Tag Archive for: GrandCare

GrandCare at Moraine Park Technical College

GrandCare’s founding member and VP of Business Development, Laura Mitchell, gave a talk for nursing students at Moraine Park Technical College. The subject of her presentation was “Disruptive Technologies in Aging and Healthcare.” Both GrandCare and Moraine Park are located in West Bend, a city of 30,000 people in Southeastern Wisconsin.

Laura discussed the disruptive demographic of the “aging tsunami,” caused by baby boomers reaching retirement age, exacerbated by the rising cost of health care. That’s where technologies like GrandCare can help, by facilitating remote patient monitoring, providing secure video chat and medication management.

It was the last day of the nursing students’ first semester of study at Moraine Park Tech. “It’s encouraging how receptive and inspired these future clinical providers were with the presence of telehealth and telemedicine technologies,” Laura said. “Especially considering that technology will play a large role in the delivery of personalized, predictive and proactive care.”

These young, engaged students are a new generation of clinical caregivers. They aren’t afraid of technology. They expect it. Their older counterparts can often seem more cautious and less accepting of advanced technologies. When shown GrandCare, the Moraine Park Tech students immediately began to get excited and brainstorm implementation strategies.

Laura, who speaks all over the country on connected health, digital caregiving and aging, doesn’t usually get the luxury of working with organizations in her own back yard. “I love that we’re engaging local people and local organizations,” she said. “Innovation doesn’t need to happen only in Silicon Valley. We can obviously benefit greatly from technology interventions, especially here in the Midwest.”

RSS Monitoring Using GrandCare to Help State of Ohio Give Better Care

 

The State of Ohio is one of GrandCare’s newest fans. And it’s not just because of our rock star good looks.

A recent segment on ABC 6 On Your Side highlighted GrandCare affiliate RSS Monitoring, and its successful implementation of GrandCare technology, to help save the State of Ohio a lot of money in taking care of disabled residents who need nursing care provided in their homes.

The State of Ohio is experiencing a shortage of home health aides. It’s cheaper for people to receive care in their homes, but the staffing shortage meant that people were getting less care than they needed, or care that wasn’t as good as it should be. That’s why, four years ago, RSS turned to GrandCare for a solution.

“The technology in that case takes the place of a staff person,” said John Martin, Director of the Department of Developmental Disabilities. “It’s one of those neat things where we’re both good stewards of the taxpayers’ dollars and it improved the quality of life of some of the folks we’re serving.”

The numbers of dollars saved are larger than you might imagine.

According to the ABC news report, “Martin said each person who uses that technology saves the state between $10,000 to $100,000 compared to the cost of having an around-the-clock home health aide.”

Residents are helped by a variety of GrandCare’s monitoring capabilities. Examples include:

“People with autism who function better with a predictable routine can have a sensor in their shower to make sure they’re getting their morning started on the right track. People who suffer seizures can have a sensor detect if they’ve fallen and might need help.”

The residents like the results.

“People help me out,” said Becky Ross who suffers from seizures and now has sensors on her floors to detect if she’s fallen. “I can be more independent (with the sensors).”

If the sensors in Ross’s home go off, she will get a video call to make sure she’s okay. If she’s not, emergency help will be sent to her home.

Currently 170 people have sensors like that installed in their homes. Thanks to the success of this four-year venture, Gov. Kasich’s budget would now expand the program to cover roughly 600 people.

GrandCare is proud to be a part of this effort. We created GrandCare as a way to improve the lives of so many people. And we’re delighted that in the process of helping their residents, Ohio has found that our systems can help save their taxpayers big money.

See the ABC News video

GrandCare Gets Its Kicks on Route 66

“If you ever plan to motor west,
Travel my way, take the highway that is best.
Get your kicks on Route Sixty-Six.”

GrandCare is headed to western Illinois for this year’s Healthy Living Expo with GrandCare affiliate Gray Matters Alliance. This one-day event, held on May 19, is a great place to have fun, get facts on healthy living for seniors, and get free health screenings. And it’s a good place to learn more about GrandCare by stopping at Table 19.

But wait, there’s more! The event is being held at Gateway Classic Cars which means that, in addition to this fun and informative expo, you can enjoy the classic car show. There will be hundreds of cars to look at and more than 100 vendors to visit.

And wait, there’s even more! There’s a free continental breakfast, complimentary lunch, entertainment, games, and more. Even a Patsy Cline impersonator! There’s also free transportation. (Call 800-326-3221 for pickup locations.)

“It winds from Chicago to LA,
More than two thousand miles all the way.
Get your kicks on Route Sixty-Six.”

So, if you’re winding down Route sixty-six, or any highway, be sure to stop in at Gateway Classic Cars at 1237 Central Park Drive, in O’Fallon, Illinois. Get healthy, and enjoy the car show.

The event is sponsored by AgeSmart Community Resources. AgeSmart works to help older adults remain independent in their homes and communities. Through planning, funding, responding to community needs and providing answers on aging, AgeSmart Community Resources helps people age well their way.

Healthy Living Expo
Sponsored by AgeSmart Community Resources
May 19, 2017
At Gateway Classic Cars
1237 Central Park Dr
O’Fallon, IL
Table 19
Expo open 8:30am to 12:30pm
More information

Gray Matters Alliance was established to create empathy, patience and tolerance towards the elder population. They are committed to offering peace of mind for families while allowing their loved ones to remain engaged and maintain their dignity and at the same time provide caregivers with additional resources to do their jobs more effectively and compassionately. Find out more at their website (www.graymattersalliance.com.)

Family. The Sweetest Mother’s Day Gift of All

Mother’s Day can be traced all the way back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, but the more modern day precursor was in the mid-1800’s with the formation of “Mother’s Day Work Clubs,” helping women with childcare. Post-Civil War, these clubs became peace organizations to promote reconciliation between former Union and Confederate soldiers. And in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson officially established the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

Most celebrate Mother’s Day with flowers, chocolates, family events and maybe even brunch. This Mother’s Day why not offer mom the greatest gift of all, the gift that keeps giving, the gift of family communication. GrandCare is the gift of constant family socialization, photo sharing, Facebook integration, video chatting, games, trivia, weather, news reports and more. The best part is that Mom doesn’t have to know anything at all about computers or Facebook in order to take full advantage of the rich memories.

Use Code “MD2017” for a $200 discount on a GrandCare System for your mother. Only two systems per customer. Offer expires May 31st. Only available online. (www.grandcare.com)

“More phone calls are made on Mother’s Day than any other day of the year. These holiday chats with Mom often cause phone traffic to spike by as much as 37 percent.”

You get the peace of mind that comes with easy, non-intrusive activity monitoring. It also brings the more distant family members right to her touchscreen, so they don’t feel left out. Not only that, but if your mom is managing a chronic health condition at home, GrandCare can help with that, too. From on-screen medication reminders, to automatically recording her vitals every day, GrandCare never forgets.

To make it easy, we’ll even give you a sweet Mother’s Day deal. From now until May 31st, if you order a GrandCare System online, use discount code “MD2017” and save $200. (www.grandcare.com)

This could be the greatest Mother’s Day gift ever. So let Mom enjoy Facebook photos from the entire family on her GrandCare System, play some card games, and place one-touch video calls to the grandchildren. And you can still do brunch, too.

Caring For Elderly At Home

GrandCare for Elderly Woman and Her Caregivers

She Refused Any and All Care. That is, until she met GrandCare.

Sometimes people who need the care the most simply will not accept it. They resist it for many reasons. Perhaps it is denial that assistance is needed, or perhaps the thought is scary. Or maybe they don’t like the way it feels to need care. And, if human caregivers and family members can’t convince someone to accept help, is it a dead end?

The answer is that there has to be something “in it” for the care recipient. There has to be value.

GrandCare became that value for an elderly woman and her caregivers in Canada.

She had been refusing to allow her caregivers to help her. This was frustrating and concerning for everyone involved. The woman obviously required support. The family didn’t know what to do. Then, one clever caregiver had a brilliant idea involving GrandCare technology. She brought a GrandCare large touch appliance into the woman’s room already equipped with many engaging and nostalgic family photos, videos, personal messages, games and other items of personal interest.

The next time the caregivers came, they started the visit by engaging with her on a personal level. They asked about the photos and memories displayed on the GrandCare slideshow. The interaction was transformed. Not only was she now willing and excited to engage in these personalized conversations, she was also now willing to accept the other assistance she needed from the caregiving staff.

It was a perfect example in that attending to social and engagement needs first will lead to an all around healthier and happier life. While vital and activity monitoring capabilities are critical, the socialization and inspirational features of the GrandCare can be equally important.

GrandCare Expands Global Footprint, Wins UK Naidex Professional Award

From Aberdeen to Exeter, from London to Dublin, GrandCare is globally expanding all across the United Kingdom. GrandCare’s UK partner, ATEL, is a pioneer in universal design and smart living with a full range of solutions for people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, and other age-related ailments.

The group has been commissioned by Local UK Authorities to scope and design a number of pilots. The pilots will be used as proof of concept to shape new models of care in the UK’s Health and Social Care sector. GrandCare is a key component to these pilots.

The GrandCare technology has been fully internationalized for use in the UK, including the use of British English, system-wide.

Recently, the GrandCare solution was chosen for the prestigious Naidex Professional award. GrandCare UK received the award at the England-based Naidex show. The Naidex organization celebrates a service, technology or product that directly benefits those working in the care, rehab, or independent living industries, making an immeasurable contribution toward the healthcare profession both now and into the future. GrandCare is honored to be named the 2017 winner.

More about ATEL (www.adaptivetechnology.eu)

GrandCare Shines at Boomer Summit

Once again, this year GrandCare is exhibiting and showcasing our latest features at the 14th annual What’s Next Boomer Business Summit in Chicago, Illinois. Why do we keep coming back? Because the Boomer Summit is a great place to meet up with the longevity market’s leaders. You’ll see CEO’s from top businesses, entrepreneurs from innovative startups, finance people, nonprofits, industry analysts, and everyone else you can imagine who moves this industry forward.

GrandCare CEO Charlie Hillman has been attending this networking event for years. “We have been building this market for over a decade, but it’s hard to move the giant, especially when healthcare is part of the equation,” Hillman said. “Obviously the introduction of enabling telehealth and telemedicine technologies will participate in reducing costs and improving patient outcomes. It is critical for our increasing senior population and the country’s healthcare system as a whole.”

GrandCare has so much to share at the summit. We just released a brand new concierge model customized for premier independent living communities with resident touchscreen check-in capabilities, community-wide messaging and emergency broadcasting. The new GrandCare distribution client affiliate network has been growing quickly, not just in the US, but globally in five additional countries. GrandCare has been shortlisted for a top disability award at the UK Disability Conference, NAIDEX.

GrandCare will be showcasing all of the new features and the comprehensive product models established for private home care, senior housing, home health care, “CCRC’s without Walls” and PACE programs. 2017 is going to be a great year for GrandCare.

There are many good reasons to attend the Boomer Summit. Besides seeing the latest in boomer-facing solutions, this one-day event has always been the best place for networking within the longevity market. And this year could be the best one yet. If there’s one event that really lets you take the temperature of the entire aging industry, this is it.

The one-day Summit takes place on Thursday, March 23, at the Chicago Hyatt Regency.
Register now.
Use discount code wn17LMC20 for a 20% discount on your registration.

GrandCare Introduces Senior Housing Check-In Button

Many senior living communities spend a lot of man hours calling residents to ensure that they got out of bed and are going to head to breakfast. This clearly is a time consuming process and could be avoided if the residents could simply “check in” when they woke up, eliminating the need for a check-in call.

We wanted to help and let those caregivers log their time and energy doing what they love to do and what they do best, providing passionate care to their residents! So, guess what’s new with GrandCare? Yep, it’s our brand new ‘Group Check-In’ feature, right on your resident’s touchscreen in his/her room.

This optional feature is flexible and can even be configured for groups. Whether it’s your entire building or just the people who live on the east wing, when the check-in feature is enabled for the group, every system in the group will have a check-in button displayed on their screen.

When you enable check-in, you establish the time range for the check-in to occur. A typical example might be between 6 AM and 9 AM. The check-in button will appear on screen during the three hours in between these times. Once it’s been touched, the button disappears for the rest of the day, and reappears the next morning.

At the end of the check-in period, the Group page in the care portal shows a pie chart indicating who checked in and who didn’t. Clicking through the chart to see the check-in failures provides a list of accounts that didn’t check in, along with their phone numbers. Follow-up calls can then easily be placed to the residents to make sure they’re OK. Furthermore, it can be determined who frequently fails to check in, prompting perhaps more proactive and customized services for select residents.

This feature is designed for senior living communities of all kinds. It provides a simple safety check in a non-intrusive way that preserves the resident’s independence and dignity. As often happens at GrandCare, you asked for it, and we couldn’t wait to get it to you.

3 Ways Parents Can Safeguard Their Children’s Futures

Here at GrandCare, we spend a lot of time talking about how to take care of your parents. But have you ever thought about how you, as a parent, should be looking out for your kids? Today, GrandCare welcomes guest blogger Jackie Waters of Hyper-tidy.com. Jackie’s mother-in-law passed away recently. Going through the probate process, initially she and her husband were overwhelmed. As they learned more, she realized that they should be doing much more planning to protect their own children. When they were through, Jackie wanted to help others in the same boat, who might not know where to start.

You want to protect your children from all the ills of the world. Unfortunately, you can’t be by their side every moment of every day, and you won’t be able to protect them from every mean-spirited classmate or difficult situation in life. What you can do is start putting plans in place that will set them up for a promising future, such as saving for college, making arrangements that seamlessly transfer your property to your children following your death, and creating a sound financial foundation that ensures your family will be taken care of for many years to come.

Estate Planning

Many young couples don’t give much thought to estate planning, but when children enter the picture, it’s time to start thinking ahead. Legal documents such as wills and trusts serve to dictate what happens with your property and other assets upon your death. In the event of a terrible tragedy, you’d want to know that your children will be cared for, and putting these legal documents in place is the best way to ensure that your wishes are heeded.

A will is easy enough to set up on your own thanks to websites and legal software that streamline the process, but it’s a good idea to talk with an estate planning attorney to ensure the integrity and legality of your documents. Most, for instance, must be notarized, so simply filling out forms and signing them doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re legally binding. An attorney can advise you on the best way to structure your estate, recommending tools such as life estate deeds and other documents that can make the transition easier. They’ll be able to make sure you don’t go with a deed-type that isn’t ideal for your situation.

Designating Guardians

In addition to estate planning, parents should designate guardians to care for their children should they become unable to do so before a child reaches adulthood. The most difficult part of this process is determining who is best-suited to raise your children if you die or become incapacitated. You may prefer that your parents raise your children if you’re unable, but worry about their ages. In these cases, it’s possible to designate a guardian for a specified time frame, such as until your kids reach the age of 10, and then transfer guardianship to another trusted adult.

Regardless of whether your preferred guardian’s age is an issue, it’s a good idea to appoint at least one or two successor guardians as a contingency in the event that your first choice is unable to fulfill this duty. You can designate these same individuals as financial guardians or opt to have another person oversee your children’s finances.

Life Insurance

The reality is that many families don’t have estates worth hundreds of thousands of dollars or more, making life insurance a crucial protection for parents of young children. Consider how much life insurance you’ll need by evaluating the sources of income your kids will have access to, such as survivors’ benefits through Social Security, proceeds from the sale of property you leave behind, and so forth, and then consider the amount that may be needed to provide the care they need throughout childhood and adolescence.

Depending on the age of your children, you may not want to designate your kids as beneficiaries on your life insurance policy. Instead, consider designating a trusted adult as the beneficiary who can oversee the use of the funds for your children’s needs. Or, if you have a living trust, you can designate the trust as the beneficiary, with your children designated as trustees. Once again, there are several ways to structure these arrangements to ensure that your assets and funds from insurance policies are safeguarded for your children, so it’s worth seeking the assistance of an estate planning professional.

Protecting your children’s futures is largely a legal endeavor with many financial considerations. Taking the time to consider your children’s needs and putting documents and plans in place to safeguard their well-being under any circumstances is the best gift you can give them.

Image via Pixabay by frankbeckerde

Community Messages

 

Mary Smith, a resident in your senior housing community, has a package waiting at the front desk. How do you let her know? Already today many residents have called the front desk to see if the mail has arrived and there’s not a quick way to let them know when it actually does come. Today’s Bridge Club meeting has moved from 2PM to 3PM. How do you inform the members? There’s a safety issue in your building and everyone needs to meet in a common area. How do you get everyone’s attention? GrandCare’s new Community Messages. That’s how.

With our new Congregate Message Center you can address all these concerns and more. You can send a message directly to one resident’s touchscreen, to a designated group (e.g. poker group), or to your entire Community at once. You can choose from a canned template message or write your own. It’s as easy as sending an email. Select your recipients, type in a subject and a message body, and send. Your message will pop up, and be prominently displayed on the resident’s touchscreen, accompanied by an optional sound, even if the screen is sleeping when the message arrives. The message remains on the screen until it has been acknowledged by having your residents touch a button on the message.

Emergency messages are even harder to miss. They’re outlined in red, and accompanied by a shrill alarm sound. And, you can be notified which residents didn’t acknowledge the message. This is critical when time is of the essence.

Our new Message Center is just the latest in a group of features designed for senior community living. If you haven’t used Flyers or Community Pictures, you might want to check those out, too. The GrandCare Congregate Message Center will be available soon for any GrandCare care portal users with Group-level or higher roles.