Tag Archive for: NurseCall System

How Do You Take Your QAPI?

, ,
QAPI

Qapi program for nursing homesIf you’re in skilled nursing, you’re probably in the process of figuring that out right now. Because, as you know, QAPI is the new CMS law of the land.

According to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), “QAPI is a data-driven, proactive approach to improving the quality of life, care, and services in nursing homes.” It starts with quality assurance (QA), the steps facilities take to meet quality standards and regulations. Then it adds performance improvement (PI). QAPI (QA and PI together) is meant to help facilities meet minimum regulatory quality standards, and then to make the quality of services even better.

Does Your Nurse Call System Matter for QAPI?

ABSOLUTELY!

Central to QAPI is the satisfaction of residents and their families, and call response time is a great place to start. Do your residents trust that when they request help it will come quickly and will address their needs? Or do they wait, frustrated or afraid, wondering how long before help will arrive?

Built into every RCare system is the RMetrix reporting and analytics package that lets you track call response times, so that you can assess your current status, and set target goals.

  • What is an acceptable amount of time for a client to wait for help and what isn’t?
  • How well are you doing at staying inside that acceptable range?
  • Are your staffing levels right for each place and time?

With RCare, you can track call response time for the organization, or filter it by:

  • Group – facility, wing, hallway, or whatever grouping makes sense for your community.
  • Time – to see how things are going by shift.
  • Enterprise – For large organizations, Enterprise RMetrix lets you evaluate response times across your entire organization at as broad or fine-grained a level of detail as you need.

Frequent caller reports let you see:

  • Who is calling?
  • Are the calls primarily from just a few residents?
  • Are call numbers higher on one shift or in one part of your facility?

RPhone and The Resident’s Experience

Best describes qapi program

  • RCare’s integrated HIPAA-compliant mobile handset, the RPhone, has the unique “I got it” feature that helps both residents and staff. It lets a staff member claim a call that comes through, preventing unclaimed calls, and preventing duplication of effort, which helps make the best use of your staff’s time.
  • It provides personalized information about the resident, so that staff can offer greater personalization and comfort, even if the caregiver or the resident is new. It allows staff members to phone the resident directly to let them know help is on the way, and allows them to find out more information about what is needed.
  • With the RPhone, care staff check in when they arrive at the room, and check out when they leave. They can record the services performed during the call. This is powerful information for your quality teams, as they try to understand more deeply the processes they’re working to improve.
  • The powerful RMetrix reporting helps you identify specific calls that fall outside the norms, to help you investigate potential problems and get to their root cause.

Your Organization’s Other Services:

Your QAPI program must address all services provided by your facility and thus extends to all departments.That’s another reason RCare’s call system is so powerful. Staff across the facility benefit from the system, and residents never need to pull a cord.

  • Passive sensors integrated directly into the system can monitor temperatures of every room and send alerts if temps stray out of the normal range.
  • Integrated water sensors report flooding or overflows.
  • Universal contact sensors report doors that are open when they should be closed, or closed when they should be open.
  • Refrigerator temperature sensors continuously check and record temps, and send alerts for temperatures out of the safe range.
  • Smoke detectors, integrated right into the nurse call system, so everyone is alerted if there’s a problem in a room.

By now, you should have your written QAPI plan in place, and implementation should have begun. As you plan your performance improvement projects, it’s critical to have objective performance measurements of where you started, where you want to go, as well as the ability to monitor the effects of your changes. You need data to evaluate where you have opportunities for improvement, and where you’re exceeding expectations. You need to measure progress, and to provide insight to investigations of where problems persist. Root Cause Analysis provides the most insight when it’s evidence-based and drawn from reliable data.

RCare is more than a nurse call system. Add RCare to your QAPI! Contact us today.

Is Your Refrigerator Running? The Importance of Refrigerator Temperature for Senior Communities

, ,
Importance of Refrigerator Temperature

Hey….Is Your Refrigerator Running?

Unlike the old prank call joke, refrigerator temperature in long term care is no laughing matter. When health inspectors check out your senior community’s kitchen, one of the first places they’ll look is at your refrigerators. Are they keeping food at the proper temperature? This is important because food-borne illnesses are surprisingly common and can be very serious, especially among the more vulnerable populations. According to Federal government estimates, “Each year these illnesses result in an estimated 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths.”

Good refrigeration is easy to get right by using RCare’s advanced temperature sensors to monitor temperatures inside refrigerators.

It’s a critical responsibility to ensure that all dining facility refrigerators are within the proper cooling range. However, many times residents have refrigerators in private apartments too, which need to be consistently monitored as well.

But food safety isn’t the only reason refrigerator temps needs to be monitored. Perhaps equally important are the medications and vaccines which require refrigeration, including insulin for controlling diabetes, some rheumatoid arthritis medications, some common antibiotics, and many more. For these medications, temperature stability is critical, and even small temperature fluctuations can render them ineffective, or even dangerous.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines, refrigerator temperatures that drop even 5 degrees can freeze medications and vaccines, rendering them totally ineffective. The CDC also warns that temperatures varying the other direction, and are too warm, can melt some meds, and can cause others to become useless. While medications can cause harm by being made ineffective, what’s potentially even worse is that they can cause an adverse event in the resident.

The solution is to make sure that you know the temperature in your refrigerator at all times, and that you get alerted if the temperature spikes or falls. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends using a thermometer to check the refrigerator temperature frequently, but in a facility with dozens or hundreds of refrigerators, this is a process that clearly needs to be automated. What’s more, according to CDC guidelines, it’s important to test at different times of day, at different times during the refrigerator cooling cycle, during different seasons and weather conditions, and during different user activity patterns, to ensure that the refrigerators are always maintaining a safe, stable temperature. And it’s important to be able to refer back to a log, to verify that over time the temperature has remained at a safe level.

RCare Refrigerator Temperature Sensor in Senior CommunitiesRCare offers the ideal solution, a digital refrigerator thermometer that is integrated right into the facility’s nurse call system. Temperatures are monitored continuously, and logged, so you can check the history of any refrigerator. Should the temperature veer outside of the safe range, caregivers receive a discreet alert, letting them know immediately when there is a problem. This means that food and medications can be moved to safer storage right away.

Whether it’s food or medicine, you can’t count on knowing whether they’re safe just by how they look. “Some medications may visibly show a compromised medication through cloudiness and/or clumping. However, other medications may not show any signs of alteration, thereby leaving the impression the medications are fine.”

With RCare monitoring your refrigerator temperatures, you can be confident that your refrigerators are running exactly as they should be. And if they’re not, RCare will let you know. Your residents count on you for their health and safety. RCare can help.

New eCall Program for Affordable Housing

, , ,
RCare eCall Program for Affordable Housing

RCare, maker of advanced wireless nurse call systems, recently announced the addition of a new low-cost eCall Program designed for providers of affordable housing for low-income seniors. This eCall Program is a testament to the company’s mission of improving the quality of care for all seniors, regardless of financial status.

The new RCare eCall Program for Affordable Housing offers the critical capabilities of RCare’s flagship wireless nurse call technologies, for a fraction of the cost. The RCare eCall system will offer savings to affordable housing providers in several ways, including an extremely low cost of entry, minimal hardware to maintain, lowered on-going fees, and requiring only one internet connection for the entire eCall system.

“If you run an affordable senior housing community, you need to talk to us. We can save you money.”

The purpose of RCare’s affordable eCall Program is to provide the very best of nurse call capabilities to America’s lower income seniors, according to RCare CEO, Myron Kowal. “RCare is always looking for ways to offer our comprehensive features at a more competitive price point, especially to those who can’t afford all the bells and whistles,” said Kowal. “If you run an affordable senior housing community, you need to talk to us. We can save you money.”

The RCare eCall Program is simple to install, with one small wall-based touchscreen server and one pendant for each resident. If the building has an existing internet connection, that will be sufficient for the entire RCare eCall Program. No landlines are required. When a resident presses the pendant, the RCare panel will notify the call center, who will assess the situation directly and determine further actions.

RCare has had a busy year of progress and innovations including the announcement of an Amazon Alexa skill, their iOS app launch for RCare Mobile, and RCare’s integration with PointClickCare. RCare was recently nominated for two mobile caregiving awards for “Best of 2018” Mobile Star Awards.

Find out more about RCare. www.rcareinc.com or 585-671-4144.

How Senior Housing Campuses Can Save Lives During Heat Waves & Other Disasters

,
Heat Waves and Senior Housing

When the outside temperature rises, it’s not only an inconvenient situation. Heat waves can be deadly to older and more vulnerable residents.

This lesson was driven home starkly in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Florida, where nine residents died after losing power in their nursing community.

It doesn’t take a catastrophic hurricane to make heat a deadly problem for seniors. Nearly 400 Americans die from heat waves each year. “Most of them are elderly people who often don’t realize when they are overheating and in danger.” (agingcare.com)

This is an awesome responsibility that falls on senior communities, to prevent and respond to a potential temperature increase, even if the resident doesn’t realize the danger or severity of the situation.

RCare Temperature Sensors (TS9 and TS9E) to mitigate the danger of heat waves to seniors

RCare’s temperature sensors

Nurse Call Systems have come a long way in the past few decades. Caregiving staff are expected to do far more than simply respond to button and pull cord alerts. They need to be aware if a resident is in a dangerous environment, without the resident having to do anything. The technology needs to enable better, faster, and more predictive care.

That’s why RCare’s nurse call systems have gone above and beyond, to integrate passive environmental sensors, such as temperature and flood detecting sensors. RCare’s temperature devices will detect when temperatures are rising and start sending out alerts to designated caregiving team members. RCare allows for a quick intervention, before the situation becomes a crisis.

Passive sensors are an important part of a complete nurse call system. RCare is the provider of advanced wireless nurse call systems for senior communities across the senior care continuum. With the integration of temperature sensors, water sensors, and other environmental sensors, RCare provides care staff with the extra tools they need to keep seniors safe, even if the resident never pressed a button.

RCare Reporting: The Best Just Got Better

, ,
RCare RMetrix reporting

RCare's RMetrix v2You’ve seen the advantages of RCare’s big-time native reporting and analytics. RMetrix, the free reporting package included with all RCare Nurse Call platforms, gives you the information and call analytics you need by person, by shift, or by group. With it, you can increase efficiencies, identify trends, and improve the quality of care.

And now it just got better.

We have recognized the changing needs of our clients and we used that information to completely overhaul our reporting, customized to your needs. Introducing RMetrix v2, a revamped RCare reporting technology providing the most modern, scalable, and customizable reporting and analytics for senior housing communities with one or more sites. Here’s what’s new:

Multiple Output Formats

Output reports in your choice of format:

  • Display them on screen
  • Download them as PDFs
  • Export them as .csv files

Pre-scheduled delivery, or on-demand:

You can choose to receive the reports in scheduled emails, or get them on demand whenever you want them.

Built-in Reports:

RCare RMetrix reportingOur comprehensive list of built-in, pre-designed reports gives you many choices for what information to get and how. You can use filters like date, group, incident outcome, and more.

  • ADLs by Individual Residents
  • Calls by Hour
  • Incident List
  • Resident List
  • Call Distribution Across Multiple Shifts
  • Incident Exceptions
  • Longest Response Times
  • Frequent Resident Callers
  • Check-In Report
  • and so much more…

Plus, you will receive additional built-in reports with future updates. Completely free.

Customizable:

Our new reporting engine also includes a Report Designer. If you don’t see exactly what you’re looking for in our extensive list of built-in reports, you can tailor your own report. Don’t have time to write your own custom reports? That’s okay, too. RCare’s team can create made-to-order reports for you, giving you full-service, custom-built reporting for a low added fee.

But wait, there’s more…

  • Built-in graphs for easy trend analysis
  • Professional, branded report output

Now shipping:

This new reporting is a part of all RCare installations, and it’s shipping now. It’s just one more reason to switch to RCare’s comprehensive emergency nurse call and monitoring technology.

Are you already an RCare client? Contact your RCare Trusted Integrator to request an upgrade.

RCare’s reporting was already the most versatile and easy-to-use in the industry. And it just got even better.

3 Ways RCare Can Help You Strengthen Your QAPI Program

, ,
QAPI Program

Is your nurse call system helping your QAPI efforts?
It should be.

Quality Assurance, and Performance Improvement are on everyone’s minds these days. Because of the new CMS regulations, QAPI is the latest watchword in long-term care and skilled nursing facilities across the country. No doubt your senior community already has an implementation strategy in place for moving forward. But here’s something you may not have realized: Your nurse call system can play an important role in the success of your QAPI program.

RCare is the global provider of advanced, wireless nurse call systems. We’ve designed our nurse call systems to give you the tools you need for your QAPI program. Why are so many communities overlooking the value of nurse call systems for QAPI? It might be because they’re not using RCare.

Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement
QAPI.
1. Caregiver response data. When a resident pulls a cord or pushes a button on their PERS pendant, your caregiving staff responds. It’s one of many services provided in your senior community. And like all other services, it is subject to QAPI. You not only need to know that you’re meeting regulatory minimums of care, you also need hard data to identify ways to improve–even if you’re already doing a good job. RCare provides this data, including response times, call volumes, shift-by-shift comparisons, and even which services are most often provided at the point of care. This data can be key in setting baselines, in planning new ways to improve, and in measuring the effectiveness of changes.

2. Resident call data. Who is calling most frequently? How often do they call, and at what time of day or night? What services are performed? QAPI requires that you look for how things are going routinely. It also requires that you investigate your outliers. Are there needs that aren’t being met well in your facility? Are there individuals who need a change in care plan? What does your data show? With RCare, you’ll know.

3. Environmental response data. Not all calls are triggered by a request from a resident. It’s important to keep tabs on the safety and comfort of the resident’s environment as well. Are your refrigerators keeping food and meds at a safe temperature around the clock? RCare’s refrigerator sensors record data continuously, and alert the staff if the temperature slips out of range. Is a resident having a restless night? RCare’s motion sensors can let you know if there’s unexpected movement in the middle of the night. Did a tub overflow? RCare’s water sensor alerts staff, who can intervene, often before the resident even knows there’s a problem. Integrated right into RCare’s nurse call system, every alert is sent quietly and discreetly. With the “I got it” feature, caregivers can now claim calls avoiding duplication and negligence concerns.

In your job, there’s a lot expected of you. You should expect a lot from your nurse call system. RCare offers the most advanced wireless nurse call technology, for large or small facilities. RCare wants to join efforts and support you as you develop your QAPI program.

Why Small Senior Living Providers Often Get Left Behind

, ,
Small Senior Living Providers

Nearly half of all skilled nursing facilities in the U.S. have fewer than 120 beds. In fact, according to the Nursing Home Data Compendium of 2015 by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, there are close to 8,000 skilled nursing communities that have fewer than 100 beds. This leaves a lot of small senior living providers with few options to provide top-quality care to people who deserve the very best.

BCube for Small Senior Living ProvidersAdvanced nurse call systems such as RCare’s standard advanced nurse call system offerings are complex and feature-rich. Typical installations may be in large facilities that have hundreds of beds, a large staff and many receivers and transmitters collecting information throughout the facility. (Think nurse stations, nurse call buttons, pull-cords, door sensors, etc.) The system may include dozens of mobile devices carried by caregiving staff and administration. Managing all these devices and their communications with one another requires an enterprise-class computer server. But along with this robust technology comes a price tag that isn’t affordable for small campuses. So, they simply don’t have access to the best advanced nurse call options available to other communities.

RCare recognized this underserved population and decided to address it by engineering a customized, scaled and innovative solution designed for small campuses with this great need and smaller budget. RCare realized that first and foremost, the approach to the design needed to change. Small campuses simply don’t need the robust enterprise-level server hardware. A much smaller computer can easily manage the job, while saving on unnecessary hardware costs. There are also far fewer transmitters and devices in a smaller facility, which results in fewer communications. This means the lower horse-power of a smaller computer can efficiently and effectively handle and distribute the communications from each of the devices. So, which computer could do this at the right cost? That may be the cleverest part. RCare took an existing RCare nurse desk console unit and reengineered it to act as the server itself, in addition to its regular duties as a nurse station.

The result is the RCare BCube. Now, for the first time, smaller senior living communities will be able to afford and deploy caregiving technology previously only available to the big players. They will be able to get the very best technology available, at a fraction of the price. With the BCube, the facilities get the benefits of the existing, thoroughly developed, tested, and supported functionality of the larger RCare solutions, but re-engineered to serve the smaller installation.

BCube for Small Senior Living ProvidersThe BCube nurse stations function like the nurse stations of the larger cube products, reporting sensor information, alert statuses and ensuring caregiver accountability. And the BCube provides the important accountability capabilities of the larger systems, including analytics, reporting and the RPhone “I Got It” caregiving accountability tool.

The BCube was designed only for smaller communities and is limited to installations with fewer than 128 beds. But what if a small campus expands and gets hundreds of additional beds and tries to deploy hundreds more push buttons and other devices? RCare thought of that too. It is seamlessly forward compatible and easily upgradable to larger and more robust RCare solutions, without hassle or inconvenience.

RCare’s revolutionary new BCube.

Better technology
Bigger value
Best fit for you

Learn more.

To BCube or Not to BCube?

, ,
Best Little Nurse Call System

That is not the question. The question is When?

It’s your first week on the job for a small caregiving staff at a 50-bed skilled nursing community. The intimate and family-like feeling of the community is what drew you in to begin with. And so far, you have met almost all of the residents and you like the small team of carers that you work with.

RPhone for the BCube has the I Got It Feature

The RPhone, with its unique “I Got It” feature

But, there is one thing that is frustrating to you. When multiple calls come in from residents, you are given no information on what to expect, what to bring and how urgent it is. On this Saturday evening, you receive two calls within minutes of each other, from Rooms 101 and 134. It could be a fall, a request for help to get out of bed or just someone needing a glass of water. The readout on the caregivers’ pagers simply shows the time of the call with a room number. You wonder whether someone is already handling the calls or perhaps most importantly, which resident do you prioritize to check on first?

The problem is that you need some more information to properly prioritize the calls. But you just don’t have it. You don’t know if it’s an emergency, or the resident history, or what to bring along, or if they happen to have allergies you should know about. You’re stuck in an impossible situation. You know you can’t possibly provide the best care without having the facts. So what to do?

Well the call from Room 101 came in first, so that’s the one you answer. But, your coworker is also there when you get there. Turns out Ruth accidentally pressed the button. Now two of you have responded to this non-emergency situation simultaneously, while Henry in Room 134 has slipped in the bathroom, is extremely frightened, and nobody is there to assist him.

RCare's Pretty Pretty Pendant and the BCube

Pretty Pretty Pendants work with any RCare nurse call system, including the new BCube for small facilities

If you work in a larger facility, you may have the benefit of a high-tech call system that can help you sort that all out. High-end advanced nurse call systems, like RCare’s flagship solution called the RCube, sends you all of the information you need to various communication devices, lighting platforms or even to nurse call console stations. Communities can go one step better and use secured, encrypted mobile devices such as the RCare RPhone to securely receive all information and have two-way communication between the caregiving staff, administration and even to the residents.

You can talk to the resident, gauge the situation, bring the correct supplies, reassure that you’re on the way, and prioritize. These RPhones also allow caregiving staff to claim responsibility using the “I Got it” feature, informing the rest of the staff that you’re responding to this call, eliminating duplicate efforts and ensuring accountability.

Around half of all skilled nursing facilities in the U.S. have fewer than 120 beds. That’s a lot of hard-working, compassionate caregivers who have inadequate tools to provide care, and a lot of seniors who don’t benefit from new caregiving technology and improved response times.  

But because you work in a smaller facility, you simply don’t have this kind of high end technology. Instead, you are stuck with a low-information nurse call system that gives you beeping pagers and loud intercom messages. It’s really not fair to your residents and to the caregivers striving to provide top-notch quality care. So, If the technology is available, why don’t smaller facilities use it? It’s because high-end, advanced nurse call technology is simply unaffordable for small campuses.

Well, that is until now.

Introducing the RCare BCube: Best Little Nurse Call System Ever. Designed, customized and scaled for the smallest skilled and assisted living communities, with all of the features of the big time advanced nurse call systems, at a fraction of the price. Now, even the smallest senior living communities can afford to have the best nurse call technology for their staff and their residents.

So to BCube or not to BCube?

That’s never been the question. The real question is, how soon can I get it installed?

The RCare BCube. All the monitoring, communication and reporting features of our large flagship RCare advanced nurse call system, scaled and priced for a smaller facility.

The Senior Community That Cried Wolf: RCare’s Alternative to Loud Alarms

, ,
alternative to loud alarms for senior housing

RCare is not only proud to be the maker of the most advanced wireless nurse call and advanced monitoring systems in the world, but we’re also honored to be a member and advocate of the Eden Alternative initiative.

What is The Eden Alternative? It’s a non-profit dedicated to improving the quality of life for elders and their care partners. “In a culture that typically views aging as a period of decline, the Eden Alternative philosophy asserts that no matter how old we are or what challenges we live with, life is about continuing to grow. Building on this new paradigm, it affirms that care is not a one-way street, but rather a collaborative partnership.”

RCare's GeoPendant and The Eden AlternativeThat’s one of the many reasons that RCare supports The Eden Alternative. RCare’s mission is to improve the lives of elders and those who care for them. We’ve been diligently working at this mission since our founding in 2006, and our innovations in user-friendly, easy-to-learn technology have allowed us to help more and more elders and caregivers every year. We take the time to understand caregiving and the unique issues facing each community to build customized solutions that last.

One of our latest innovations, the GeoPendant, is an example of our commitment to the quality of life of elders and carers. An attractive pendant that can be worn on a neck loop or on the wrist, the GeoPendant’s first function is that of a PERS pendant. But the GeoPendant does a lot more. It lets caregivers define geographical safe zones for elders who need them. Should the elder leave that safe zone, the care staff receive an alert so that they can discreetly intervene.

Like everyone else, elders value their independence and dignity. Moving to a locked ward is a big step that should only be taken when there is no other option. For many, the GeoPendant can now be that other option. Elders wearing the GeoPendant are free to go about their day, within an area defined as safe for them. The only time their movements are brought to anyone’s attention is if they move outside their personalized safe zone.

This is especially useful with so called “mixed populations.” One does not develop a need for a locked memory care unit overnight. These needs arise slowly over time. This means that there are people who may need moderate wander management who live in completely open communities alongside many who do not need such assistance. With the GeoPendant, only those elders who need this type of care receive it, and they do so discreetly, without embarrassing sirens or alarms ringing through the hallways.

One of the truly innovative features of the GeoPendant is that it doesn’t use GPS. Instead, it uses the existing RCare equipment placed throughout the community to determine if you are, or are not, where it’s safe for you to be. Also, safe zones are not just defined in terms of horizontal area, but also vertically, for example by floor. This is because the device utilizes artificial intelligence. During setup it is taught where the safe zone is for a particular resident. The elder’s zone can be highly specific, even singling out precise rooms and corridors for in/exclusion.

GeoPendants are integrated into the wider RCare nurse call system, meaning staff won’t have multiple systems to monitor. If an elder moves out of a safe zone, the alert is sent to the high-powered nurse call system. Care staff receive the alerts on their HIPAA-compliant RPhone mobile handsets, just like any other nurse call.

Alternative to Loud AlarmsCommunities and senior advocates are increasingly drawing attention to the indignity of noisy alarms. They disrupt sleep. They disrupt daily life. They embarrass elders unlucky enough to trigger them. Worse, they may immobilize them, if the elders avoid activities that risk triggering an alarm. And, like the boy who cried wolf, frequent alarms tend to get tuned out, which could put elders at risk. RCare’s alerts are all quiet. Whether an elder pulls a cord, pushes a button, or leaves a safe zone, the alerts are sent silently to the care staff. Calls are “claimed” by a caregiver using the “I got it” button on the RPhone, ensuring that everyone’s call is answered, without carers duplicating their efforts.

Because the GeoPendant is a personal emergency response system as well as a location minder, elders who need both don’t need to carry two devices. In addition to discreetly safeguarding their whereabouts, the push button can be used to summon help at any time.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, there are currently 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s, and by 2050, that number could be as high as 16 million. By mid-century, someone in the United States will develop the disease every 33 seconds.”

Dr. G. Allen Power is a physician and a senior advocate. In his book, Dementia Beyond Drugs:
Changing the Culture of Care, he argues that “care environments are often designed around the needs of the carers, rather than those with dementia.” This is an issue that The Eden Alternative is addressing. It’s important that both parties in the care partnership are respected and honored.

A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or dementia doesn’t need to trigger an immediate loss of independence, even when it’s an effort to keep elders safe. The Eden Alternative challenges us to strive to enhance the well-being of elders by eliminating the three plagues of loneliness, helplessness, and boredom. RCare has accepted that challenge, and one outcome is the GeoPendant, designed to help elders live happier, more independent, more dignified lives. And at the same time, RCare is helping caregivers offer the best, most advanced care. For a small device, the GeoPendant is having a very big impact on the lives of elders and their care partners.

RCare’s Top 4 Tech Must-Haves for Seniors

With each passing year, technology is playing a more significant role in improving and enhancing the lives of our aging population. Not only do these devices combat isolation and depression by increasing communication, they also enable loved ones to regain their independence. At RCare, we believe in holistic senior empowerment, and we feel technology plays a critical role. We have come up with four vital segments of technology to provide seniors with the most bang for their buck.

  • Wireless Internet Access

Wireless Internet (or WiFi) has arguably become as essential to any  american household as running water or electricity. Everything can be accessed online or through a smartphone “app”, eliminating the need for a stationary personal computer at all.  Many family and friend communications, photo sharing and information exchanges happen on websites and social media networks.   Not to mention, many remote monitoring and alert services (think alarm, security and pendants) rely on WiFi connectivity. Without wireless Internet access, our senior population may feel disconnected and disengaged with the world around them.

  • Socialization Platforms, Smartphones & Tablets

Now that we’ve done away with the traditional stationary computer, adding a tablet, simplified communication device or smartphone into the residence of a senior is a great way to reconnect. Seniors can listen to music, read books, play cards, view photos, track their health, and even play games to promote brain health.  Choices range from your typical iPad/Samsung tablet manufacturers to devices specifically targeted to connect and engage seniors with their family and caregivers (e.g. www.grandcare.com)  Wow!

  • Wireless Remote Monitoring

For seniors wishing to secure more independence, wireless remote monitoring and crisis management systems like RCare can really save lives. Technologies ranging from motion detectors to door sensors to push pendants can monitor the activity patterns for signs of an emergency, without violating privacy.

  • G4 Advanced Locating Protocol

For a patient who may have wandering tendencies or memory loss, wearing a advanced location pendant and push button can be essential. While other systems may only give caregivers a general idea of a pushed pendant location, RCare allows care facilities to pinpoint nearly the exact location, and in a fraction of the time.

Want to learn more about the technology options available for Senior Housing? Contact us to learn more about what we do, or read through our FAQs and client testimonials.