Tag Archive for: Andy Carle

GrandCare Systems is featured in the New York Times and Yahoo News!

NY TIMES: Smartphones, Smartwatches and, Now, Smart Toothbrushes

May 7, 2014 | New York Times

IN the last few years, sensors have become small and inexpensive enough to make the monitoring of practically everything possible.

“Sensors also are helping caregivers see and respond to what is happening while patients are on their own. GrandCare Systems and other companies make devices to monitor a person’s home. If the patient, say, walks out the front door at 2 a.m. or opens the refrigerator 15 times an hour, the caregiver will get a phone call or a text message.”

Read the full Article

System Comp 2

Yahoo! We have the technology to reinvent aging, so why aren’t we using it?  

May 7, 2014 | Yahoo News

[..] The key to that, he [Charlie Hilman, Founder and CTO, GrandCare Systems] says, is to keep the interfaces simple and to integrate health and safety features with ones that facilitate connectivity. “We put a lot of stuff into Facebook feeds and Skype,” he says. “And the tablet era has really helped a lot because seniors love tablets: big, bright, backlit screen; no keyboard; no buttons.” In fact, tablets have become so popular among seniors that Hillman credits the devices with transforming the way they view sensor technology. “It took a while for them to get over the Big Brother aspect,” he says. “But now it’s, ‘Well, I don’t want to move to assisted living, and I don’t want somebody I don’t know coming into my home every day to deliver care.’ So this becomes a best option.”

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GrandCare featured in Star Tribune article on aging and technology

We wanted to share the recent article by the Minneapolis Star Tribune on how enabling technologies are helping individuals to live independently, safely and happily at home.

GrandCare could not agree more with Andy Carle’s point of view on the acceptance of technology. When technology makes the quality of life better, it is accepted. When it makes life confusing and difficult, it is not. These seniors that we are discussing are the same folks that went from walking to flying and first put a man on the moon. They are not tech-phobic. We simply need to make the interface and user experience pain free and helpful.  At GrandCare, that has been a vision since day one. How can we bridge the generations and connect grandchildren and great grandchildren with their senior family members?  How can we find a middle ground when both generations prefer different methods of communication?

Note: As a clarification in the Star Tribune article, the GrandCare System is not an emergency response system.  Instead, GrandCare relies on a series of activity and telehealth devices to provide an overview of information on a loved one. The caregivers can set parameters to receive specified alert (unusual activity, doesn’t get out of bed, didn’t access medications, etc.). Designated caregivers can also log in to GrandCare’s web portal to add reminders, medication schedules and even video chat directly to the loved one through a simple and intuitive touchscreen appliance in the loved one’s home. Thanks again for shedding light on this emerging and innovative industry.

The new retirement: Technology

  • Article by: PAUL DUNCAN , Star Tribune
  • Updated: August 7, 2013 – 9:48 AM

It’s such a cliché: grandpa fiddling with the buttons on the cellphone he barely knows how to use, grandma struggling to remember how to switch the computer on. But is it true that older people don’t like technology and don’t use it?

The reality, says expert Andrew Carle, is completely different from the perception. Carle, director of the Program in Senior Housing Administration at George Mason University and a consultant on aging issues, coined the term “Nana Technology” for innovations that not only help our aging population, but actually can save their lives.

Carle was in Minnesota in June to give a talk to Aging Services of Minnesota in Brooklyn Center on “Nana Technology: Is There A Robot In Your Future?” This is a summary of his presentation:  

Why technology is important

In two words: Global aging, says Carle. The first of 78 million baby boomers turned 65 on January 1, 2011, and the population aged 85 and older is expected to more than triple from 5.7 million in 2010 to 19 million in 2050. And it’s not an American phenomenon; on the list of countries with the highest percentage of people over 60, the U.S. comes 43rd. The outcome, says Carle, is that global aging will affect us long before global warming. “Individuals who in 1968 thought they would change the world,” Carle says, “by 2028 actually will.” So how will we take care of all these seniors? The answer is: Technology…

Carle highlights these useful and potentially life-saving technologies for seniors…

 

Sandys Screen

GrandCare Systems (grandcare.com): An integrated system that uses sensors around the home to monitor health and wellness, and establishes a baseline of normal activities. Reports emergencies, and allows communication with the senior via an open TV channel or available touch screen unit

 

To read the full article: http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/goodlife/218580541.html

Fri 12-10-10 GrandCare speaks at Chicago LSN Tech Conference

When: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10
Where: Hyatt Lodge, Oak Brook, IL
Who: GrandCare Founder, Charlie Hillman and GrandCare Director of Business Relations, Laura Mitchell
What: LSN Tech Conference in Chicago

Educational Session
8C | 1.5 CEs 9:30am – 11:00am
Person-Centered Technologies for those Living Independently
Hear about the potential growth in the aging/technology industry that is predicted to reach $20 billion by 2020 according to industry analyst, Laurie Orlov.
Learn about technologies currently available on the market including ADL monitoring, medication management, fall detection, brain fitness and socialization technologies.
Describe remote environmental sensing, passive physiological sensing, artificial intelligence, and networking technologies that allow a caregiver to remotely and passively monitor a loved-one without compromising dignity or privacy.
Discuss technologies that focus on the importance of an active body, mind and soul by simultaneously addressing the loneliness and social isolation associated with aging.
Recognize how aging service providers can incorporate these technologies to better serve your current and potential clients.

Faculty: Laura Mitchell, Director of Business Relations, GrandCare Systems & Director on Aging Technology Alliance Board, Charlie Hillman, Founder & CEO of GrandCare Systems & CAST Commissioner, Pramod Gaur, PhD, Vice President Telehealth, UnitedHealth Group (invited)

George Mason University Establishes Nation’s First Degree in Senior Housing Administration

I posted the below press release, because this is a very telling sign for times to come, and I do believe that GMU is very forward-thinking in this industry!!!

George Mason University Establishes Nation’s First Degree in Senior Housing Administration

Master’s in Senior Housing Administration Targets Need for Executives in Assisted Living and Related Communities as Population Ages FAIRFAX, Va.—Building on its reputation as a pioneer in the senior housing field, and in recognition of National Careers in Aging Week (April 4-10), George Mason University has announced the launch of the nation’s first degree for executives seeking to manage the country’s nearly 50,000 active adult, assisted living, continuingcare retirement, and related senior housing communities. As approved by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, the new Master of Science in Senior Housing Administration (MSHA) will begin in the fall 2010 semester.“The first of 78 million baby boomers will turn 65 next year, and their interest and expectations for retirementhousing will be high,” says Andrew Carle, a former senior housing executive and director of the Program inAssisted Living/Senior Housing Administration. “Just as the Cornell School of Hotel Administration set the standard for the hospitality industry, we want to set the standard moving forward for senior housing.” Administered through the College of Health and Human Services, the degree will offer coursework in senior housing and health care administration, as well as an interdisciplinary range of topics including business administration, aging, ethics, health policy, assistive technology, therapeutic recreation, and Alzheimer’s disease. For the university, the degree expands its existing Assisted Living/Senior Housing Administration curriculawhich, when launched in 2001, was the first in the nation to offer both undergraduate and graduate concentrations dedicated exclusively to the field. More than 300 students have completed coursework within the Program to date, including internships within more than 60 senior housing communities. A cottage industry through the 1980’s, senior housing today is represented by a host of national and regional providers, with up to 400 communities each. Assisted living communities typically combine housing, hospitality and basic health care under one roof. Continuing care retirement communities, which include independent as well as assisted living and skilled nursing services, may house more than 2,000 seniors, employ more than 1,000 staff and manage real estate valued at more than $500 million. In addition to community administrators, large companies require regional, divisional and corporate executives. Administrator positions in current communities are typically filled by individuals with degrees in business, health care or nursing, but with the National Institute on Aging estimating that one of every five people in the U.S. will be over the age of 65 by 2030, demand for executives trained in the unique aspects of senior housing will grow. “The industry is projected to double to more than 100,000 communities housing 5 million seniors in the next two decades,” says P.J. Maddox, chair of Mason’s Department of Health Administration and Policy. “We expect executive positions in the field to be among the fastest growing career paths in the U.S.” Applications for admission for the new degree will be accepted through the College of Health and Human Services beginning April 1, 2010. The deadline to apply for Fall study is July 1, 2010. Additional information, including degree requirements, is available at http://assistedliving.gmu.edu, or by calling the Program in Assisted Living/Senior Housing Administration at 703-993-9131.

About George Mason UniversityNamed the #1 national university to watch in the 2009 rankings of U.S. News & World Report, George Mason University is an innovative, entrepreneurial institution with global distinction in a range of academic fields. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., Mason provides students access to diverse cultural experiences and the most sought-after internships and employers in the country. Mason offers strong undergraduate and graduate degree programs in engineering and information technology, organizational psychology, health care and visual and performing arts. With Mason professors conducting groundbreakingresearch in areas such as climate change, public policy and the biosciences, George Mason University is a leading example of the modern, public university. ####