Going above and beyond the traditional PERS

If you were around during the 80’s and 90’s, I’m sure you remember that clever catchphrase, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up”, and the television commercials from a certain maker of a medical emergency response systems. Fast forward to 2015, and a lot has changed in the way of digital health technology. The advent of smartphones, tablets, watches, fitness wristbands, and other devices are changing our world and just how mobile we can be without losing our connection to everything digital.

Let’s face it, we live in a fast paced world and people crave their technology gadgets, addicted sometimes, and when said gadget goes down for any reason, say, your kid drops it in the toilet, or you leave it in the bathroom at the airport in your rush to make your connecting flight…your digital life is temporarily ‘over’.

But, if you are someone over the age of 65, life tends to slow down a bit. Trading in chasing around kids to soccer practice, and making the early morning client meeting for a more relaxed lifestyle tending to a flower garden at home, enjoying time volunteering for local community causes, or even just unwinding in a favorite recliner while reading a good book. However, this newfound freedom and independence often comes with its own share of dangers of the unknown.

According to a recent article by Today’s Caregiver:

Studies report that 30% of people who are over the age of 65 (about 35 million Americans) fall every year, and that these incidences increase to 50% for those over the age of 80.

It’s been estimated that at least 60% of all falls occur in the home… people with neuromuscular or cognitive diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, ALS and even diabetes fall even more frequently.

Whatever the reasoning, the danger still exists for someone who has taken a fall, especially if they are elderly and alone. For those who are unable to get up from a fall, the amount of time they spend immobile will greatly affect the outcome of their health and rehabilitation. In other words, a fall that results in a serious injury may signify the beginning of declining health that may become an irreversible, downward spiral.

So, how can you ensure your loved one won’t become a tragic victim of this downward spiral from a fall that goes undected? You could opt for a personal emergency response system (PERS), such as the one from the tv advertisements, but those require your loved one to actually push a button. What if your loved one suffers a medical episode which hinders their ability to push this button? This is a gap of the traditional PERS solution, a gap that our technology can help fill.

Introducing the grandCARE system solution which incorporates a series of passive activity and motion sensing devices to better monitor patterns of behavior instead of requiring the user to push a button. If there is no motion, excessive motion, or activity patterns that do not fit the norm, an alert will go out regardless of the individual person’s ability to engage the push button. Download: Gaps of PERS System Flyer

Learn more about how passive activity and motion sensing devices can provide you added peace of mind by visiting our website www.grandCARE.com.

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

Note: “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” is a registered trademark of LifeAlert.

HomeCare Magazine highlights grandCARE as an aging in place solution

GrandCare Systems was recently featured in HomeCare Magazine in an article by Graham Miller about aging in place. Technology is transforming the way both aging populations and health care professionals view and manage health care, with the reality being that the best way to keep people out of hospitals and long-term care is through prevention. Digital health tools, such as the grandCARE system, can be the key to greater prevention and managing long-term health needs for seniors.

In the article, Graham Miller writes:

“Every day, tens of thousands of Americans are turning 65, and three factors—longer life spans, rising health care costs and aging baby boomers—are driving the growth of this demographic. An overwhelming percentage of these aging adults desires to stay at home, maintaining an active, independent lifestyle for as long (and as safely) as possible.”

“The Affordable Care Act has changed how both consumers and companies view health care,” says Dan Maynard, president and CEO of GrandCare Systems. “The cost of health care continues to rise, especially for the aging populations that require more frequent and longer-term health care monitoring.” A large part of the new legislation focuses on hospital readmission reductions and consequences for reactive versus proactive care, he says, and there are significant financial incentives for hospitals to actively work with Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs) to reduce costs associated with patient readmissions. Products like grandCARE incorporate resident information and support, captured resident data and professional caregiving tools, encouraging everyone in the caregiving support network to work together to achieve true patient-centered care. “A path of a patient/provider partnership results in better outcomes for both the patients and the caregivers because it creates greater efficiency for the caregiver staff by allowing virtual care, which results in fewer at-home visits,” says Maynard.

Our product is designed to reduce health care costs and improve outcomes by enabling family members, caregivers and health care professionals to remotely care for an individual living at home. The system uses a large touch screen in the residence, which provides the individual with social communications, health care monitoring, visual daily reminders and medication prompts. The easy-to-use interface means that no computer skills are needed for the resident to engage in all of the touch screen features. The system also supports virtual video visits, telehealth device recording (which takes vitals such as wireless blood pressure readings, weight, pulse oximerty, glucose and thermometer readings) and remote in-home activity sensing.

We recently incorporated a new professional caregiver and user task management feature into the system, which allows the resident and caregiver to follow a daily schedule of tasks (such as medication administration, caregiver education, scheduled appointments, etc.).

Caregiver showing grandCARE user new task list feature on resident’s touchscreen.

“This new feature enhances the resident engagement aspect by giving the resident a daily to-do list and establishes complete transparency for professional caregiving organizations by providing a task list that is required to be completed during home visits,” says Maynard.

– See more at: http://www.homecaremag.com/aging-place/mar-2015/smart-home-solutions-aging-population#sthash.Hxk28Xpy.dpuf

When PERS alone is just not enough…

I read a great article today by MobiHealth News’ Neil Versel.

“Panic Buttons for Seniors Must Go”

He shared a story about his own grandmother who was living in a facility with panic buttons. She had a fall and because she was unable to press the button, she ended up not receiving help for 8 hours. He called for more passive monitoring soutions that did not require involvement from the individual in order to effectively work.

Clearly at GrandCare, this topic is of utmost importance… I don’t think there has to be only one solution. Perhaps a combination of several pieces can cover several areas.  We combine digital health technology (what are her vitals, is she taking her medications, touchscreen education, prompts & assessments) as well as Activity of daily living remote monitoring…what you were talking about – a series of motion/temp, door, bed sensors can passively give relatives and caregivers information on someone’s routine activities… could this have saved her life? Not sure… but you certainly would have known MUCH sooner that she hadn’t been moving around, perhaps she missed a medication dosage, perhaps you’d be notified she didn’t access the fridge at mealtime or hadn’t used a bathroom in a number of hours.

The perfect fit is having a combination of a PERS in Conjunction with a system like GrandCare.  If someone is experiencing chest pain and is capable of pressing a button, a crisis mgmt system could be a life saving device.  If someone is having other symptoms (excessive weight gain, wandering, noncompliance, failure to return to bed during the night, etc), the only way you would remotely know that is from a Digital Health/ADL system.  There are some very forward-thinking providers and in-home caregivers out there that have seen the professional caregiving POWERED by technology is the way to go.  I think many times a provider looks at technology as THE solution and instead, it needs to become a vehicle to provide a solution instead of letting the tech define the care.

So who is blazing the trail? Who is doing this right… Just a few honorable mentions go to:

LivHOME’s CareMonitor™ powered by GrandCare Systems®:
One of the largest in-home care providers who combine hands-on care management, caregiving & technology as one complete solution to keep folks independent at home.
www.livhomecaremonitor.com

Lutheran Homes of NY in Jamestown, NY:
They have created SMARTMENT™ homes that combine GrandCare’s digital health monitoring and socialization along with a Personal Emergency Response System and Activity of Daily Living Monitoring!!

I believe the digital health and activity monitoring space is heating up…It’s an exciting time to be a part of this disruptive industry!  Thanks again to Neil for the insightful, personal and thought-provoking article!!

Laura Mitchell, GrandCare Systems
VP Business Development
www.linkedin.com/in/laurahmitchell