New technology for the 90-plus set
She is less than two weeks away from her 93rd birthday. She lives alone, in the same apartment she and my grandfather retired to in 1984 (my grandfather died in 2001). Her closest relative is 100 miles away. Her children and her grandchildren all live more than 1,400 miles away.
Her bones are brittle from osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. She is losing her hearing. Her vision has been bad for as long as I’ve known her. She lives on the second floor of a walk-up building, with no elevator.
Last weekend, she had to be hospitalized for a fall she took when the car she was getting out of moved slightly while she was removing something from the back seat. She had had another fall in her home less than two months earlier. She is out of the hospital now, in a rehab facility, where she is supposed to stay for as long as three weeks while she gets physical therapy so she can stand and walk without pain. But what happens after that?
In the past, she has flat-out refused to move to be closer to one of her children because she doesn’t want to deal with winter weather anymore, and, as she says, “This is my home.” She has also said she does not want to go into assisted living or nursing home because she has always been stubbornly independent.
I know this story is not unique to my family. I’m sure many of you have faced similar dilemmas with elderly relatives.
My mom and my aunt have both suggested that my grandma get some sort of “panic button,” more formally known as a personal emergency response system. They were thinking of the old “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” variety, which requires the user to push the button to summon help. Of course, that does no good if the wearer is unconscious or is disoriented.
I explained, based on my coverage of health IT and wireless health technologies, that there are some new types of personal emergency response devices that are passive, i.e., they can automatically detect a fall and call for help, no matter what condition the user is in. Some more comprehensive systems monitor vital signs and movement.
Most of my family did not know about these options.
When I visited back in December, I showed my grandma videos of a few technologies. She wasn’t interested in anything that looks like a computer or a touch-screen tablet because, frankly, new technology is confusing. I mean, she doesn’t even know how to use her DVD player, and has no interest in learning. Caller ID was a big step for her.
She also did not seem too interested in wearing a vitals monitor, even something as simple as a chest strap. Her heart is fine. While she did survive cancer twice in the past 15 years (!), I am not aware of any chronic ailments other than the arthritis and osteoporosis. There is no Internet access in her home, and she does not have a cell phone. She begrudgingly said that she would be OK with wearing a sort of panic button. I have a feeling she would also agree to have a motion sensor installed in the apartment, but only if the landlord would allow it. (I’m pretty sure the landlord would, and that she was just making excuses.)
So, what would you suggest? Vendors, whatcha got?
I’m not looking for any handouts or freebies here by virtue of the fact that I have this public forum. My family would be willing to pay the regular price for your products and services. But I am going to use my soapbox to do the right thing for my grandma.
Hi Neil,
Thank you for sharing this very personal story.
I’ve shown you some products before but first thing I’d do is try and help your mum see the fun and potential upsides of being connected and reachable.
I remember demonstrating this device to you at the mHealth Summit in Washington DC but after reading this I’d also recommend this home motion/intruder monitor to help give reassurance to your family:
http://www.sendtech.co.uk/SeN-Cit/index.shtml
Neil,
Although I am not as up as I’d like to be on medical devices for the home, I want to alert you of a group that has done a lot in that arena (I have no affiliation with them except that I have met their brilliant and prolific founder Dr. Robin Felder when I was in grad school at University of Virginia). The group is MedicalAutomation.org and they are based out of DC. They are also plugged into the academic scene and may have info on devices that are still in research but could be used for trial purposes.
Best of luck.
Neil,
Too many families just wring their hands over issues like your feisty grandmother. It’s great that you have made this public and asked for help.
I think your quest for technical help makes sense, as do the two posts here. However, I suggest that you take a broader view. Has your family talked to anyone of the major providers of social services in her area? Catholic, Lutheran, Jewish, etc., agencies do a great job helping families develop a safety net. For example, she may like having a homemaker come once a week to go shopping with her or someone to check up on her on a regular basis.
She sounds terrific and reminds me of my step grandmother. Rigorously independent, she lived alone until she was around 100.
[…] may be aware that I was looking for the right piece of monitoring technology not too long ago to help my family keep tabs on my 93-year-old grandmother, who had been living alone far from the rest of us. That’s not an issue for the moment […]
Although monitoring devices might be helpful, as a caregiver, I would suggest to you and your family that you go to the town and community where your grandmother lives and find someone that can look in and check on her. Most communities can provide a list of volunteers that can help with services, such as shopping, etc. If you can’t find a volunteer, I would enlist the help of an agency. Someone who is 93 would most likely embrace a visit over a monitor. Technology can be challenging and it’s not always a cure all. Having a family member call your grandmother at a designated check in time each day would be another suggestion. That way, she can prepare for and expect the call and if she doesn’t answer or you suspect things are not right, you can summon help.
Check out UTA (University of Texas at Arlington) research department. The students and a robotics professor there has in development a ‘smart floor’ with sensors that can detect the slightest movement after establishing a base line. Children and Nurses can have access to the data gathered from the smart floor. If Mom doesn’t get out of bed and it’s Noon; she may be depressed and it’s time for a phone call or a lunch date. There is also a ‘smart mirror’ that measures blood pressure and other vitals using a special camera to measure blood flow and skin color. Really cool stuff going on there…