve true patient-centered care. “A path of a patient/provider partnership results in better outcomes for both the patients and the caregivers because it creates greater efficiency for the caregiver staff by allowing virtual care, which results in fewer at-home visits,” says Maynard.

Our product is designed to reduce health care costs and improve outcomes by enabling family members, caregivers and health care professionals to remotely care for an individual living at home. The system uses a large touch screen in the residence, which provides the individual with social communications, health care monitoring, visual daily reminders and medication prompts. The easy-to-use interface means that no computer skills are needed for the resident to engage in all of the touch screen features. The system also supports virtual video visits, telehealth device recording (which takes vitals such as wireless blood pressure readings, weight, pulse oximerty, glucose and thermometer readings) and remote in-home activity sensing.

We recently incorporated a new professional caregiver and user task management feature into the system, which allows the resident and caregiver to follow a daily schedule of tasks (such as medication administration, caregiver education, scheduled appointments, etc.).

Caregiver showing grandCARE user new task list feature on the resident's touchscreen.

Caregiver showing grandCARE user new task list feature on resident’s touchscreen.

“This new feature enhances the resident engagement aspect by giving the resident a daily to-do list and establishes complete transparency for professional caregiving organizations by providing a task list that is required to be completed during home visits,” says Maynard.

– See more at: http://www.homecaremag.com/aging-place/mar-2015/smart-home-solutions-aging-population#sthash.Hxk28Xpy.dpuf

Kiplinger Report Highlights grandCARE in new report

Technology Helps Seniors Remain at Home

A variety of gadgets help the elderly keep their independence and age in place.

By Sally Abrahms, From Kiplinger’s Retirement Report, March 2015

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. A growing number of seniors are turning to state-of-the-art digital tools — via smartphones, GPS, voice activation and sensors — that enable them to stay put indefinitely.

……By 2017, experts expect this market to reach $30 billion. “The aging-in-place technology field is exploding,” says gerontologist Katy Fike, who co-founded San Francisco-based Aging 2.0 in 2012 to advise start-ups geared to boomers and seniors…

 System Comp HR11-13Randall Schafer, 61, of Houston, Tex., uses his grandCARE system to Skype with his mother, 90. (She just pushes a button to videochat.) “My mom is in love with our dog, Daisy,” Schafer says. Her “face lights up” when she sees the schnauzer, he says.

Keeping in touch. You might be able to stay in your home, but you can get lonely. Technology can help you feel connected to friends and family — and sometimes even to medical professionals.

With an interactive touch screen from grandCARE Systems (www.grandcare.com, 262-338-6147), you can look at a photo of a grandson’s Halloween getup 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

skype

Randall Schafer, 61, of Houston, Tex., uses his grandCARE system to Skype with his mother, 90. (She just pushes a button to videochat.) “My mom is in love with our dog, Daisy,” Schafer says. Her “face lights up” when she sees the schnauzer, he says.

An added feature: The system can transmit health data, from glucose and blood pressure to weight and oxygen readings. For example, a blood pressure cuff with a wireless Bluetooth medical device will record and relay the readings to caregivers…

Read the entire article here

grandCARE can be purchased for a loved one Here
Are you a professional care provider, medical provider or housing organization?  Contact grandCARE for volume purchasing options.

grandCARE featured in Improving Seniors’ Home Safety Through Software IndustryView

Software Advice, a resource for software buyers looking to improve their home heath and long-term care services, recently featured GrandCARE in their report on senior home safety:
“Some vendors, such as grandCARE Systems, cater to average families and home health agencies alike. These vendors’ products and services include sensors that can be configured to send out alerts, wireless touch screens to facilitate communication for seniors, telehealth support and more.”

“Seniors aging at home are constantly at risk for life-threatening falls,” says Market Researcher Gaby Loria. “We wanted to take on this topic in our research report as a way to highlight home safety initiatives, measure adoption rates for those initiatives and explore technology’s growing role in keeping older Americans safe in their houses.”

The results signaled many older Americans and their families are hesitant to implement both traditional and tech-based home safety measures. “The bulk of our findings are surprising because we expected seniors to embrace tools and technology that would minimize their risks for hospitalization while allowing them to age at home,” says Loria. “This just goes to show why it’s so important for home health agencies to act on their own opportunities for promoting a safe environment in patient homes.”

grandCARE products

grandCARE products

Read the whole article here

grandCARE mentioned as innovative digital health devices for caregiving

Digital Health Devices Now Used By 41% of U.S. Home Caregivers

By

Parks Associates is out with a new report showing that 41% of caregivers in U.S. broadband households currently use a digital health device as part of their “caregiving routine,” (including 8% who use online tools to coordinate their efforts.”

“Among U.S. broadband households, 22% have a head of household who currently provides care for a family member or anticipates doing so in the near future,” said Harry Wang, Director of Health & Mobile Product Research at Parks Associates.

…

“At 2015 International CES, we’ll see many new digital health devices and software on display, including innovations from companies such as…Grandcare..These innovative solutions will find strong interest among current caregivers, but they will also have high standards to meet in improving the ways caregivers can monitor their family members.”

read the full article here

grandCARE Featured in Venture Beat

How tech is helping seniors live at home, not in a home

January 21, 2015 8:00 AM

GrandCare calls their homecare monitoring system the “comprehensive care solution”, perhaps not a far-fetched description. Their system offers a wide range of features, including activity sensors, and a telehealth device that wirelessly records blood pressure, pulse, glucose, weight, and temperature readings. In the center of the system is a senior-friendly touchscreen providing individualized reminders, instructions, and medication prompts. GrandCare also has a social component with virtual video visits, chat, and shared calendar events.

Better Care Logo - Square - Standard - TMMost seniors would like to remain independent, and continue to live in their own home as long as possible. It’s important that they can do so in a safe way. Technology can help ease the worries about not knowing if an aging family member has wandered off, hurt themselves, or forgotten to take their medication.

The elderly population in the U.S is expected to double between now and 2050 (and presumably also the healthcare costs), making it even more important to better facilitate remote patient monitoring. At the same time, investment in tech to meet the needs of the coming age bubble have been doubling down. Here are a few interesting tools that can assist the elderly to stay safe in their own home.

[…]

Homecare monitoring systems

By using sensors placed in different locations at home, daily activity movements can be safely monitored. If and when a senior opens the refrigerator, goes to the bathroom, or takes their medication, this can all be tracked and analyzed. If something out of the ordinary happens, the caregiver will be alerted. For example, if dad has spent an extended amount of time in the basement, this could be due to a project he’s working on – or it could be a fall or other kind of emergency. If the refrigerator hasn’t been opened for a long time, this could indicate poor eating habits.

[…]

GrandCare calls their homecare monitoring system the “comprehensive care solution”, perhaps not a far-fetched description. Their system offers a wide range of features, including activity sensors, and a telehealth device that wirelessly records blood pressure, pulse, glucose, weight, and temperature readings. In the center of the system is a senior-friendly touchscreen providing individualized reminders, instructions, and medication prompts. GrandCare also has a social component with virtual video visits, chat, and shared calendar events.

[…]

Read the entire article here.
This sponsored post is produced in association with Humana.

grandCARE receives 9.7 out of 10 on the Senior List Product Review

Product Review: grandCARE

The Senior List (read the entire review here)

GrandCare Systems
9.7 out of 10

I get really excited about new technologies, systems, and emerging companies.  Especially if they’re built with the goal of making peoples lives more livable.   GrandCARE Systems is one of those companies that’s easy to get behind!  GrandCARE Systems is a communication tool, care management asset and activity-sensor-hub all wrapped up in an easy-to-use touchscreen device.

Connectivity Tools For Seniors

The grandCARE System offers connectivity for seniors.  It keeps them connected to family members, caregivers, and healthcare providers alike.  Family members are able to share photos, videos, and messages through the care portal (which can be accessed through any device with an internet connection).  Caregivers can set up activity reminders and medication prompts.  Medication reminders take on a whole new look with photos of pills and dosing information.

Healthcare providers are able to set up sensors around the home that can detect motion, establish sleep patterns and even send an alert if the refrigerator door has not been opened in the morning.  The system also supports telehealth devices such as blood pressure monitors, scales, pulse oximeters, glucometers, and thermometers.   All of this can be done while monitoring and engaging even the most technology-averse seniors.GrandCare Systems offers connectivity to seniors

GrandCARE allows every person involved with the senior to contribute in their own way.  It allows people to feel more integrated into their loved ones lives. — Daphne Karpan, Home Care RN

Thegrandcare systems communication tool grandCARE touch screen interface is very easy for the front end-user, presumably an older adult that may not be familiar with computers or modern tech.  It’s also easy for family, caregivers and providers who are connected on the back-end.  Monitoring seniors at home can make a great deal of sense.  GrandCARE just makes it easier!  Personally, I can also see this system being a welcome addition to any long distance family member situation.  Family members can easily send photos, videos and personal notes to share.

We reviewed a competitor of grandCARE in the past called Video Care.  Even though Video Care isn’t around anymore, their users have been incorporated into the grandCARE system.

 VideoCare used different hardware than grandCARE but we invested in testing our software to the point we can simply send VideoCare customers a USB drive that installs GrandCare on their current VideoCare touch PC.   It has made a number of people happy and we are proud to almost seamlessly migrate clients and their caregivers from VideoCare to grandCARE with almost no interruption in service. — Jerry Furness, COO of grandCARE

GrandCare Systems Monitor

GrandCARE Systems (grandCARE) recently released MediKall, which is a HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) compliant video chat for providers to talk to clients and patients about medical conditions.  HIPPA compliance means your medical and personal information is protected/safe. GrandCARE can be used with a wired or wi-fi internet connection, so it’s a very flexible solution.

Buying a grandCARE System

Cost is $699 for the system and requires a $49 monthly subscription.  There are no additional charges for use of health devices, sensors, or alerts.  Some users are able to access this system through their home care, home health, hospice, or senior care living facility at a reduced cost.  Ask your provider if they have grandCARE connected into their network.  If you’re interested in the grandCARE System for a family member or a friend, by being a member of The Senior List community, you can receive 10% off of the purchase price.  Tell them you read about it here!

GrandCare Systems

$699 + $49 monthly

GrandCare Systems
9.7

Easy of Use 9.5/10

Scalability 9.8/10

Access from Anywhere 9.9/10

Accessible from Multiple Devices 9.9/10

Pros

  • – Can be used in any setting
  • – Socialization
  • – Activity Monitoring
  • – Telehealth Recording
  • – Medication Management

About Amie

Mom, Business Owner, and Blogger. Expert on senior-care issues, particularly senior housing solutions. Loves a good challenge and tough obstacle courses. Co-founder of The Senior List and The Senior Resource Network.

Comments

    • Thanks Amie. I did speak to the director of product development at GrandCare today to determine if my grandmother’s dementia would prevent her from using this. The interface is completely customizable so that we are able to remove all but video conference button. If she is still unable to understand how to use the unit, it can be controlled remotely so that we can launch the video conference and also control sound remotely and my grandmother would not need to do anything.