Tag Archive for: Caregiver Technology

How to become a champion of technology

Whether your company provides housing or in-home care, you need tools you can count on. Many organizations feel overwhelmed by the processes of adopting new technologies to help improve care delivery, lower expenses, and raise revenue. Decision makers see the benefits of using a variety of technologies, but the idea of institutional change that impacts work flow can be daunting.

Organizations that focus on innovation shared insight on how to evaluate, implement and measure the success of technology. And to help you in your efforts, they highlighted areas to be cautious.

Choose your partner wisely
Kaitlin Cuffe, strategic initiatives coordinator at Eskaton in Northern California says the vendor and client relationship must be strong. Eskaton, a nonprofit focused on transforming the aging experience, looks for technology partners with similar culture and values.

“Typically we are approached by technology companies,” says Cuffe. “We have implemented a technology pilot proposal asking them to fill out a form eight questions long.” Staff time, resident time, costs associated, and process for uninstalling are uncovered before moving forward in the discussion. “Any time we get a proposal we send it out to the [Eskaton] people who would be interfacing,” explains Cuffe. Staff who are expected to work with the technology can give feedback in the decision making process.

Develop technology champions
“We go into a pilot with buy-in when there is a champion,” says Prentiss. “One to two champions serve as an internal point person.” Cuffe, Eskaton’s champion, is the person accountable to keep the project going. Cuffe’s role in the eight week pilot was to:

  1. Identify participants
  2. Coordinate program launch
  3. Schedule all program components
  4. Communicate to participants, stakeholders, and Lively customer support
  5. Develop and conduct surveys: A ten question baseline survey and 15-question post survey

Managing time and expectations is critical for the champion. While this pilot lasted only eight weeks, there was preplanning and post evaluation. Upon completing the evaluation, the decision will be made if it should be scaled.

Create a culture of technology
In 2013, Emeritus began testing the use of iPads with residents. Ginna Biak, National Director of Innovation and Resident Technology, conducted an eight building pilot where 5-10 iPads were made available for residents to check out. Weekly trainings were offered and Internet cafes and kiosks were deployed. Biak says they needed to “make it part of the culture”.

The iPads were loaded with apps Biak selected for social engagement and entertainment. Two vendors who understand the mission and the industry were selected. LivWell Health built the platform on Sales Force and Sitelligence developed an iPad app for resident and staff use.

“Not a lot of technology companies are understanding the silver tsunami,” says Biak. “It’s encouraging to see the big companies are starting to.” During a recent pilot in Freemont, California, representatives from Apple attended the training. In this pilot, 20 residents were given iPads and a baseline survey. At the end of the pilot, a post survey will be conducted and compared to 20 resident surveys who did not receive the iPads.

Biak says they are “trying to come up with a more cohesive, comprehensive solution for a larger roll out.” It can be tough recruiting champions in a large organization, but according to Biak, changes in technology expectations and the new hire process helped shift the Emeritus culture and lay the foundation for a larger deployment.

Deploy small, then scale
Neil Tantingco, owner of Evergreen Residence, says technology is a key contributor to the 100% occupancy and waiting list. In 2013, he began testing technology in two of the apartments in his Central California assisted living and memory care units. “I didn’t know how it would be accepted by my residents or how difficult it was to set up,” explains Tantingco. “I didn’t want to invest all that money for something that may not be proven.” He put it to a litmus test:

  1. Will my residents use it?
  2. Will the family embrace it and use to the video conferencing to increase social interaction?
  3. How will my staff react to it?

Tantingco now uses GrandCare Systems throughout the community and as remote care monitoring for an in-home care solution. This allows him to serve the waiting list and others living in their own homes.

Tantingco recommends to always do a beta test, create a roll out schedule, and set a reasonable, attainable goal. “Roll it out small and develop a work flow. Make sure it doesn’t disrupt your business process.”

Define success before you start
Before testing, develop a hypothesis. For example:

If seniors use technology to communicate with family via email, video conferencing, or Lively Grams, then they will experience less social isolation, less depression, and their quality of life will improve.

Create a list of quality measurements. Your vendor can help you with the metrics. If not, engage with an academic institute or an industry association such as the Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST).

Success is not limited to just the resident experience. Make sure to include measurements of staff time and dollars invested in order to measure ROI.

 

To read full article click here.

Visit www.grandcare.com for more information.

Technology helps seniors stay independent longer

We all want to remain independent as we age. But living alone can be difficult, if not dangerous, for seniors with declining cognitive abilities, including the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Even common tasks, such as preparing a sandwich, can be a challenge.

kare11There’s good news, however. New technology can help many people with mild cognitive impairments, such as persistent memory loss, stay in their homes a bit longer. Jewish World Review goes into great depth talking about the latest technologies that are helping seniors stay happier and healthier longer.

“There’s a tremendous demand for technological tools to help caregiving, particularly as baby boomers deal with elderly parents who may be living across the country,” says Tracy Zitzelberger, administrative director of the Oregon Center for Aging and Technology. The Portland-based Oregon Health and Science University studies aging and other health issues.

Here is a new technology to help keep a loved one independent and safe:

If Mom lives alone, you want to know whether she’s waking up and going to sleep on time, eating properly, showering and taking medicine. New systems allow adult children to monitor the everyday habits of their ailing parents.

Monitoring services will install wireless sensors in areas of the home that a senior uses most often, including the bathroom, bedroom and kitchen. The sensors will track certain kinds of movement, such as when a refrigerator, medicine cabinet or front door opens. During setup, the service will study the senior’s normal pattern of daily activities.

System Comp 2Sensors installed by West Bend, Wis.-based GrandCare Systems (www.grandcare.com) issue a minute-by-minute report to a designated caregiver, who can view the information on a Web page. The sensors will note any changes in normal patterns. For instance, if there’s an unusual amount of movement in the middle of the night, or if the medicine cabinet doesn’t open at the regular times, GrandCare will send an automated message via phone, e-mail or text message to the caregiver.

The cost for a system is about $500 for installation and $100 in monthly fees for a one-bedroom apartment, says Laura Mitchell, vice-president of marketing. GrandCare doesn’t use cameras.

The service’s social component may be just as important to seniors who live alone. A touch-screen computer provides the senior easy access to popular online tools, such as Skype for two-way video chats, family photos on Facebook and family videos on YouTube. If the touch-screen user is a grandfather, for example, “he presses a button that says ‘Suzy’s dance recital’ and watches the video,” Mitchell says.

Michelle Spettel has been using GrandCare to monitor her mother, Esther, who lives alone a half hour away.

“She’s getting older and doesn’t remember things as well,” says Spettel, who lives in West Bend. Spettel goes to a Web page to track her mom’s daily activities.

“I know when she comes home, but it’s not intrusive. I don’t have to call her and say, ‘Mom, did you make it home safe?'” she says.

 

Information from: jewishworldreview.com

To read the full article CLICK HERE

Michael Neuvirth Reviews GrandCare Systems

Home Care Services And Monitoring At The Touch Of A Finger

Michael Neuvirth give GrandCare Systems a Four and a half Star Review
http://caregiverreviews.com

This Review covers a product and technology that has been helping Caregivers since 2005. It is specifically designed to let your loved ones enjoy a high quality of life – while living in their own homes.

Visit Caregiver Reviews online at caregiverreviews.com

Easy To Use, Feature Rich Home Care System

GrandCare Systems combines digital health, biometric readings,  daily living sensing, medication management, smart home automation, video chat and virtual touch-based communications into a comprehensive home care monitoring system.

Caregivers can virtually engage with a loved one, regardless of geographic location.The simple to use, touch-based platform lets your loved one look at family photos, get, read and send “email”, watch videos and conduct video chats, listen to their favorite songs, play games – and more.

Created By Caregivers For Caregivers

Pricing

I spoke with the very nice people at Grandcare. We discussed pricing and they told me that each customer has his/her own specific needs and should end up with a system that suits those particular, specific needs. Grandcare told me that the best way for the customer to get started with Grandcare and learn about the particular pricing is to contact Grandcare directly via a very short questionnaire. You can access the questionnaire here.

Grandcare told me that their goal is for each customer to get the perfect system that suits their need and the questionnaire is the first step in the process. After you submit the questionnaire, Grandcare will contact you directly.

After speaking with Grandcare, it was clear to me that they will not push you to buy more than you need. There is no obligation to buy and they are really good at answering your questions.

I am honored to have included GrandCare in the very first dedicated review site for Caregivers – Caregiver Reviews

Initially, we are only reviewing sites that we know really help Caregivers and improve their quality of life and the quality of life of their loved ones.

Caregivers are extremely busy and we will not waste their time telling
them what not to read – rather we are focusing only on sites like GrandCare – that truly help Caregivers everyday…

Sincerely,

Michael Neuvirth
Founder
Caregiver Reviews
www.caregiverreviews.com

Grandcare’s system gives Caregivers peace of mind – plus the entertainment and socialization features are great for your loved ones. So, just for this – I highly recommend that you check it out further.

The Next Step Please visit Grandcare’s website, submit the questionnaire and learn more about Grandcare yourself.

Take a look at Michael’s full review of the GrandCare System.