Living Well Blog » Aging in Place

Keeping People Aging in Place: Safe at Home

Doris Bersing — Tue, 31 May 2011 23:44:36 +0000

If you have an elderly parent, chances are you’ve spent more than one sleepless night worrying about such things. Thankfully, the past few years have seen a boom in technical innovations that can prolong their independence and help you to be a more effective caregiver, even from afar.

They include automatic activity sensors, smart pillboxes, and communicators that share health data with you or a medical pro. These gizmos (and the monitoring services that typically come with them) can be pricey, ranging from a few hundred dollars to several thousand a year – and neither Medicare nor most private health insurers typically cover them (though some will if they’re prescribed by a doctor).

GrandCare Systems Aging in Place Webinars

Doris Bersing — Sat, 14 May 2011 17:35:36 +0000

Living Well partner GrandCare Systems is a complete communication and monitoring system for active, independent seniors and those who care for them. View a tour of the interactive system here.

GrandCare Systems hosts aging/technology webinars on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month:

2 pm EST · 1pm CST

12pm MST · 11am PST

http://grandcaresystems.webex.com

How to Help Retirees Stay in Their Homes

Doris Bersing — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 18:24:58 +0000

Helping people stay in their homes as they age has been a formal, if poorly understood, goal of U.S. aging policy for some time. Experts say it’s far cheaper than housing seniors in nursing homes and other institutions. And public surveys find that it’s also the overwhelming preference of 9 out of 10 seniors.

As much as we want to age in our own homes, however, the network of government, volunteer, and family caregiving resources needed to support older Americans is able to meet only a fraction of the elder population’s needs. And with soaring numbers of older Americans, coupled with stressed government and philanthropic budgets, the scale of unmet needs is likely to rise sharply.
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“IF I ever need to go to a nursing home, kill me first”

Doris Bersing — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 17:35:13 +0000

Aging in Place: You do not need to leave your home!

Given that 89% of people do not want to leave their homes, this statement featured on the article The Technology for Monitoring Elderly Relatives on The New York Times (July 28, 2010) about new technologies to help people stay at their home, makes total sense.

The purpose of many of these technologies is to provide enough supervision to make it possible for elderly people to stay in their homes rather than move to an assisted-living facility or nursing home — a goal almost universally embraced as both emotionally and financially desirable.

New Devices Help Seniors Stay Longer in Their Own Homes.

Doris Bersing — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 20:01:16 +0000

An article supporting Living Well’s high-tech – high touch approach, was published by Health Day: News for Healthier Living on January 18 by Dennis Thompson. The article stresses the importance of using technology to keep seniors for longer and safer: ” Seniors who want to remain in their homes despite illness and infirmity can get a high-tech assist these days. So can their children who might worry about…Sensors, GPS and more are being used to track aging parents’ movements… So can their children who might worry about an elderly parent living alone, often far from family members.

The 1980s-era medical alert pendants made famous by their television advertising (“I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up!”) are now among a wide array of devices that can help keep an eye on aging parents and get them help when they need it.

Available technologies include:

Sensors in the home to track an older person’s movement, from the front door to the medicine cabinet to the refrigerator to the stove. The sensors are linked with computers that can issue alerts when people deviate from their routine.
Global positioning system devices, using the GPS technology that’s become so common in cars, that can help locate someone with dementia who’s wandered from home.
Computerized pillboxes that track whether medication is being taken on time.

Can We Stop Aging Parents From Complaining?

Doris Bersing — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 18:55:25 +0000

Sometimes aging parents complain because we try to get them to make choices they don’t like. Customized care at home can make them and us happier. Carolyn Rosenblatt advocates freedom, flexibility and choices.

Read the article

Nana-Technology

Doris Bersing — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 20:28:37 +0000

Read the related article.

Series Overview: Growing Old, At Home….Where We Age

Doris Bersing — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:54:48 +0000

Only 5 percent of Americans ages 65 and older live in group quarters like nursing homes. In recent years, this share has been steadily declining (based on 2008 American Community Survey data). Numbers do not total 100 due to rounding. In a series of reports, NPR explores the quiet revolution — both high-tech and low — that aims to make it easier for seniors to age at home.

Check the series

Part 1: ‘Villages’ Help Neighbors Age At Home

Part 2: High-Tech Aging: Tracking Seniors’ Every Move

Part 3: Wired Homes Keep Tabs On Aging Parents

Part 4: Building Homes to Age In

‘Villages’ Help Neighbors Age At Home

Doris Bersing — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 23:49:01 +0000

In Chevy Chase, Md., Betty and Jack O’Connor are part of a growing number of people banding together to help each other grow old at home. Betty is 80, Jack, 85, and it’s something of a triumph that they’re still living independently in their suburban house, with its backyard garden and pool. Jack suffered a brain injury in a fall five years ago. Since then, a hip replacement has left him frail, and an allergic reaction to the anesthesia in that operation stole even more of his memory. NPR Radio emission by Jennifer Ludden.

High-Tech Aging: Tracking Seniors’ Every Move

Doris Bersing — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 23:48:40 +0000

Lida and Chris Bridgers created Adaptive Home, an elder care monitoring system that uses sensors to track movement around a home. Their company grew out of their own need to monitor Lida’s mother, Flora Roberts after a stroke.
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