Tag Archive for: home health technology

Technology paves the way to tackling the senior care crisis

According to the U.S. Department of Health Human Services and the Administration for Community Living, the elderly population in the United States is expected to more than double from 39 million to 72 million by 2030. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing also predicts that there will be a serious nursing shortfall in the next few years as there will not be enough to meet these increasing demands. These issues along with the rising costs of long-term care leads many seniors and their families seeking alternatives to allow the elderly to remain independent and aging at home for as long as possible.

Prairie Business Magazine

This is where home care providers and technology can bridge this widening gap. A recent article by Kris Bevill in the July Issue of the Prairie Business Magazine, in Grand Forks, ND talks about these issues that are becoming a big concern for the northern Plains where much of the population is in the 65 years plus range.

This new and growing demand, combined with a region-wide health care worker shortage, means the fairly young home health care industry is often racing to keep up with patient loads and regulations, but providers say they are confident they will continue to meet demand, thanks in part to new methods of care delivery. – See more at: http://www.prairiebizmag.com/event/article/id/24157/#sthash.akar3ksu.dpuf

In the article, Patti Cullen, president and CEO of Care Providers of Minnesota talks about how “congregate settings allow fewer workers to care for more patients. She also points to technology as a great potential aid in allowing seniors to remain in their home with limited personnel visits.”

Anne Major, president of Fargo-based Ethos Home Care agrees that technology can aid the industry by confronting staffing challenges while providing top-notch care to patients.

Major points out that Ethos has been advertising for a licensed practical nurse and another RN “for quite a while,” but finding staff is an ongoing problem. “The hospitals are feeling it, the care centers are feeling it, and home care is feeling it as well,” Major says.

She adds, “incorporating technology into home care not just for the staffing benefits, but for the additional well-being that remote monitoring can provide for families. Technology can be utilized in a variety of ways for senior care. Medication dispensers can send an alarm to caregivers if medicine is not dispensed at the correct time, motion sensors can automatically trigger lights to turn when a person enters a room or steps on the floor as they get out of bed. Major offers another example she’s seen firsthand, where a child was concerned about his parent leaving home and becoming disoriented, so a sensor was enabled to alert the child whenever the parent’s garage door opens or closes.” – See more at: http://www.prairiebizmag.com/event/article/id/24157/#sthash.akar3ksu.dpuf

Knute Nelson, based in Alexandria, MN utilizes the GrandCare Systems technology to meet their care giving needs by providing a touch screen in the patient’s home.

The grandCARE product is a complete care system that combines telehealth, activity monitoring, digital health management, medication reminders, remote patient monitoring and entertainment/social engagement features into a single, easy-to-use touchscreen designed to keep seniors aging in place.

Technology like grandCARE can actually be more affordable than you think. For home care, senior living and other healthcare organizations, grandCARE offers special enterprise solution programs that can make implementation of this type of technology a reality. Jerry Furness, Chief Operating Officer at grandCARE systems says, “we believe in the benefits of our system and want to provide organizations an opportunity to reap the benefits which is why we have these special enterprise programs in place. Our goal is to make implementation happen in a meaningful way by partially or fully eliminating the up front cost hurdles for these groups.”

Caregiver showing grandCARE user new task list feature.

Caregiver showing grandCARE user new task list feature.

System Comp HR

The article concludes: Andrea Jung, president of Elk River, Minnesota-based Guardian Angels Elimm Healthcare and Hospice added, “I’m really excited about the potential there is for home care….I think technology is going to be a big impact and change the way we deliver care and how many people we’re reaching. There are so many things going on in this industry that I’m really excited about.”

About grandCARE:

GrandCare Systems LLC, founded in 2005, offers the most comprehensive and holistic professional care giving and health coordination tool on the market.  grandCARE is a large touch platform which provides health instructions, secure video chat, wireless vital recordings and analytics, medication compliance, activity sensing, and family communications into one intuitive and expandable platform.  grandCARE focuses on true individual centered care, enabling better experience, better engagement, and better outcomes. For more information, visit: www.grandcare.com or call 262-338-6147.

 Media Contact:

Amy Schwengels       262.338.6147   media@grandCARE.com

GrandCare thrives in hospice/palliative care

GrandCare client, Knute Nelson,  is a senior care provider in Minnesota who have been proactive and visionary in embracing caregiving technology as a tool to better their care.  The GrandCare System enables Knute Nelson to provide more proactive, proficient, predictive & cost-effective care to in-home clients, facility-based clients and rural clients.

 

We have had tremendous success with GrandCare in both Home Care and Hospice. In Hospice, GrandCare has been a primary means of facilitating end-of-life communication between our clients and their distant families. Our clients have had Skype, letter and picture contact with their loved ones in over 6 states and one foreign country. In Home Care, GrandCare is an integral part of our care delivery system, allowing the family and caregiving team to promote safety and health education, provide for early recognition and intervention to changes in condition, and facilitate enhanced communication and participation of the entire caregiving team. One Home Care client states, “I depend on it now. It’s comforting to have GrandCare. It’s like having a nurse right here with you.”

Knute Nelson Resident utilizes GrandCare technology in conjunction with in-home caregiving services

Knute Nelson is a non-profit, Christian-based organization that combines an extraordinary legacy with an innovative presence in senior care.

Contact Knute Nelson

  • Knute Nelson Care Center – 320.763.6653
  • Nelson Gables – 320.762.4310
  • Grand Arbor – 320.763.1600
  • Nelson Wellness Center – 320.759.4613
  • Subacute & Therapy Center – 320.763.6653
  • Home Care – 320.759.1273
  • Hospice Care – 320.759.1270

Lutheran of Jamestown Smartments equipped with GrandCare receives positive evaluation from Leading Age

Kudos to GrandCare partners, Lutheran of Jamestown, for receiving positive evaluations on their usage of the GrandCare System for monitoring activities/wellness and socialization and family connecting, as well as various complementary technologies, throughout their Apartment “Smartments” community.

Sharon Hamilton, vice president of senior housing for Lutheran, an early and visionary adopter of remote monitoring and enabling technologies recently caught the attention of Leading Age for her usage of the GrandCare remote monitoring and socialization technology, as well as complementary technologies of other enabling and crisis management systems (think “help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”)

She was met with a very positive and encouraging evaluation by third party, vendor agnostic Leading Age of Washington, DC (formerly known as the American Association of Aging). Leading Age is an association of not-for-profit organizations dedicated to making America a better place to grow old.

Hamilton was smart to reach out to the organization and gauge an industry expert, who could take a non-partisan look at the usage of these technologies, in order to scale to a broader community base.

Dusten Rader from the Post Journal of Jamestown, NY wrote an interesting story titled, “Smartments Receive Positive Evaluation” on whether Leading Age found these Smartments to be effective and efficient. While conducting the assessment, the most cutting-edge of the technology solutions, including the GrandCare System were under a lot of pressure to prove their worth. GrandCare is a comprehensive digital health, activity monitoring, medication mgmt, socialization, video chat and infotainment technology to support individuals as they remain more independent, proactive, connected and self aware. The results were clear!

HomeBase

Leading Age’s senior VP, Robyn Stone was quoted in the Post Journal,
“I commend them on recognizing an opportunity,” Stone said. “And, also the notion that this isn’t something that was going to be done once and it’s over, rather that it’s going to be an interactive process. It’s hard for an organization to be a guinea pig, so to me that’s one of the assets of many of members – that they’re willing to think about the investment to really make this work. That is what I call continuous quality improvement.”

To read the full article click here: http://post-journal.com/page/content.detail/id/627641/Leading-Age.html?nav=5057

The Smartments: 737 Falconer St. in Jamestown. For more information, call 665-8197 or visit www.lutheran-jamestown.org

Tennessee GrandCare Representative, Golden Age Technology, featured on KnoxNews.com

Home health technology is gaining ground, as more and more boomers and seniors learn about the possibilities these technologies can provide in ensuring the safety and well being of those who wish to remain independent in their own homes.

Wireless technologies can provide users with a means to record and track health information, such as blood pressure and glucose levels, as well as help keep track of advanced medication schedules, provide reminders and dosing information and contact caregivers if medications are not taken.  Communications now go beyond the simple email, often including video chat, Facebook feeds and YouTube videos.  Motion, door and bed sensors can be used to verify that all is well in the home, or to alert caregivers if something is amiss.

Golden Age uses technology to help seniors stay independent

www.knoxnews.com | Hugh G. Willett

 

“The graying of America continues to create opportunities for entrepreneurs who find widespread demand for solutions they developed to meet the needs of their own families.

Kyra and Jim Clements of Harriman founded Golden Age Technology after confronting the challenge of helping to care for her elderly parents.[…]

Golden Age uses modern sensor technology, including sensors for beds, chairs, bathrooms and kitchens. These sensors can detect and measure a variety of activities including motion, sound, temperature, timing and lighting.

A home network equipped with these sensors can determine where the occupants are in the house, whether they are in the bed or the bedroom, the bathroom or the kitchen. The sensors can also measure how long the occupants spend in one place and whether or not they have used appliances or lighting. […]

The sensors work with service providers including GrandCare and Close By, companies that can provide monitoring and communications for a monthly fee that varies from $40 to $80 depending on the type of service.”

 The full article can be found online on KnoxNews.com 

KnoxNews, May 22nd, 2012 at 4 a.m.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/may/22/golden-age-uses-technology-to-help-seniors-stay/

EHX TeleHealth & Digital Home Health Technology Session

Collaboration: The Integrator’s Role in TeleHealth & Digital Home Health Technology 

You’ve heard all about Digital Home Health Technology and why it’s going to be the way of the future, but where do integrators come in?

With recent healthcare legislation, hospital systems and payers are being forced to become accountable for improving patient outcomes, while reducing the cost of care delivery. The care delivery network is focusing on telehealth & remote monitoring technologies to help care for the highest risk population in the lowest cost setting – the patient’s home.

However, hospitals and payer systems are tuned for executing today’s care delivery model, but who will focus on technology and services needed for tomorrow? This session will explore the opportunities and role of the solutions integrator as an integral piece of the care transition puzzle.

Presented by:


Instructor:Alex Go, Virtual Health


Instructor:Jeffrey Makowka, AARP


Instructor:Laura Mitchell, GrandCare Systems

Course Code
CE Pro #115
Schedule
Friday, March 16, 2012
10:30 AM – 11:15 AM
Room CI Stage

More Information available at www.ehxweb.com/classes/ce-pro-115

Home Health Technology Webinar from 2010 What’s the same…what’s changed?

Just thought we’d share this. This is from 2010, a webinar led by GrandCare’s Laura Mitchell to the NAHB & CEDIA audiences… interesting what’s changed and what has stayed the same!!!

Home Technology Alliance Update

Aging in Place: Home Health Technology Webinar Recap

CEDIA, founding sponsor of NAHB’s Home Technology Alliance (HTA), offers quarterly educational webinars to supplement fundamental concepts highlighted in their joint newsletter.  Moderated by leaders in the industry, these webinars offer insider’s tips to help you and your business take advantage of growing trends.

To this end, CEDIA welcomed Laura Mitchell of GrandCare Systems in Minnesota to share her insight into “Home Health Technology: A $20 Billion Industry.” Throughout this webinar, broadcast on September 1, 2010, Ms. Mitchell explained the impressive target base that currently is or will be shortly interested in home health technology while touching on some available solutions.

As indicated in the title of this webinar, the home health technology field is a $20 Billion industry and growing with many contributing factors. With a baby boomer turning 63 every seven seconds, the target audience for this technology is growing exponentially. While this fact remains undisputed, another fact also plays into the hands of this growing field: this group wants to remain independent as long as possible.

“A study conducted in 2005 indicated that 80% of the respondents would be willing to pay an extra $100/month for services and technology that would allow them to stay independent,” mentioned Mitchell.

Mitchell cited Laurie M. Orlov’s Aging in Place Technology Watch, a market research firm providing thought leadership, analysis and guidance about technologies and related services, while she discussed the four main aging in place technology categories available. Each addressed a contributing factor toward a person’s inability to stay independent. The first category, home safety and security, would attends to the fact that one-third of all people aged 65 and older fall each year. Utilizing a home monitor, care givers or loved ones will be alerted immediately in case of an accident. The second category, learning and contribution, recognizes that people who are connected socially live longer. The third category, health and wellness, relates to the fact that medication management is one of the leading drivers to assisted living and nursing home facilities. Utilizing technology for both cognitive and medication management at home can help prevent the necessity of moving into those facilities. Finally, the fourth category, communication and engagement, relates to utilizing email, video phone, cell phone and PCs to stay in touch and traverse the other categories as well.

Perhaps most importantly, trades need to become educated about the newest available technology and how to use it to service this growing cross-section of our society. The consumers all want this technology, but don’t know how to ask for it. It is imperative that each builder and ESC ask questions to determine which technologies best suit their clients both now and going forward into the future. With the demand and the willingness to contribute monthly income toward technologies to stay independent, it would behoove both builders and ESCs to explore home health technology options.

“We are currently experiencing the largest population shift in history,” said Ric Johnson, Chief Technology Officer of Elite Systems Solutions. “This particular group is much different than the previous generation in that they are technology-driven. Any builder who is ignoring this market is losing out because this generation not only has a lot of equity in their current homes, but also more discretionary income to put toward the technology they desire. Options exist today to allow those in the 50+ market to remodel their existing homes or upgrade to new homes and be fully equipped with home healthcare, entertainment, home safety and communication devices. All of this technology equates to a common goal shared by most people in this cross-section of America: allowing the population to age in place.”

Click here to visit CEDIA’s archive of past Webinars including Home Health Technology: A $20 Billion Industry.

In addition to these quarterly Webinars, CEDIA also offers online CEDIA education classes, which can be accessed here, that NAHB members may take for continuing education credit:

  • Introduction to Sub-System Design
  • Introduction to Sub-System Control
  • Fundamentals of Home Theater Design
  • Introduction to Digital Media Servers
  • The Designer, the Client, and the Process
  • Design Documents
  • Project Management Process Flow: An Overview of the PMI Model
  • Home Theater Room Design
  • Introduction to Project Management

About CEDIA

CEDIA is an international trade association of companies that specialize in designing and installing electronic systems for the home. The association was founded in September 1989 and has more than 3,500 member companies worldwide. CEDIA Members are established and insured businesses with bona fide qualifications and experience in this specialized field. For more information on CEDIA, visit the association’s Web site atwww.cedia.org .

Moving an aging parent can lead to negative outcomes…?

I read an article today about why the transitions in healthcare (moving from one place to another) alone are causing a large number of avoidable issues.  The author focuses on the notion of going from assisted living to skilled nursing or even skilled nursing to a hospital and while I absolutely agree with this, I think we can take it one step further and say it starts really when we move them out of their homes.  An ounce of prevention will most certainly lead to more than a pound of cure. The initiatives in place to help individuals manage their own chronic conditions and proactively have a say in their own care will really help to keep individuals safer and healthier at home. Our goals at GrandCare are simple: to enable a loved one to stay “in place” for longer – wherever that may be. Some use a technology to stay independent at home, others (professional caregivers) use it take care of multiple residents and enable more independence, less personal intervention, more space & privacy and more enhanced safety.  This can help a wing to transition to higher levels of care without moving residences.  NORCs (Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities) are exactly where this country is headed and it has to be that way. We simply don’t have the brick and mortar available nor the personal caregivers available for the aging population! So, we use technology assists to enable our caregivers to extend their reach and continue to provide care, we use technology to help individuals remain at home….

GrandCare is just one piece of the puzzle (we can connect individuals, remind them to do things, encourage doctor/patient collaboration, guide in total wellness & chronic disease mgmt…now we just need some reimbursement policies in place to help cover this obvious solution…

Why ‘Transitions’ In Health Care Are Dangerous And How To Avoid Them

By Fran Cronin
Guest Blogger

With more than 1.6 million Americans now living in nursing homes, many of us are all too familiar with the debilitating cycle of a nursing home admission followed by repeated hospitalizations, a spiraling into decline, and ultimately death.

I know for my 87-year old father, now living in an assisted living facility, the prospect of a nursing home leaves him hoping he will just drift off one night in his sleep.

new study released this week by Brown University and published in The New England Journal of Medicine, confirms what many of us have observed: health care transitions, such as moves in and out of the hospital from a nursing home, do not lead to positive outcomes. More common are frequent medical errors; poor care coordination, infections and additional medications. For patients with acute dementia, these transitions can exacerbate already present symptoms such as agitation, confusion and emotional distress.

The scope of this syndrome — in which health care transitions often turn into emergencies — is expressed in a key Brown finding: almost one in five nursing home residents with advanced dementia experienced repeated hospitalizations in the last 90 days of life. Some were even moved as late as the last three days of their life. Burdensome transitions were also found to correlate with other indicators of poor end-of-life care.

I know for my 87-year old father, the prospect of a nursing home leaves him hoping he will just drift off one night in his sleep.

This is a far cry from the overt wishes of most families, says Dr. Joan Teno, one of the study’s lead authors and Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice at Brown University….

To read the entire article click here

GeekBeat TV Reports Live on the GrandCare System

Geek Beat’s CALLY, Reports live from the CEDIA Tech House and covers the GrandCare System along with some of the sensors (medication dispenser, weight scale, motion/temp, etc).  She shows off the Rx Tender Medication Dispenser along with the GrandCare System (where all of the sensors report in)…. The GrandCare System   The GrandCare Medication Dispenser Rx Tender starts about 4:48 into the video….take a look!!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_COkLs2jN5c&feature=player_embedded]

Tech in the Bathroom

The Seura TV Mirror is a TV with a mirrored surface, and the whole package is just one-inch deep. Audio Design Associates has a scale that is Bluetooth-enabled and will send notifications to your doctor if you gain 5 pounds in 3 days, for example (a sign of congestive heart failure). And this toilet can send you alerts if grandma doesn’t flush in 3 days so you can take her to the doctor.

Healthcare in the Bedroom

Again, there’s a focus here on seniors. A pill dispenser will automatically give the owner medication and it’ll beep to let them know it’s time. If the pills aren’t picked up it will send a caregiver an alert. A weight sensor on the bed will send an alert if the occupant doesn’t get up (or return) after a set number of hours…

To read the entire article, visit: http://geekbeat.tv/geekbeat-tv-260-cedia-2011-future-technology-pavilion/

GrandCare’s Home Health Technology CEDIA 2011 Presentations

Home Health Tech is Here to Stay Are you 2011 – final rough draft

CEDIA A How to Discussion – Scenarios 2011

Thanks all for coming to CEDIA 2011 and attending the Home Health Technology webinars moderated by Laura Mitchell, VP of Marketing for GrandCare Systems.
Above you will find the two presentations available for download!

GrandCare Systems featured on “Into Tomorrow” by Dave Graveline – from EHX

I ran across this video today while searching online and thought I’d share! It’s a great little clip of two of our GrandCare team members giving a demonstration back in March 2011 at EHX: The CEPRO event in Orlando. GrandCare R&D team member, Nick Hall and GrandCare Las Vegas Sales Rep, Brietta Smith, were interviewed by Dave Graveline & Rob Almanza from Into Tomorrow about the GrandCare wellness sensors (namely the blood pressure device) and the newer integration of the Rx Tender, Medication Dispenser.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozk_d3hhCbM]