Tag Archive for: aging and technology

9-15-11 Aging &Technology Webinar – Technology in Senior Housing: Marketing Supportive Technology

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Thursday September 15th Aging/Technology Webinar:

Date: Thursday, September 15th, 2011
Time: 2pm EDT (1pm CDT / 12p MDT / 11am PDT)
Location: http://grandcaresystems.webex.com

Topic: Technology in Senior Housing: Marketing Supportive Technology

Though existing and emerging technology has great potential in improving the quality of care in senior housing, providers continue to face barriers in implementing the supportive technologies in these settings.  In this webinar, we will discuss known obstacles and describe effective ways of modifying a sales presentation to focus on the benefits to counter the barriers based on the specific needs of your audience.

Take Away Points:

  1. Accurately report benefits and challenges of implementing technology into a care plan
  2. Adapt to meet needs
  3. Quality training crucial for success

Our Speaker: Amber Lee, Prelude

As a leader in Prelude’s At Home initiative, Amber is responsible for identifying and delivering innovative solutions that improve care delivery and increase the quality of life for each family she serves.  Her dedication to creating meaningful relationships drives the extraordinary customer service that is the Prelude standard. Amber has a distinctive background in serving others who are navigating transitional decisions.  Years of working intimately with families in challenging situations has contributed to her aptitude for understand and empathizing with clients.  She has a unique ability to match technology offerings and care strategies to real life circumstances and is able to offer a fresh approach in responding to family concerns while balancing quality, efficiency, and less costly care options.

“I feel blessed that my love of people, particularly elders, has turned into a gratifying career.  I have the pleasure of interfacing with and educating families on the available resources to help mom and dad live in their own homes.”

Our Sponsor: GrandCare Systems

GrandCare combines aspects of “Smart Home” automation technology, internet communications, social networking designed for residents, telehealth assessment, activity of daily living monitoring, cognitive assists, medication management and two-way video chat technologies, into a flexible, user friendly and affordable package. Available since 2006, GrandCare Systems offers the most comprehensive and fully featured aging and technology system on the market today.

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Brand New GC Med Tablet Unveiled at CEDIA: GrandCare Systems booth 4754

GrandCare is thrilled to unveil our latest portable tablet – GC Med Tablet at CEDIA!
Once again, GrandCare is proud to again sponsor the Future Tech Home Pavilion at CEDIA: BOOTH 4754.
GrandCare will also be moderating several of the Home Health Technology Sessions and GrandCare’s VP of Marketing, Laura Mitchell, will be leading a seminar on the How-To’s of in home health technology sales.

Portable GC Med Tablet

The GrandCare System will be shown in 2 locations on the CEDIA show floor and there will be three GrandCare Stocking Distributors exhibiting and ready to answer your questions at CEDIA: Home Controls (4754), JNL Technologies (4754) and Worthington Distribution (430)

The Future Home will be displaying a GrandCare System HomeBase along with a full range of sensor options including motion, indoor temp, door, bed/chair, telehealth (BP, Weight, Pulseox), Stove/Appliance Monitor, RxTender Medication Sensor, Big Red Buttons and more… You will also see the brand new GC Med Tablet within the Future Home Pavilion.

The show floor is open Thursday/Friday 9a – 6p – Saturday 9a – 5p

If you would simply like a demonstration of the system, you can stop by anytime or shoot an email to any of our authorized distributors to arrange a personal meeting.
1. JNL Technologies (www.jnltech.net) Booth 4754
2. Worthington Distribution (www.worthdist.com) Booth 430
3. Home Controls: Home Health Tech (gcdealers@homecontrols.com) Booth 4754

– For a Full Listing of Home Health Tech Events led by GrandCare Systems at CEDIA: http://grandcare.wordpress.com/2011/08/16/mark-your-calendars-home-health-tech-events-at-cedia-2011/

– Meet The GrandCare Staff & fellow AgeTek members for an informal No-Host mixer on Wednesday Sept 7th, 6-8p Pullman’s Lounge, Crowne Plaza Hotel, 123 Louisiana Ave

See you in Indy!!!!

9-01-11 Aging & Technology Webinar – “One Patient, Many Providers: A Blueprint for Successful Care Transitions”

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Thursday September 1st Aging & Technology Webinar:

Date: Thursday, September 1st, 2011
Time: 2pm EDT (1pm CDT / 12p MDT / 11am PDT)
Location:http://grandcaresystems.webex.com

Topic: “One Patient, Many Providers: A Blueprint for Successful Care Transitions”

In this webinar you will learn how effective care transitions play a critical role with both clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction. This timely program addresses effective care management techniques that improve care transitions, identify the main causes of avoidable hospital readmissions and describe how to use simple project management techniques to manage complex patients across the care continuum.

Purpose of Presentation:

  1. Describe practical methods to prevent “bouncebacks.”
  2. Learn how care management and coordination based on project management techniques assists patients and families with their own self managed care.
  3. Define main reasons for re-hospitalization.

Our Speaker: Kathy Heery, RN, MS, CCM

Kathleen Heery RN, MS, CCM is a certified, RN Geriatric Care Manager and Homecare Consultant and owner of Healthcare Solutions for You. Kathy’s approach focuses on an elder’s ability to remain independent in the community and the capacity to fund needed services. Kathy has served as national director for a large homecare company, global director of care management services and has developed/implemented care coordination program/services for various organizations. Additionally, she is an active member of the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers. Kathy has been managing care transitions for the past few years and has recently co-authored a book on “Ending Hospital Readmissions: A Blueprint for Homecare Providers.”

Our Sponsor: GrandCare Systems

GrandCare combines aspects of “Smart Home” automation technology, internet communications, social networking designed for residents, telehealth assessment, activity of daily living monitoring, cognitive assists, medication management and two-way video chat technologies, into a flexible, user friendly and affordable package. Available since 2006, GrandCare Systems offers the most comprehensive and fully featured aging and technology system on the market today.

Want to be kept up to date on all things aging and technology?

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GrandCare SUPER-HEROES…

The GrandCare System was designed to help individuals stay independent at home for longer, reduce hospital readmissions, reduce the need for paid in-home staff visits, turn caregivers into “SUPER” caregivers allowing them to be multiple places at once.

Our system is simply placed into a home and offers two aspects:
1. Remote Monitoring: remotely monitor activities of daily living (sleeping, eating, med access, door openings), vitals (blood pressure, weight, pulseox, glucose). Caregivers can customize automated phone/em/text alerts (if someone doesn’t get out of bed, noncompliance, door opens during the night, etc.)

2. Communication/Socialization: 2-way interactive video chat via skype, incoming messages, emails, reminders, voicemails, games, videos, weather/news, calendar appts, etc – RIGHT on an interactive touch panel. Zero computer experience is needed.

 

Seeking a sponsor for our Thurday, September 1st webinar – “One Patient, Many Providers”

If you enjoy the free bi-weekly webinars created and hosted by GrandCare Systems, consider a $50 webinar sponsorship!  The sponsorship helps to defray costs for the webinar service. Sponsorship includes listing in all social media, Company Description & log inclusion in 2 email blasts sent out to over 1500 subscribers prior to the topic date. If you would like to support this webinar, please contact us at info@grandcare.com or dial 262-338-6147

Please include a company one paragraph description as well as a logo. Thanks! Your friends at GrandCare Systems!

Thursday September 1st Aging & Technology Webinar:

Date: Thursday, September 1st, 2011
Time: 2pm EDT (1pm CDT / 12p MDT / 11am PDT)
Location: http://grandcaresystems.webex.com

Topic: “One Patient, Many Providers: A Blueprint for Successful Care Transitions”

In this webinar you will learn how effective care transitions play a critical role with both clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction. This timely program addresses effective care management techniques that improve care transitions, identify the main causes of avoidable hospital readmissions and describe how to use simple project management techniques to manage complex patients across the care continuum.

Purpose of Presentation:

  1. Define main reasons for re-hospitalization.
  2. Describe practical methods to prevent “bouncebacks.”
  3. Learn how care management and coordination based on project management techniques assists patients and families with their own self managed care.

Our Speaker: Kathleen Heery RN, MS, CCM

Kathleen Heery is a certified, RN Geriatric Care Manager and Homecare Consultant and owner of Healthcare Solutions for You. Kathy’s approach focuses on an elder’s ability to remain independent in the community and the capacity to fund needed services. Kathy has served as national director for a large homecare company, global director of care management services and has developed/implemented care coordination program/services for various organizations. Additionally, she is an active member of the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers.

Kathy has been managing care transitions for the past few years and has recently coauthored a book on “Ending Hospital Readmissions: A Blueprint for Homecare Providers.”

8-04-11 Ageing &Technology Webinar – HealthCare Reform & Provider Financing

Watch/Download Here

Thursday August 4th Aging/Technology Webinar:

Date: Thursday, August 4th, 2011
Time: 2pm EDT (1pm CDT / 12p MDT / 11am PDT)
Location: http://grandcaresystems.webex.com

Topic: A Discussion on Provider Financing

In this webinar, you will learn about the opportunities and  challenges that healthcare reform may pose with respect to your balance sheet, and how an asset-based loan can help smooth cash flow.

Take Away Points:

  1. What is an asset-based loan?
  2. Learn how to start and smooth cash flow
  3. Understand how healthcare reform will affect care providers

Our Speakers:

Jennifer Sheasgreen, Doral HealthCare

Jennifer is Managing Director of Doral Healthcare Finance, a healthcare asset-based lending company.  She has more than 15 years of leadership experience in the healthcare financial services industry. She has successfully built market share, enhanced profitability and has a strong foundation in the credit and the regulatory issues of healthcare finance. She has previously held senior positions in two healthcare start-ups.  In 2007 she helped establish Marquette Healthcare Finance, a de novo division of Marquette Business Credit where she developed and implemented policies and procedures, managed all aspects from audit and underwriting to legal negotiation, closing and funding as well as portfolio management. Jennifer has sourced deals and managed several types of healthcare financing products, including; factoring, asset-based revolving lines of credit, term loans, cash flow loans, real estate loans and a self-pay credit card product.  She is certified as a Fellow of the Healthcare Financial Administration (“HFMA”).

Dan Santos, Williams Mullen

Dan Santos is a regulatory and corporate attorney at the law firm Williams Mullen, and is a member of the Firm’s Long Term Care Industry Service Group and its Health Care Practice Group.  Mr. Santos has extensive experience representing health care clients on a multi- state basis and at the federal level. He regularly counsels health care providers in transactional and regulatory matters, including hospitals, health systems, skilled nursing facilities, behavioral health companies, physician groups, rehabilitation clinics, and home health agencies, among others. He frequently interacts with federal and state health regulators on his clients’ behalf regarding compliance issues, such as investigations,enforcement actions and reimbursement issues.

Our Sponsors:

Doral HealthCare Finance

Doral Healthcare Finance is a nationwide provider of healthcare, asset-based loans up to $20 million.  Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Doral Healthcare Finance is part of Doral Financial Corp (NYSE: DRL).  Doral Healthcare Finance’s competitive advantage includes a low cost of capital and an a well capitalized parent with a strong commitment to the healthcare industry.  Doral Healthcare Finance lends against Medicare, Medicaid, Commercial and Institutional accounts receivable.

Williams Mullen

Williams Mullen is a full service legal and governmental affairs firm of over 300 attorneys and professionals with offices in Washington D.C., Virginia and North Carolina.

Want to be kept up to date on all things aging and technology?

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A Connected Living Boom for Boomers

An article from viodi.com
June 21st 2011
By Ken Pyle, Managing Editor

Declining population and an aging demographic are challenges for many rural U.S. telecom operators and their communities. These challenges may be even greater in other countries, such as China where it will only take 26 years for its population aged 65 and over to increase from 7 to 14% of the general populace (as compared to 76% for the U.S.). Where there are challenges, there are also opportunities and the focus of last week’s 8th Annual Boomer Venture Summit at Santa Clara University was on the opportunities to serve an aging population through new devices and services.

Greg O’Neill, PhD, of the National Academy on an Aging Society, indicated that as societies move from an agricultural to industrial to service economy and get wealthier, they also make a demographic transition from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates. There is concern that some of the developing countries will make this transition too quickly and that they will, “Grow old before they grow rich.”

Panel at 8th Annual Boomer Venture SummitOne implication of this demographic trend is that China will not be the low-cost labor competitor in 10 years. O’Neill thinks there is an opportunity to create products and services for the growing senior market, whether in the U.S or internationally. The challenge may be making these products and services affordable.
Panel at 8th Annual Boomer Venture Summit

Scott Collins, president and CEO of Linkage, which is essentially a buying organization for senior living communities, warned of “A wave of poverty coming down the road.” He said that affordability is a key need.

One organization that is morphing to reflect a changing environment is AARP. Jody Holtzmann, SVP of Thought Leadership for AARP, emphasized how AARP has to be mission driven, instead of organization-driven. Their mission of improving the quality of life of all, as people age reflected the conference exhibitors and speakers who offered up products and services such as:

  • A Cellular radio-based, inexpensive Personal Emergency Response System, from SurePod, that provides mobility and a two-way voice connection to a call center in the event of an emergency.
  • Body Area Networking – ReFlex Wireless, a start-up has developed a series of wireless sensors for monitoring parameters such as pulse, heart rhythms, position and envisions applications both within the hospital and at home.
  • More than just transportation, SilverRide provides companionship and personalized activities for their customers. Reliable transportation is an important element in helping people age at home.
  • Flipper Remote – a simple, six button remote control. Their new model promises to tune Internet video programming as well.
  • Home Health Tech – a distributor to dealers of technology that helps people live independent in their own homes. Home Health Tech distributes products from GrandCare Systems and Presto were featured in this video interview at CES 2011.
  • Cookstop – stovetop fire prevention, which turns off the stove if motion isn’t detected in a user-determined amount of time. They are finding that it has use from seniors to college students.

The Cookstop product is indicative of a design approach that AARP advocates in their recently issued report, “Connected Living for Social Aging: Designing Technology for All.” In the forward to that report, Holtzmann suggests that, “the ‘lens’ of every user group must be a conscious part of the design function.”

An underlying assumption to the report is the availability of some form of wired or wireless broadband. AARP sees broadband, coupled with new devices, transforming the way people volunteer, socialize and work in their senior years. The report advises vendors to move forward with better products that will help baby boomers stay connected and live social lives; echoing the theme of the 8th Annual Boomer Venture Summit.

Why Digital Home Health Isn’t Selling by Jason Knott

Here’s an article from CE Pro  June 20th 2011 By Jason Knott – his view on Why Digital Home Health Isn’t Selling….what do you think??? To read the article: http://www.cepro.com/article/why_digital_home_health_isnt_selling/  

Dealers lack the sales skills for digital home health market that is ready to take off.

As the residential market continues to flatten and integrators seek out alternatives, why haven’t more dealers looked into digital home healthcare? After taking a full-day GrandCare Systems training recently at Home Controls Inc., here are a few of my conclusions.

The market is growing: There will be 70 million senior citizens by the year 2030, double the number from the year 2000. This one is even more mind boggling: there will be 1 million people over the age of 100 by the year 2050. Almost none of us will able to afford nursing homes.

The systems are profitable: Systems from companies like GrandCare offer healthy margins for dealers.

The systems offer recurring revenue: Dealers can earn solid “alarm-like” recurring monthly revenues from home health systems.

There is an entry-level option: Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS) offer a lower-cost option to “get your feet wet” in the market.

Systems are easy to install: The GrandCare System is stand alone, it does not and cannot integrate with a home control system. That might be a drawback in terms of providing a totally seamless solution for customers, but is probably not a reason for not even offering these systems. Plus, the installation is way easier than installing a control system or even an A/V system.

There is no liability to the dealer: In the case of GrandCare, the system liability is borne by the manufacturer, not the integrator. Besides, the system is not a PERS. It is not designed to detect when granny falls down the stairs.

Since all the stars seemed to be aligned for aging in place systems, why aren’t they selling? The only conclusion I can come to is that integrators are unwilling to put in the sales effort. For the average integrator, the systems are not easy to sell. The sales process requires educating both the caretaker and/or the family of the elderly client. It can be slow with a lot of hand-holding.

Selling digital home health also means you have to establish relationships with a new set of partners (nurse care, physical therapists, oxygen supply providers, etc.), and A/V guys don’t want to do that.

If you want to put in the work, the home health market is ripe for the picking. If you don’t, then you will be on the outside looking in on a market that is unquestionably going to be huge.

Am I wrong?

CE Pro  June 20th 2011 By Jason Knott

About the Author

Jason Knott, Editor, CE Pro
Jason has covered low-voltage electronics as an editor since 1990. He joined EH Publishing in 2000, and before that served as publisher and editor of Security Sales, a leading magazine for the security industry. He served as chairman of the Security Industry Association’s Education Committee from 2000-2004 and sat on the board of that association from 1998-2002. He is also a former board member of the Alarm Industry Research and Educational Foundation. Jason graduated from the University of Southern California.

5 Comments

Posted by Paul Self  on  06/20  at  10:04 AM

I believe it is more about the transition from the AV/Home Theater dealer to being a true Electronics Systems Contractor (ESC). This industry is struggling to transition from “Home Theater” guys to really address the electronic needs of our lives (even as we age). This same speed bump happened with IT services and video gaming. The CEDIA market practically fought back because it was not home theater, whole house AV, or control system. The industry is still struggling with energy management, which is a lot more than energy monitoring. This industry is at an important juncture that will require a lot of dealers to adjust to being a true ESC.

Posted by Stephen  on  06/20  at  12:41 PM

Have you ever tried to sell tech to old people?

Posted by Paul Self  on  06/20  at  01:03 PM

Therein lies the problem. This article is about selling piece of mind to care givers and helping an aging population live in their own home with autonomy. It isn’t about selling technology to old people. They do not want to live in a “old people’s home”. They want to live at home and not be a bother to their children. They key is to sell the benefit, not to sell the technology. The CEDIA market is struggling past that transition of selling the cool technology and start selling the benefit. We are touching everything electronically in the home, and yet we ignore a major lifestyle shift, aging in place.

Posted by Jason Knott  on  06/20  at  01:17 PM

Paul is right on. The primary sales target is the family member and/or caregiver, not the elderly “loved one.”

Posted by Laura Mitchell – GrandCare Systems  on  06/21  at  09:17 AM

This is an interesting article, Jason, thanks for posting!

I see a few reasons why the market has been slow to accept!  One of the problems was technology in general!  It took a while to really get a hold on the industry!  We started selling GrandCare back in 2006, set up a dealer network in 2007.  Some of it was just a waiting game, waiting until the market caught up with the early dealers’ visions.

I think in a lot of ways, all of our dealers have been extremely visionary, so often way ahead of the curve. They saw the need, they saw the solution years before the general public noticed.

So, some of it was just getting prepared, waiting it out, getting educated and educating their local population on the solutions available.

I do agree with you that so often, there is much more hand holding and explanation/education involved (at least for now) in this industry. We often find that many of our dealers that are successful have experience already in the elder care market OR have been smart to partner with an aging expert.  Some of our dealers have partnered or hired on a geriatric care manager, nurse, continuum of care expert, etc.  These partners are the ones that know HOW to talk with the caregivers/loved ones AND they know how to identify problems and help to solve them using technology.

It’s darn hard to sell something to a demographic that you really know nothing about. For this very reason, in 2008, I started up industry wide aging/technology webinars. They were designed to educate our dealers on the aging market and how to apply tech to those situations!  They are still happening – the 1st and 3rd Thursday of every month – we meet here: http://grandcaresystems.webex.com (all are welcome)

Biggest mistake is when a dealer joins this market to “make a quick buck” – it’s not an easy sale, but it IS fulfilling, heartwarming and as an added bonus, the margins are good!

Thanks for the post!


GrandCare featured in: The Homes-built for-Boomers Boom

Great article about GrandCare Canadian Reseller, UberHome!  The article describes the GrandCare technology that UberHome provides!!

As the largest generation of the last century approaches their senior years, the aging-in-place philosophy looks to become the next great revolution in housing.

Baby Boomers

What do today’s baby boomers and Disney’s Peter Pan have in common? According to research done by Doctor Donald Shiner of Mount Saint Vincent University, they both feel as though they will never grow old. Now everyone knows that acting young can keep you feeling young at heart and possibly lead to a longer life, but Dr. Shiner is warning boomers that denying or neglecting the fact that they are aging prevents boomers from making necessary changes to their home and lifestyle.

“1,000 boomers are turning 65 each day as of January 2011 for the next 20 years,” explains Dr. Shiner. “There is no way Canada as a country can take care of that many people. Hospitals and senior housing just won’t have enough space and the country just can’t do it financially.”

This age wave is a ticking time bomb the residential housing industry has been discussing for years. Now that many are aware of the issue, industry leaders are undergoing significant changes to accommodate Canada’s rapidly aging population.

Aging-in-place is the new term, and builders and renovators who understand the issues of an aging population are starting to educate boomers on options available to make life comfortable, safe, and accessible. Aging-in-place design principles can be applied to almost any style of home.

“Builders are now faced with an opportunity to make life better for all clients as they age,” says Dr. Shiner. “Not only can the home have a higher resale value, but the space becomes accessible to seniors, the disabled, children and anyone recovering from an accident.”

Aging-in-place modifications can be as simple as changing the doorframes from 32 inches to 36 inches, or installing a comfort-height toilet with grab bars in the bathroom. The bathroom is an accident-prone space not only for seniors, but also for adults and families, and renovations can be done now to keep people out of the emergency room and safe in their own home.

Read more

Why wouldn’t available Technology be used for good?

I was inspired when reading this article http://www.itweb7.com/health/healthmonitoring-technology-helps-seniors-living-home/#comment-206084  Health-Monitoring Technology Helps Seniors Living at Home

The author discusses what seems like the obvious, technology actually does help seniors to remain independent at home. But, we need more articles like this showing that technologies have always improved our lives (as a whole) and why wouldn’t that be applicable to seniors too?
***Note that  technology can be abused (like anything else in the world), and should be used responsibly.
Since the beginning of times, enabling technologies have always entered, making our lives easier, better, faster and allowing us to become more connected (distance becomes less of a barrier). Can you believe that people weren’t really even actively using the Internet about 15 years ago? Now look at us today!! How fast the world changed!!! Disruptive demographics have always been followed up with enabling technologies. In the late 1800s, New York City had a problem of too much manure, and dead horses piling up city blocks. A blue ribbon commission was called in to “fix” this disruptive demographic. Their solution was that there is NO solution! In a few years time, they predicted that NY City would be many feet high in manure. Well, as we all know, that did not happen. A professor (Daimler) was in Germany coming up with the Internal Combustion Engine. This enabling technology came in as a solution! Today we are facing another disruptive demographic, the massive aging boom. Technology ABSOLUTELY will play a vital role as an enabling solution. But much like a car, the technology will do very LITTLE good without people (cue the drivers) analyzing and assessing the ADLs and tele-wellness as well as using the tech to connect to their elders and to promote long distance, virtual socialization. At GrandCare, we write the software and use computer hardware, but we say the smartest part of our system is the ‘Wetware’ and that is the person sitting in front of their PC, taking a look at the vitals, looking at the graphs, setting up the alert rules and sending the communications (TRUST THE WETWARE).

GrandCare Systems combines Home Automation, Activity of Daily Living Monitoring, Telehealth Assessment, Social Networking, Video Conferencing and Internet Communications into ONE comprehensive and simple to use system!!!!

www.grandcare.com / info@grandcare.com