It goes by different names — “independent living,” “non-assisted living,” or the preferred “aging in place” – but these phrases mean the same thing: growing older without having to move to a healthcare environment.
In fact, nearly 90% of seniors want to stay in their own homes as they age, according to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). Even if they begin to need day-to-day assistance or ongoing health care during retirement, most (82%) would prefer to stay in their own homes.
Today, high-tech monitoring systems and other gadgets are helping seniors age in place independently, while giving family members peace of mind in the process. What’s more, home-based tech tools could be far less expensive than moving into an assisted living environment.
The following is a look at some of the main “aging in place” tech categories, and an example of a service for each.
Rather than calling mom six times a day to check in, activity-based sensors around the home can discretely reassure loved ones she’s up and carrying about her daily business. If not, a remote family member, caregiver or emergency response service is alerted – via phone, email or text message — if an at-risk elderly person is doing, or not doing, something. It could detect if a senior hasn’t left his or her bedroom at the usual time or if she hasn’t open the fridge door or medicine cabinet in, say, five hours. Installation, which is often handled by a professional, is often folded into the monitoring cost.
For example, Alarm.com’s Wellness independent living solution integrates a suite of sensors and devices, and applies machine learning algorithms to the data they generate to proactively detect changes that may suggest risks. Wellness can report about changes in activity levels, sleeping and eating patterns, bathroom visit frequency and medication adherence, as well as emergency situations like wandering out of the home or falls.
Less intrusive (and frankly, smarter) than video cameras, sensors can go on doors, windows, cabinets, chairs, under bed sheets, and so on.
Coupled with Alarm.com’s home security solution, Wellness is about $50/month, after installation costs, but pricing depends on the service provider and the exact mix of devices and sensors.
Worn around the wrist or neck, an emergency pendant can be pressed in case of an emergency, such as after a fall, and a call is immediately made to 911 and/or pre-programmed numbers of family members.
Features may vary between solutions, however, such as some that work outside, offer two-way voice support, or with a “fall detection” feature so loved ones are notified even if a senior isn’t able to press the button.
Along with its lightweight and waterproof design, Philips Lifeline products are some of the more popular solutions on the market: HomeSafe with AutoAlert fall detection works at home, while its GoSafe pendant (with AutoAlert and two-way voice) uses up to six locating technologies, including GPS, to find someone in an emergency.
HomeSafe AutoAlert costs $44.95/month for the landline version or $56.95/month if you don’t have a home phone. The mobile GoSafe option cost $54.95/month for the landline version or $64.95/month for the wireless option, along with a one-time $149 device fee.
It’s a potentially dangerous scenario for many seniors: you’re on medication but you forget to take it — or worse, you cannot remember whether you took pills or not, so you take them again. This problem has attracted lots of innovation over the past few years, and a handful of products are designed to remind, dispense, and/or manage medication.
With the e-pill MedTime Station ($289.95), for example, seniors will hear an alarm and see a flashing light when it is time to take medication. Located in a tray inside the device, the pills will rotate into position. Ideal for those with dexterity challenges, simply pull the blue handle forward and the medication will fall into a provided stainless-steel medicine cup, and the alarm automatically turns off. The lockable automatic pill dispenser can dispense medication up to six times per day.
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Also with an alarm and flashing light, the e-pill MedTime PLUS ($389.95), on the other hand, dispenses medication up to 24 times per day, and includes an LCD screen which shows the date, time, next dose scheduled, doses remaining, and battery level. Along with more alarm settings, the automatic pill dispenser also has an auto-lock dispensing door that only allows access to the medication tray at the scheduled dosage time.
e-pill’s MedSmart PLUS ($789.95) pill dispenser has additional features, including an AC-powered docking station, larger pill compartments, easy-to-hold rubber grips, and the option to send out alerts to loved ones when pills are taken (or not), with no monthly fees for the service.
Video chatting – via a camera on a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer’s webcam – is great way to communicate with your aging relatives. In fact, compared to a regular phone call, video can be a much more effective way for caregivers to gauge how the senior is doing, based on how they look or act, or the state of their home in the background. A picture, as they say, is worth a thousand words.
Services like Skype or FaceTime work on multiple devices (though FaceTime is limited to Apple’s products), and do not cost anything when used over Wi-Fi connectivity with other Skype or FaceTime users. Often, younger and/or more tech-savvy family members can set the senior up with an account and show how to place and accept a video call.
Many seniors enjoy having a virtual “face-to-face” meal with a friend or relative on a daily or weekly basis. That may be the simplest and most welcome aging-in-place technology a loved one can use.
Follow Marc on Twitter: @marc_saltzman. E-mail him at askmarcsaltzman@gmail.com.
