MobileHelp, the leader in M-PERS (mobile-personal emergency response system) technology, today announced that Dennis V. Boyle has been named to the position of Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Boyle will be responsible for the oversight of sales, marketing, customer service, technical support and provisioning. In addition, Joel Richardson has been named Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Richardson’s primary responsibilities include planning, implementing and managing all financial related activities of MobileHelp and oversight of the accounting department.
LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--American Medical Alert Corp (Nasdaq: AMAC), a leading provider of remote health monitoring and 24/7 communication services that enhances care, accelerates response times, improves operational effectiveness and delivers sustainable patient services, has announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Tunstall Healthcare Group Limited, a leading telehealth and telecare provider.
Our population is aging quickly. If we use Canada as an example, seniors now make up the fastest-growing age group. In 2010, an estimated 4.8 million Canadians were 65 years of age or older, a number that is expected to double in the next 25 years to reach 10.4 million seniors by 2036.
Lifespire, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping developmentally disabled individuals reach their life’s aspirations, is working to release a new version of the Code Amber Alertag which will help accelerate the treatment and care of those in need, and potentially save hundreds of lives.
Elder care, housing and aging – the present is not like the past. We are entering the patchwork quilt era of senior housing that reflects lengthening life expectancy and a stretched economy: steady-state occupancy in assisted living at around 2.1 million for- and non-profit, a lot (1000) fewer nursing homes in the last decade. So what else is out there besides caring for an aging parent in your guest room? Quite a bit, actually. There are national networks and websites today that describe NORCs (Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities); there are Virtual Villages, there is the Maine Approach (building a grass-roots volunteer network shored up with video monitoring), and now there is a national Co-housing Network. Meanwhile, over in China, the land of supposed taking care of aging parents in the home, check out all the senior group homes forming.
Age before beauty -- how about plain old tech design usability? Palo Alto pundits pondered SRI's 2011 'Ten Tech Trends' this week. Fortunately for the cynical among the non-attendees, a transcript was provided. "Trend # 1 -- Age Before Beauty -- Baby Boomers will dictate the technology products of the future." Hmm. Arguments for having more tech designed specifically for older adults included referencing the big-buttoned Jitterbug phone and the fact that the whole country will soon be like Florida (population? weather forecast?). Supporter panelist Steve Jurvetson made the case for more age-inspired entrepreneurship, but Ajay Senkut from Clarium Capital objected (along with the attendees) and said that boomers and beyond would buy and use technology that is well-designed for all. The flip-side of this trend should have been discussed and wasn't -- why is so much tech disproportionately designed for the young and then surprises vendors (see Kindle, see iPad) when it is used by older adults? To me, this element of surprising vendors with adoption trends speaks of inadequate market research and pre-launch analysis.
If it’s a Thursday, April 28, I must be -- Aging in America. Where are the restrooms? With so much travel these days, it’s easy to get disoriented – have I seen this exhibit floor before and which one of my seven PowerPoint slide decks is labeled Thursday at 2:30 pm? From talking to attendees and later reading AARP and Linda Barrett’s comprehensive and updated Healthy @ Home 2.0 -- it looks like as we are becoming older, we are more tech-aware (and apparently saturated with PCs), but still not galvanized into caregiver tech adoption urgency. It also seems to me that industry professionals hear about technology products and see more potential for introduction to their parents than for their elderly constituents. Oh, and by the way, they are waiting for integrators to bundle them into well-tested packages, short lists and solutions for family and professional caregivers.
