The care continuum that serves older adults is an ignored reality. The stove-piping of care-related services is a myth. It is perpetuated in associations, venture capital and public policy lobbying. Examples: Some believe family caregivers are a standalone entity that does not use care services. That committing to aging independently at home is a permanent decision. Or that home care a parallel universe to senior living. Or that workers in each of those do not also find work in nursing homes. Reality check: Family caregivers may hire home care services. Or they move loved ones to senior living. Senior living companies (and families) augment limited staff with home care workers. And depending on health, wealth or financial planning, many older adults will one day move to nursing homes, where the worker pool matches that in the other care services. Each part of the continuum wants to use technology to deliver better, more efficient, and health-aware care. Here are five– information drawn directly from the websites:
FamilyFirst. "Family First partners with employers and insurers to make its service available to people juggling work and caregiving. While all caregivers experience stress, working caregivers in the United States suffer dramatic impacts on their professional lives and their mental health and well-being. According to a Harvard Business School study, more than 80% of working caregivers said caregiving made them less productive. The financial impact is stunning, with the Department of Health and Human Services stating that families suffer $522 billion in lost annual income because of caregiving." Learn more at FamilyFirst.
Care.ai. "Care facilities need to be responsive, prepared and equipped with technology that continually evolves and adapts. The care.ai Smart Care Facility Platform transforms healthcare settings with powerful AI-enabled automation that improves processes, saves valuable time, reduces costs and eases burdens on care teams so they can focus on delivering the best patient care possible." Now partnered with Samsung. Learn more at care.ai
Mariposa Technologies. "For homecare agencies, Mariposa provides a modern take on private duty personal care software that enhances the whole client experience so seniors age in place longer, more comfortably and more safely, and family member and caregiver satisfaction and retention are higher. Today, we announce several new, advanced capabilities of the Mariposa solution for homecare agencies that go beyond traditional private duty personal care software and address many of its shortcomings. These new capabilities include: Offline mode, Tablet access, Situational awareness, and Choice." Learn more at Mariposa Technologies.
Toch Sleepsense. "Toch Sleepsense is a non-contact sleep monitoring device, easily placed under the foot of a bed that is uniquely designed to detect when a person exits the bed. The system can provide “out-of-bed” alerts to care teams, helping them respond quickly to residents who may be at risk of falling or wandering, and generates high-level reports on sleep quality, helping health care providers better support a resident’s care. Over the course of a five-month pilot, AGE-WELL SAM3 National Innovation Hub researchers validated the technology’s accuracy in an objective laboratory setting at Carleton University with multiple bed styles and sensor placements." Learn more at Toch Technologies.
Tellus. "We’ve built an AI-enabled device that is non-contact (no wearables or cameras) and smart. We deliver insights and alerts on critical health information and events like changes in vital signs or activity. Tellus provides actionable health information and real time alerts, improving quality of care and operational efficiency. All you have to do is plug it in." Learn more at Tellusyoucare.com.
