Tag Archive for: Age in Place

Home Controls Launches New Division to Meet Demand for Affordable and Easy-to-use Aging in Place Solutions


Home Controls Launches New Division to Meet Demand for Affordable and Easy-to-use Aging in Place Solutions
Home Controls, Inc., an award-winning company that has offered innovative products and services for the home automation industry since 1989, today announced that it has launched Caregiver Systems (www.caregiversystems.com), a new division committed to providing high quality, fully automated communication and wellness reporting solutions for seniors and those living with disabilities. Caregiver Systems was founded to provide a unique and innovative system that allows seniors to “age in place” while providing peace of mind for their families. Caregiver Systems by Home Controls combines knowledge and expertise in home automation solutions with an affordable, fully installed, interactive and easy-to-use system that provides 24/7 wellness reporting, activities of daily living and communications.

According to a June 2009 report from the AARP Policy Institute, the population 65 or older is projected to grow by 89 percent between 2007 and 2030, more than four times faster than the population overall. This aging population will skyrocket by another 118 percent between the years 2030 and 2050 as Baby Boomers reach 85. There are approximately 44.4 million caregivers in the U.S., who are struggling to care for their aging loved ones because of the astronomical costs of assisted living and full-time nursing care.

“With the huge growth of the senior population, we saw a definite need and market opportunity for an easy-to-use, automated solution that allows people to stay in their own homes with increased peace of mind. Most people don’t realize that affordable home technology that works hand-in-hand with human interaction to delay or avoid the need for assisted living is available,” said Home Controls President Ken Kerr. “We believe our new division offers one of the most innovative and comprehensive solutions available, combining wellness reporting, communication and cognitive tools into a single system. Care facilities also benefit by reducing administrative work and increasing value to residents and their families.”

Leveraging its 20-year history in home automation and the unique technology developed by GrandCare Systems (www.grandcare.com), Caregiver Systems by Home Controls is able to offer its customers the most advanced, feature-packed aging in place technology available today. It combines aspects of home automation, online communications, wellness reporting, activities of daily living alerts and cognitive tools into one easy-to-use, affordable package that pays for itself in the first 30 to 90 days of use. Caregiver Systems’ partners provide installation services and a thorough, personalized orientation on how to use the simple touch screen system.

Caregiver Systems – Complete, Simple, Effective

Caregiver Systems does not require separate systems for seniors and caregivers. The system consists of one touch screen monitor and wireless “wellness sensors” placed throughout the senior’s home. The wellness sensors monitor and collect data on important health indicators, including blood pressure, glucose levels, weight, activity and motion, sending wellness reports directly to a secure Web page accessed by the caregiver or family member.

Caregiver Systems is also a complete communication system. Relatives, friends and caregivers simply go online to send messages, reminders and pictures right to the touch screen. The senior needs no computer experience to receive full benefit from Caregiver Systems.

The Caregiver Systems solution includes:

– A central unit consisting of a sturdy touch screen monitor that connects to any full-time Internet connection

– “Wellness sensors” which are discreetly placed around the residence to report activity and wellness to the system

– One touch access to cognitive games, family pictures, appointment reminders and messages

– Complete system installation and family orientation

– Full monthly support of non-emergency functions, health and activity monitoring/reporting

– Personal Emergency Response System (PERS) for 24/7 EMT monitoring and response (optional)

“The beauty of Caregiver Systems is its simplicity. It provides all of the features you’d expect for a top of the line aging in place solution, yet it’s affordable; paying for itself in about three months,” said Cheryl Kerr, division manager of Caregiver Systems. “We deliberately made the price competitive in order to reach millions of seniors and disabled individuals that want to stay independent in their own homes, and to also help millions of caregivers who are making the ultimate sacrifice for their loved ones.”

Caregiver Systems is available for installation, anywhere in the U.S., now. To receive more information on the affordable aging in place alternative from Caregiver Systems, please call 1-858-693-5545 or go to: www.caregiversystems.com.

About Caregiver Systems

Caregiver Systems, a division of Home Controls Inc., offers an affordable, fully installed, easy-to-use wireless communication, activity and wellness reporting system that enables seniors to age in place with increased safety, security and dignity while providing caregivers and family members with peace of mind. Care facilities also benefit by using this solution to enhance their services, improve communication and increase patient interaction.

For more information on how you or your loved one can age in place safely and securely please call 1-858-693-5545 or go to www.caregiversystems.com.

Author Information

Lori Scribner
Caregiver Systems by Home Controls

how in-home caregiver agencies can increase profits

FROM: http://yourhomeservesyou.com/blog/2010/06/11/how-in-home-caregiver-agencies-can-increase-profits/

“Posted by Administrator • 0 comments • Friday, Jun 11, 2010
As a home care agency, you’re probably acutely aware of the increasing needs of our aging population. As demand for your services increases, qualified caregivers will become more difficult to find. Other agencies may offer better compensation, or they will work privately. You need some way to distinguish yourself from other agencies, to offer more value to your clients, and to increase the efficiency of your caregiver employees. Partnering with a GrandCare and home automation companies could provide you all of these things.
There are good reasons you haven’t partnered with any kind of technology companies. You want your customers to spend their money with you, not with somebody else. This would be true if there were only a finite number of customers to be had. In fact, the number of potential customers continues to grow as the population ages. Technology solutions allow you to:
Offer your clients more than your competition.
Care for more clients with the same payroll expenses.
Realize increased profits by offering services that relate directly to the technology.
Reduce liability risks by using technology as an unbiased witness to the quality of your care.
Increase customer retention by allowing your clients to remain in their homes longer than they otherwise could.
Hire and retain better caregivers by offering training, certification and easier record keeping.
Increase the satisfaction of your customers by keeping them connected to family, friends, caregivers, healthcare professionals and the world.
Offer technology that reduces vulnerability to telephone scammers who contact your clients.

use technology to work with healthcare professionals to care for your clients

GrandCare offers the user a simple touch screen interface
Home automation companies can adapt the home to meet the unique and changing needs of your clients in ways that can preserve their independence in a similar fashion to universal design. Automation can cause the lights in the house to flash on and off to notify someone hard of hearing that the doorbell is ringing. Automation can close garage doors if they are forgotten, and won’t forget to turn on security lights in the evening. Automation systems can detect flooding and shut off water if a tub overflows. Automation systems can allow family members or caregivers to verify all the doors and windows are closed from anywhere in the world with an internet or telephone connection.

Tele-wellness systems, such as GrandCare Systems can record wellness readings and verify activity without privacy robbing cameras. One caregiver can rotate from client to client without neglecting others, because programming created for each client’s unique needs will text message, email and call to alert the caregiver to unusual conditions. These could range from wellness measurements outside of normal to not getting out of bed at the usual time. Wellness measurements, caregiver notes, arrival and departure time as recorded by door entries or “clocking in” via the GrandCare System can document caregiver activity as well as client activity such as taking medicine. Calendars for the clients are available to family and caregivers for easy coordination of transportation to doctors or visits with friends. Caregivers can leave notes on the system for other caregivers that are not visible to the client.
Both GrandCare and automation systems can help defend your caregivers against accusations of theft. If valuables are stored in jewelry boxes, dresser drawers or closets, the time and date of them being opened can be recorded for comparison against caregiver activities. If something goes missing from a jewelry box but it wasn’t ever opened when your caregiver is in the home, it could prove innocence without question.
Your benefits and savings depend upon how you and your technology partners learn to benefit each other. They’re used to finding solutions to unique situations and to adapting to their client’s needs.
If you would like to learn more about increasing your profits, contact artdunn@yourhomeservesyou.com. Even if you’re not in the northern California area, there are networks of dealers across the country you would be able to consult with locally.
As always, I’ve promised my blog readers that I’ll completely disclose if I’m writing about a product or service that I or my employer offer. My employer is a GrandCare dealer as well as a dealer for Home Automation Incorporated, an automation system.”

Thanks Your Home Serves You!!!