Tag Archive for: GreatCall

GrandCare featured in “High Tech = High Touch”

A recent May 1 article in Health Data Management “High Tech = High Touch”, authored by Elizabeth Gardner, discusses the importance of technology for the senior population throughout the continuum of care and to help mitigate hospital readmissions.

She uses a few flagship technologies to exemplify how information technologies are helping individuals to stay healthy.

In a section titled “GRANDCARE: STAYING CONNECTED AT HOME“, Gardner interviews Evergreen, a Silicon Valley-based Long Term Care Provider utilizing the GrandCare solution, GrandCare’s VP of Business Development, Laura Mitchell and GrandCare’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Erick Eiting.

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Excerpt of the article:

A profusion of technologies can help people stay in their homes as they age, despite physical and mental disabilities: monitors and sensors to track vital signs and movement, the Internet for communication and entertainment, smart home features to control lights and temperature. However, tying them all together is a challenge beyond most elderly people and even the younger family members who may be caring for them.

That’s where GrandCare Systems, West Bend, Wisc., comes in. Started nine years ago, its goal is “to keep individuals safe, happy and independent at home, whatever that means,” says Laura Mitchell, vice president of business development.

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“I have a 95-year-old resident who reads bedtime stories every night to her great grandchild in Florida,” he says. “She just has to press the button with his picture and they’re connected. No turning anything on, logging in or memorizing phone numbers.”

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GrandCare Chief Medical Officer Erick Eiting, M.D., who’s also assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Southern California, thinks the system’s monitoring capabilities will be invaluable for improving communication between patients and their medical team.

“We can look at whether you’re taking your meds when you should be, and if not, why not,” he says. Problems with side effects can be headed off without requiring an office visit.

“We had one CHF patient who thought he was taking his meds, but we could see he wasn’t taking the evening dose of his diuretic,” Eiting says. “When we asked him why, he said it made him have to get up and go to the bathroom during the night. We increased his morning dose and that fixed it.”

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Click here to view the entire article

AARP Bulletin Features GrandCare as a New Technology for Aging Parents

Form AARP Bulletin | Sally Abrams

New Technology Could Allow You or Your Parents to Age at Home

Devices give older people the opportunity to avoid or delay the nursing-home decision

Phil D’Eramo used to call his parents four or five times a day to make sure they took their medication. An only child from upstate New York, D’Eramo was worried, especially about his 89-year-old father, who has Alzheimer’s disease. Were Mom and Dad eating often enough? When his father went out for short drives, was he getting home safely? […]

Now he logs onto a website to check their activity, captured via cellular connection, and remotely monitors their medication. He sees the number of times Mom opens the refrigerator, and when Dad goes into the bathroom or heads out the door. The company can alert D’Eramo by text, email, Web or phone if something is out of the ordinary.

“A dazzling array of new technology is giving older people more confidence in their ability to live alone, and it’s helping families avoid the wrenching decision to move an aging parent from his or her home to a nursing facility. “Smart” technology such as sensors, voice activation, GPS, Bluetooth, cellular connectivity via mobile phones, smartphone monitoring apps and sophisticated computers are making aging in place a viable option for an increasing number of people.”

System Comp 2AARP highlights GrandCare Systems as one of these smart technologies:

Who uses it: Gladys Jules lives in Atlanta and has used GrandCare to check on her aunt and mother in South Carolina and to keep them socially connected. Jules’ daughter recently had twins and streams daily photos to her grandmother. Last September, Jules, 62, had colon surgery and now also uses GrandCare daily. She takes biometric readings, organizes her prescriptions and stores her medical information for her kids “just in case.”

What it is: A multipurpose system that tracks daily activity, has medical monitoring (glucose, oxygen, blood pressure, weight) and can display anything: diets, discharge plans, exercises. An interactive touch screen lets Dad watch videos, view family or Facebook photos, listen to music, play games, read the news and video chat with family.

How it works: It uses an Internet connection that communicates with wireless sensors you’ve placed around the house. Caregivers log on to a website to see their loved one’s activity, write them messages and make rules (“Alert me when …”).

Learn more about GrandCare Systems by visiting GrandCare.com.

Other technologies highlighted in the article include MedMinder, Reminder Rosie, Philips Lifeline with AutoAlert, GreatCall 5Star Urgent Response and MobileHelp.

To learn more about aging in place technologies and how they are read the full article from AARP.

GrandCare Systems to Offer GreatCall’s 5Star Urgent Response to its Clients

WEST BEND, WIS. AND SAN DIEGO (July 16, 2013) Care in WI

GrandCare Systems LLC and GreatCall, Inc., announced today that GrandCare will be adding 5Star Urgent Response®, the leading mobile personal emergency response solution (mPERS), to its comprehensive caregiving technology platform.

GrandCare’s simple, touch platform enables an at-home senior to view pictures, receive incoming messages, watch videos, video chat with family, listen to music and play fun games. Using a series of wireless activity and telehealth devices, GrandCare can alert designated caregivers by phone, email or text if anything unusual occurs. GrandCare’s technology is used today domestically and internationally by residents of senior living communities and assisted living facilities, seniors living independently, and by recipients of in-home senior care.

5Star extends the GrandCare platform by enabling seniors with immediate access to help in an urgent situation, while they are in their home or away.  Seniors carry or wear the compact 5Star device and press the button to connect to a 24/7 professional emergency response agent when they feel vulnerable or uncertain, or are experiencing a health or safety issue. The highly trained, NAED-certified 5Star agents have immediate access to the senior’s personal profile and location, evaluate the situation, determine the right course of action and coordinate the help needed, remaining on the line until the situation is resolved.  5Star also includes access to a URAC Accredited Health Call Center, registered nurses, and physicians when appropriate.

Designated caregivers can log into the GrandCare website to send communications to the loved one, view activity & digital health sensor information, and customize the automatic caregiver alerts. A caregiver may choose to receive a call, email or text message if specified conditions occur. With the addition of 5Star, caregivers can use an on-line locator service to find a loved one who is missing or hasn’t responded to a call, and can be designated as a contact in the case of an urgent incident.

“We have always known GreatCall as a capable and visionary leader in the mPERS industry,” said GrandCare Systems founder and CEO Charlie Hillman. “Adding their mPERS solution to our existing caregiving technology platform is a natural fit”.

“5Star Urgent Response offers a crucial safety net for senior care recipients and peace of mind for their caregivers.  GrandCare serves a market segment that is important to us, and we are pleased to add them as a distribution partner.”  said GreatCall CEO David Inns.

About GrandCare Systems LLC

GrandCare Systems, on the market since 2006, uses a series of wireless activity & telehealth sensors in a loved one’s home to alert family members if anything seems amiss. Family members can Skype and send pictures, messages, videos, etc., to their loved one using a simple touchscreen interface. GrandCare combines a digital health assessment, biometric readings, activity of daily living sensing, medication management, smart home automation, video chat, and virtual touch-based communications into the most comprehensive and fully-featured caregiving technology in the private home market.  GrandCare has received  world-wide attention from the BBC World News, Italian and French news networks, and U.S. media platforms such as:  The Today Show, the Discovery Channel, CNN, CBS News, etc. To learn more about GrandCare Systems, please visit:  www.grandcare.com.

About GreatCall, Inc.

GreatCall provides easy-to-use wireless health and safety products for aging consumers and their families, allowing them to enjoy a worry-free independent lifestyle. The company stands apart from other wireless services providers through its simplified, personalized and humanized approach, as well as its commitment to providing a high quality customer service experience. The company has been widely praised for its ability to deliver the benefits of innovation and technology in a meaningful and easy-to-use format. GreatCall has received prominent national media accolades from the Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, The New York Times, Washington Post and major TV broadcast networks.

GreatCall’s products and services, including The 5Star™ and the Jitterbug® are sold nationwide at leading retailers such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Sears, Radio Shack Dealer Franchise, Fry’s Electronics and ShopKo, as well as direct to consumers at 1-800-918-8543 and online at GreatCall.com. Service coverage includes the U.S. and Canada. GreatCall is located in San Diego, CA.

To learn more about all available GreatCall products and services, please visit: http://www.greatcall.com. This GreatCall news release and other announcements are available at http://www.greatcall.com/buzz. Or follow our news on Twitter @GreatCallInc and on Facebook facebook.com/greatcall. For access to company logos and high-resolution images and screen shots, please visit: www.greatcall.com/assets

AgeTek To Hold Annual Meeting At CES

San Francisco – The Aging Technology Alliance (AgeTek), a trade group of companies that develop and/or market technology-based products designed for the senior market, will hold its annual member meeting during International CES in Las Vegas next month.

The meeting will be held at the the AgeTek Pavilion in North Hall booth 3209 on Thursday, January 12th from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. CES is being held in Las Vegas January 10 to 13.

The Alliance also announced that it would open its event to non-members who wish to learn more about the benefits of joining the consortium. 

AgeTek represents companies and organizations dedicated to promoting the awareness, benefits and value of products and services for our aging society. Members’ products and services allow seniors to remain independent and age in place at home, as well as empower many seniors to enjoy a healthy, active lifestyle while securing their mobility. AgeTek is focused on bringing greater awareness to their industry, products, and to its select group of companies that are working together (and independently) to develop better-designed, less expensive and better-tested products for the senior consumer.

The AgeTek Pavilion will feature members such as Dr. M Media, GrandCare Systems *N-3209*, Presto Services, and VitalLink. Additional AgeTek members on the CES floor (North Hall) are ClearSounds (N-3106), GreatCall (N-2814), Independa (N-3235), LifeStation (N-2912) and Telikin (N-3008).

CES Attendees can enter to win a ClearSounds ClearBlue Bluetooth Mini-Speaker & TV/Audio Listening System, valued at $250, by getting an AgeTek CES Passport stamped at each of the AgeTek member booths at CES. AgeTek CES Passports are available inside the Silvers Summit program, and at the AgeTek Pavilion.

Non-members are welcome to attend both the annual meeting as well as the meet ‘n greet. Advance registration is not required, but for those interested in booking an appointment with an AgeTek board member in advance, please contact Laura Mitchell, Board Member, Aging Technology Alliance at: 262-338-6147.

New AgeTek members who register at CES will receive a 10% discount on their 2012 membership fee. To learn more about becoming a member of the Alliance, visit the AgeTek Pavilion or go to the Join page of the AgeTek website at www.agetek.org.