Please note that GrandCare Systems will be exhibiting at the AgeTech Conference in California on November 15th. We will be in booth 250
See the floor plan http://cahsah.org/educational_events/Expo/AgeTechExpoHall.asp

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

November 3, 2011

Contact: Kristy Oriol

Tel: 916- 469-3383

Announcements from Leading Technology Companies to Occur at Conference Highlighting the Imperative of Technology-Enabled Care for Older Californians

Pasadena, California – November 15, 2011 AgeTech California, a joint initiative between the California Association for Health Services at Home (CAHSAH) and Aging Services of California, will host California’s premier provider technology event – the Annual AgeTech California Conference & Technology Expo at the Hilton Hotel in Pasadena, California from 8am-5:30pm. Attendees of this conference will learn from leading experts about “Tech-enabled Care Management at Home: Our Future Imperative.” Experts will provide cutting edge information on technology-enabled care and business models that reposition wellness and health care in the place people call home, saving scarce resources while delivering the most satisfying products and services to older Californians. In addition, twenty industry technology companies will showcase their products and services in this intimate setting.

“As we age, our technologies can become even more valuable to us, but it is not about the next ‘gifted gadget.’ Instead, the most useful technologies will be those that present intuitive and unobtrusive solutions that foster connectedness while preserving autonomy and independence,” said Dr. Joseph Smith, Chief Medical and Science Officer at the San Diego-based West Wireless Health Institute. Dr. Smith will be delivering the closing keynote presentation.

Media is invited to attend an interactive lunch session where exhibitors will discuss new product launches and advances in eCare technology. Product announcements include:

· AOD Software becoming the first and currently only Electronic Health Record to be CCHIT Certified® 2011 LTPAC. This will advance the progress of Electronic Health Records to meet the achievements of other areas of healthcare like inpatient and ambulatory settings. This makes long term care well positioned to participate in the future of Accountable Care Organizations and interoperabilityAOD Press Release

· Dakim’s BrainFitness upgrade of their touch screen platform to showcase its award-winning brain boosting program Dakim Press Release

· GrandCare’s collaboration with CoroHealth, providing musical therapy for seniors GrandCare Press Release

The interactive luncheon interviews will be facilitated by Cindy Campbell, Associate Director, Operational Consulting of Fazzi Associates, and Tim Rowan, Editor of the HomeCare Technology Report. In a statement by Cindy Campbell, she discusses the necessity of affordable and accessible healthcare delivery systems supported by available technologies:

“Mounting levels of chronic disease represent an unmet and human need for care management. Within this need, there is a growing divide in quality healthcare delivery between the haves and have-nots. More than half of bankruptcies in the U.S. are being driven by healthcare cost, many of those in the insured population. Solving this problem requires affordable solutions. A clear and accessible path for today is to move care to the least expensive and least restrictive location – the patient’s home – whenever possible. Fully leveraging the existing expertise of home health and hospice providers and eCare technologies can result in more effective, less expensive, more accessible care”.

Tim Rowan goes on to say:

“Today’s elderly may express a strong preference to remain in their homes as they age and need more and more health care services but the Baby Boomer generation will demand it when they reach their 70’s and 80’s. Fortunately, advances in home-based healthcare technologies make it possible to deliver high-quality care in the patient’s home at a fraction of costs incurred at in-patient facilities. There is legitimate reason for concern, however, as private and government payers continue to be slow to acknowledge the superior care quality and net savings that accrue from the use of in-home “eCare” technologies. Forcing avoidable hospital admissions, which always follow when unattended conditions worsen, foolishly sacrifices long-term cost reductions for short-term savings”.

Beth Hennessey, Executive Director of Integrated Chronic Care with Sutter Care at Home will deliver the morning keynote presentation. She comments on the potential of technology driven care models for chronic care management:

“We advocate that chronic care management be the starting point of national healthcare reform by re-focusing home and community providers as an ‘army at the ready’, utilizing a proven high-touch, high-tech care delivery model. With the implementation of this model, homecare providers across the nation have successfully demonstrated positive outcomes in patient experience, quality of care, and affordability. Imperative to this model’s success is the integration of technology supporting the needs of patients, families, and providers across the healthcare system”.

Scott Peifer, AgeTech California’s executive director surmises that “Ultimately, such models are the future imperative for sustainable wellness, sustainable resources and sustainable aging services and home care organizations.”

The interactive lunch will be held from 12PM-1PM and media interviews will occur after the lunch in the expo hall and in the San Jose Board Room. Contact Kristy Oriol to schedule interviews, Koriol@aging.org, 916-469-3383. For more information on the conference, visit the event web site.

ABOUT AGETECH CALIFORNIA
AgeTech California was established to promote the use of advanced health and wellness technologies by aging services and home care providers throughout California. Its primary focus is on technologies that enable older Californians’ aging in “connected independence” with safety and security, personal health maintenance, successful management of chronic disease, early detection of illness, and prevention of acute episodes. Such technologies include telehealth, electronic health records, sensor telemonitoring, remote medication management, safety technologies, and cognitive fitness among others that enable eCare and personal wellness while enhancing caregiving and cost efficiency. AgeTech is a programmatic partnership of Aging Services of California and the California Association for Health Services at Home (CAHSAH).

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