Remote Monitoring That Will Assist Caregivers.

The advent of new technology is helping people that require some level of assistance stay independent in their homes longer. One of the technologies taking the market by storm is the GrandCare System. The GrandCare System is finding its way into a number of areas including residences, small group homes and even larger independent and assisted living facilities.

In a nut shell, GrandCare is a three level system. Level one provides a social interface for the end-user, level two is a health and wellness monitoring portion and level three monitors daily activity. Throw in basic home automation control and you have a fully interactive monitoring system that will provide the assistance that is needed by a large portion of the population.

With the rising cost of healthcare, we need to find new solutions that allow early detection of potential problems and address them prior to hospitalization. One hospital admittance and the system can be paid for. Also, with the average cost of assisted living topping $50,000 per year….the cost of a system can be absorbed in a number of months and extend the ability to stay at home for years. Couple a GrandCare System with a PERS and medication management system and the cost is still well below assisted living.

Level One

The first part of the Grandcare is the social interface. This portion of the system is designed to keep the user in touch with the world (even without knowing how to use a computer). It provides a central place for family to share things like photos and information. The system provides a touch screen computer and can also be connected to a TV. The touch screen allows the user to access pre-set internet sites, receive and send email, listen to music, play games and more. When not being used for an activity, the system will display; photos (that can be uploaded by family), trivia, weather, news headlines, daily reminders and other items that the family and user can designate.

Level Two

Level two is something we all need! It is the Health and Wellness side of the system. Via a wireless interface, the system will monitor weight, blood pressure and pulse-ox. The caregiver/family member can create rules so when the system detects changes, it will notify them via email, text message or a simple phone call. (More on rules later). The system will also monitor the glucose levels of the user. Combine all of the monitoring with a complete reporting system that generates reports that can be printed out and given to your doctor. This provides a much more detailed and lengthy look of the patient allowing the doctor to make better decisions then they can when they get that ten or fifteen minute snap shot when you are in for a check-up.

Level Three

Level three is designed to monitor the daily activity of the occupants of the home. It is a non evasive way of ensuring that they are ok. The system will monitor doors, windows, the refrigerator….basically, anything that can be opened. It will also look at motion, lack of motion or excessive motion in any area that is monitored. For example, if a person gets out of bed at 7AM every day, the system can be programmed to watch for no motion in the home between say, 6AM and 8AM indicating they didn’t get up. It can also monitor if a person is in bed or out of bed and how much they are moving around. By doing that, we can determine how well someone sleeps and if they are not sleeping well address it so they sleep better. The system will also advise caregivers and family members if someone is out of bed for an extended period at night, possibly indicating a problem. With the ability to monitor just about anything combined with the rules that can be created, you can create a truly safe environment.

Care Notes

This is an area for caregivers and family members that visit the user to perform assistance tasks, check on wellbeing or for any other reason they stop in. The care notes allow a person to enter basic notes. For example, a daytime caregiver may leave a note for the overnight caregiver saying that the resident has the flu so make sure they are drinking fluids. Or a daughter may stop by and notice that dad has a cut on his head from a fall so he needs to be checked on from time to time for the next 24 hours. All of the care notes can be reviewed from any computer with an internet connection and are also sent out via email at the end of the day to the people that you designate. This allows everyone to stay up to date as to what is going on.

The Rules

The GrandCare System allows rules to be setup by the caregiver or family members. This is an extremely flexible part of the system and very easy to modify as needs or areas of concern change. Some of the systems that are similar to GrandCare use Artificial Intelligence (AI). This allows the computer to set rules based on what it determines is the “normal activity” of the user. That works well providing that when the system is installed, the user has no existing conditions. The system may decide that something that is truly an issue is normal activity.

The rules in the GrandCare System can be setup to send a message via Text Message, Email or can use an automated voice and place a phone call to a designated person. You can also use any combination of the notifications. You can also use rules to cause something to happen in the home, say turn on a light. A few examples follow;

1)      If no motion is detected between 7AM and 9AM send a text message to caregiver 1

2)      If any door opens between 10PM and 6AM call caregiver 2

3)      If  person gets out of bed between 10PM and 7AM turn on the bathroom light

4)      If a person is out of bed for more the 15 minutes between 10PM and 7AM, call caregiver 1

5)      If a glucose reading is below 100, call the home and say “ Your blood sugar is low please drink orange juice”

The rules that can be created are almost endless and can be modified as needed. This allows the system to be customized to today and then changed to meet tomorrow’s needs.

 

Dealers

You will want to work with a local and reputable authorized dealer. The system brings a lot of capabilities; however during setup and installation this can overwhelm and confuse the caregivers and family members. Plus, you want to get the most from the system.  When the system is first installed, the dealer will help to determine the best layout of the sensors based on the individual needs and help setup the users and rules. Some dealers will have a follow-up meeting about two weeks after the installation to review rules, adjust sensors and make any changes that are needed now that the system has real data from day to day use. The dealer will charge a monthly fee that typically covers the monthly software license (charged by the manufacturer), the hosting for alert notification, software updates and sometimes on going service for hardware failure. Some dealers will even take care of rule changes, adding users and other ongoing software maintenance. Spend time with your dealer and ensure that they are a good fit for you and your family.

When all is said and done, this is a system that can greatly improve safety, independence and general daily life of the user. However, this is not a put it in and forget it system, you want to have the family(Children, Grandchildren, Cousins etc…no matter where they live) involved and keep the photos new and changing, sending emails to the user and keeping information fresh. This will help to keep someone who may be isolated from the rest of the world more active and involved.

About the author:

James Gleason is co-owner of JNL Technologies Inc, a company that is focused on safety systems both for the residential setting as well as assisted, independent and skilled care settings. James has spent the last 15 years working in this industry and serving our population.

JNL is now a GrandCare Dealer

JNL Technologies Inc ~ Senior Home Safety is proud to announce that they have recently singed an agreement with GrandCare Systems, a provider of new technology aimed at allowing both seniors and people with disabilities to stay in their homes longer. The systems combine wellness monitoring, communication and daily activity monitoring in one system. The system is capable of sending notifications to families and caregivers when something changes with the users normal daily routine or one of the monitored health points such as a blood pressure reading exceeds a user set limit, the system may send an email to a son. The system is desinged for ease of use so the end user needs little training and no knowledge of the internet. GrandCare Overview

Senior Holiday Checkup

This is the time of year to check on our older friends and family. http://video.foxnews.com/d326dd09-4c82-458b-9826-9777b749ad2d/senior-holiday-check-up

JNL Technologies ~ Senior Home Safety Fall Newsletter

Check out our fall newsletter  JNL Technologies Newsletter Fall of 2009

Web seminar focuses on caring for elderly

Family caregivers can participate in a seminar on the care of older parents without leaving home. The free Internet based conference will be at 7 p.m. Thursday on the Web site http://www.caregiverstress.com. Participants must register in advance at that site.

“The Best Care for Your Parents: Senior Care Solutions and Potential Pitfalls” is designed to help family caregivers plan for their loved ones’ care. The conference will be led by Suzanne Mintz, president and CEO of the National Family Caregivers Association, and Paul Hogan, co-founder and CEO of Home Instead Senior Care.

The presentation is being organized by Home Instead Senior Care as part of National Family Caregivers Month, which is November.

New Partnership

JNL Technologies Inc has signed a new dealership with Home Free Systems Inc. Home Free is based in Milwaukee WI with all development and production based in Israel. JNL Technologies Inc, based in Ixonia WI, has installed about 200 of the Home Free systems across the country and decided to partner with Home Free based on the reliability and features of the system. Jim Gleason, President of JNL stated that it was a natural progression for our company and Home Free provides a great system along with some of the best end-user support around. JNL, a nation wide contractor for wireless systems for the LTC market has been focused during 2009 with moving into the market for residential safety systems for seniors. Jim stated that this is a great market and a perfect fit for us. Working with seniors is always a great experience. With our experience in the LTC market, more than 20 years, we feel that we can provide the best products and service for Wisconsin seniors that choose to stay home and also work LTC facilities to plan and implement new wireless call systems and wanderer monitoring systems. We also offer CCTV systems and are currently researching an access control system and a hard wired nurse call system. We take our time when we decide to add a new product to our offering, we always want to ensure the best for our customers.

Things to know about Personal Emergency Response Systems

Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS).

The advent of new technology is helping seniors stay independent in their homes longer. One of the technologies to hit the market a number of years ago and become popular more recently is the Personal Emergency Response System, also known as PERS.

PERS were developed over the years to mimic the wireless systems that are commonly used in the Assisted and Independent living facilities. The basic PERS system consists of a pendant transmitter that can be worn around the neck or on the wrist and some type of base unit that will call a monitoring station or a designated person. When a user needs assistance, they press the button and the base unit will place the call for help. Most systems will allow for a two-way conversation to occur between the monitoring station and the user. The newer systems can also monitor users for falls, smoke detectors, CO detectors and flood monitoring along with a number of other items.

Who should have one?

The population is aging. According to the CDC, there will be 54 million people over the age of 65 by 2020 and 23 million over 75. Studies report that 30% of people over the age of 65 will fall with 70% of the falls occurring in the home. An undetected fall can be life changing or even fatal. Emergency Care Providers refer to the golden hour, the first hour after a traumatic injury as the most critical. We hear of stories all the time of fall victims going undetected for hours or even days. If a person spends long periods of time alone and is at risk of falling or sudden medical issues such as heart attack, stroke or other medical issues, they are a prime candidate for a PERS. Many seniors want to remain independent in their homes and for the most part can do so. With the use of a PERS, the person, even if healthy can have help at the touch of a button providing comfort for both user and their family.

Types of systems.

There are many PERS units in the market today and it can be hard to determine what will work the best for you or a loved one. If you’re looking at systems, ensure that the system has a backup battery. This way, if you loose power, the system will continue to work. Make sure that the pendant or other transmitters are supervised for battery life. This way, if a battery begins to fail, the system will send a signal to the monitoring center. Also ensure that the system monitors the phone line and will advise you if it does not detect one present. Remember, the more bells and whistles, the more it will cost. If you are going to purchase a system, make sure that you can change monitoring companies if you so choose.

Phone Service

Your phone system is a critical link for your system and if the company you are talking to doesn’t address it, find another provider! If your phone service is provided by your cable TV provider, make sure that the “Cable Modem” is also on a battery back up. You can use a computer battery backup that can be purchased at Wal-Mart type stores. Some PERS providers will also have them available. Remember that if your Cable TV doesn’t work, most likely your system won’t work. A number of companies now provide systems that send signals over the internet but if the internet is not working, neither is your system. Your best solution is a plain old telephone. Also, if you have more than one phone, you need to have a ”RJ 31x” or similar device installed. This is the same device that security alarm panels use. This will ensure that if a phone is not hung-up, the system can still make a call. I prefer the “Line Grabber” it is fast and easy to install. Again, if your provider isn’t talking to you about this, find a different provider.

 

Monitoring

Most providers contract the monitoring to another company. This is not a bad thing, it allows for better and more consistent service. As with anything else, there are good ones and bad ones, unfortunately, it’s hard to know who is who. When talking to a provider, ask them who they use, you can look them up on the internet. Also, ask if they are UL certified, what training they receive and are they CSAA certified (The industry group for monitoring stations).

Providers

Providers for PERS systems come in many types. Most likely, everyone has heard the famous “I’ve fallen and ….”. This type of provider is a national one. Then, you can buy systems over the internet. And finally, there are also local providers, both alarm companies and companies that specialize in senior home care. We will start with the internet providers. They are all over the board as to what service’s they provide. Most take the order, ship the unit to you and you install it. The concern is what happens if the unit fails? How fast can they get a replacement to you? What do you do if you need help installing it? I have read some reports of companies not even programming the unit! The national companies bring a large customer base which typically brings lower prices, however this is not always true. The biggest thing to consider is do they have local dealers that can install, test and service your system. Do they provide 24/7 service and how fast can they respond to a service emergency. Sometimes, bigger isn’t better, you can be lost in the red tape. The local provider, an alarm company or a specialty company is typically your best bet. Pricing will be equal to the national companies and service will be much better. In addition, a local provider is more likely to work with you to meet your specific needs. In most cases, a company that specializes in senior care is the best provider. They truly understand the needs of seniors. They can also provide additional systems to help you.

In conclusion, deciding on getting a PERS unit and who to get one from can be a daunting task for seniors and care givers pressed for time. By spending sometime researching systems and providers, you can help to ensure a safer and independent life style for those that are getting older. The cost of a PERS system is pennies on the dollar compared with independent or assisted living. This article covers some of the main areas of concern. Please make sure that you discuss all of the options with the provider that you choose.

About the author;

James Gleason is co-owner of JNL Technologies Inc, a company that is focused on senior safety systems both for the residential setting as well as assisted, independent and skilled care settings. James has spent the last 15 years working in this industry and serving our aging population.

What is the average age of a caregiver providing care for a family member?

Alzheimers door monitoring system

We are working on a low-cost door monitoring system that will assist care givers when they are caring for someone who wanders. The systems that I have found are not cheap. Some of the systems require that a transmitter is worn by the person being monitored. This works well in a setting that has staff 24/7 however, the systems in the market for homes do not monitor the transmitter for removal. Other systems are no more than an alarm system and offer limited reporting. My idea is a low-cost system that is wireless and easy to install. The reporting options would include a sounder, a local pager, range of about 300′ and the ability to call a phone. This allows the care giver some freedom while maintaining supervision.

If you could pick the perfect system, what would it do? How much would you pay?

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