Insurance Companies Tackle Aging in Place

Interesting, the big insurance carriers are tackling “Aging in Place“.  Guess they want to mitigate trip and fall hazards before they become a reality!  What is their motivation to help their customers remain in their communities for longer?  Maybe when folks move to a senior community, their insurance premiums drop?   Nevertheless, both the Hartford and MetLife have gerontologists on staff who are working to understand their market.  And, as a result, two sets of reports have come out in the last year.   Links to both of these reports can be found on the 21st Century Care Solutions web site.

The most recent reports were published by the Hartford insurance company with support from MIT’s Age Lab.  These reports are entitled:   Simple Solutions: Practical Ideas and Products to Enhance Independent Living and Modern Ideas, Modern Living: Taking the Next Step in Home Design and Planning for the Lifestyle You Want. The Hartford has done an excellent job in leading boomers, older adults, and those who care about them through a logical and detailed thought process of how to retrofit their homes so that they can “age in place”. The documents focus primarily on standard Universal Design concepts and do a very thorough job in that department. They provide a myriad of resources from which to draw upon and I will certainly keep a copy of it around my office as a resource.

It is interesting to compare the Hartford documents with the recent “Aging in Place 2.0” documents put out by the Metropolitan Life Mature Market Institute. The MetLife documents cover much more ground — they create an entire model for “aging in place” and in addition to addressing the home design issue, also takes into account connections to the world outside the home, including community resources, technology, and transportation and community infrastructure. Overall,I am a proponent of the MetLife’s holistic approach, but can also appreciate the details and large number of ideas provided by the Hartford regarding home modifications.  Considered together, the two are more powerful than the sum of their parts.

Tips for introducing aging in place technology products

I was thrilled to find the “perfect” list of  tips for introducing nearly any aging in place technology product to an older adult who is not technology-oriented.   It’s the result of a pilot study done by the folks who created a device called Memo which is geared towards the care providers of an older adult who has short term memory loss.   I wish that all of the aging in place vendors did similar pilot studies to improve their products.

Here are their tips, verbatim:

• “Products should not be mailed directly to the elder’s home or opened by him or her.  The family (or another caregiver or friendly person) should eliminate the packaging and present it personally.
• The caregiver should become familiar with the device and prepare a little introduction prior to presenting it
• The introduction should occur at a pleasant get-together rather than at a stressful time.
• The introduction should be described as ‘a way we can keep in touch better” or “a way to help us (not you) remember important things” or “something that will help us stay organized”.
• The caregiver should remain and provide a tutorial and give assistance as necessary.
• Including fun and personal messages or uploading photos will ehp the elder see the device as interesting and engaging and they’ll want to look at it often.
• Consider starting with just one or two elements, like the date/time and photos, and add more over time.
• Above all, Memo must not be presented with blame, guilt, criticism, or shame about forgetfulness.
• Reminder messages and To Do lists should be thoughtfully considered and written in a way so as not to alienate or upset the elder (e.g., “all your bills have been paid this month”, rather than “quit worrying about your bills – you paid them”.
• If the elder has an immediate negative reaction, take it lightly, put Memo away immediately and try another time, in another context.
• The caregiver should try to phone a few times in the days afterward and prompt the elder to see the new photos or check out the new widget, walking  them through the process if necessary.”

And, not only did they provide a list of great tips, but they posted a memo describing ways to make sure that the product works well and features that were improved after the pilot study and a list of improvements to expect over the next year based upon input from the crowd at the 2011 American Society on Aging Conference where the product made it’s debut. They also have a very liberal return policy, taking into account the fact that an older adult may be resistant to the product to the point of rendering it useless.

Great job, folks at Memo, I look forward to testing out your product!  

On TV – Caregivers Staying Connected

Technology to help family caregivers stay connected was on TV last night — it’s a sexy enough topic to have been selected for the pilot episode of a show called Handle With Care.  Episode 1 of the show is entitled:  Staying Connected Through Technology.  This show was advertised to highlight the “challenges that family caregivers face with solutions” and is on Retirement Living TV (RLTV), carried by Comcast in my area and probably around the country.  It’s the brain child of Sheri Snelling, former chair of the National Alliance for Caregiving and President of Caregiving Club and will be rebroadcast this summer.  It can also be seen in 3 parts on the Caregiving Club’s web site.

Kudos to Snelling for doing a nice job of weaving a family caregiver’s personal situation with the older adult’s discovery and embracement of technology. The show had its corny moments, but the message came across loud and clear – technology can be fun for a senior who is physically frail but still intellectually engaged.  Products profiled by Snelling and Robin Raskin, technology lifestyle expert, include the Telekin computer, Jitterbug phone and Great Call service, and the HP eprint system.  All three of these products are nicely designed and fit into the category of “design for all” (see Laurie Orlov’s report Connected Living for Social Aging) and “keep it simple stupid” (see Susan Estrada’s guest blog on Aging In Place Technology Watch).   A large portion of the show was also dedicated to the intergenerational service-learning program between PACE University and an assisted living facility in New Rochelle NY, where students worked with seniors one on one to get them comfortable with computers.  This PACE U program was the subject of a fabulous ASA webinar last week – there was a lot learned about how seniors approach computers, the topic of a future blog in this space!

For a computer that was just released earlier this year, we’ve sure been hearing a lot about the Telekin.  It’s a standalone touchscreen computer designed for the “technically challenged” – seniors and those with developmental and physical disabilities.  The screen has live “buttons” that allow users to play games, email, share photos, video chat, check a calendar, read the news, get the weather, and surf the web.  The show provided an excellent example of how the Telekin gave the Senior a new “window on the world”.  After a 7 week one-on-one training program with a college student, he was able to stay in touch with friends, keep up with the news, and have visual communication with his family.  The family member loved it because it helped her feel less guilty for not being there, gave her peace of mind, and gave her the ability to see how the elder’s health was.  It’s not all that expensive (home version sells for $699 and multi-user version sells for $999).

Everyone loves the Jitterbug by Great Call.  They keep adding services, and they’ve figured out the senior market. It’s simple, has easy to understand commands,and has a large keypad, and various services including operator assistance, automated wellness reminder calls, daily health tips and a live nurse.  From my experience, this phone is likely too advanced for someone with dementia, but for someone capable of learning new things, it’s great.  The guy on the show was very excited about his first shiny red cell phone and the daughter-in-law said she would buy it for him.

A true sleeper product, the HP ePrint system can be used as a “digital post office”.   No computer is needed; all the receiving end needs is an internet connection.  The printer has it’s own email address and using it’s own touch screen, it’s possible to surf and print from the web, download web “apps” and receive email from any smartphone or computer.  There’s no other cost involved beyond the printer and some toner.  Family members can email photos and other information to the printer, and with a little training on a small touch screen, the person on the receiving end can find a few things on the web.

All in all, a good topic to tempt family caregivers (and care professionals) with so that they’ll watch future episodes of the show.  Snelling and Raskin chose some nice safe products that work well to demonstrate that technology can really improve quality of life.  It’s great that these products are generally available either on-line or in large chain stores. In my humble option, a great suite of products for professionals in the home care field to consider for their clients who are mentally sharp, or even for a client supported by an in-home caregiver who would enjoy sitting with their client for some computer play or taking printouts off the electronic mailbox to share with the client.   I, for one, will be setting my DVR to catch this show next week to see what family caregiver issue is presented next!

Protecting Our Parents

I was pleased to see that the June 2011 issue of Money Magazine had a series on “Protecting Your Parents”.  The first part – How you can help by Penelope Wang, focuses on what researchers are learning about how seniors handle finances and how family members can lend a hand or help with financial decision-making. The second, Keep your aging parents safe at home, by Kim Clark, provides an overview of the technical innovations that can prolong independence and help caregivers be more effective, even from a distance.

Why was I pleased?  Well, a disclosure is in order here —  I was interviewed for and quoted in the second part of the article as a professional care manager and expert in aging in place technology. Being included in the article is not the only reason that I was pleased.  As someone who has chosen to focus on supporting both elders and their families with care, finances and technology, it is great to see such well written and researched articles put forth by a national magazine. People need help and the information offered by these articles is becoming “mainstream”. There will be a 3rd article in this series coming out later this summer, with information on how families can protect their loved ones against elder financial abuse.

The main idea that the first article puts forth is that it is important for the older adult to retain as much financial independence as possible.  It provides family members with a strategy for how they can start to get involved without actually taking over.  In my work as a Private Professional Fiduciary and Care Manager, I often support clients during the transition towards getting more help, either with financial or care issues.  A family member may have noticed that help is needed, or a report has been submitted to a government social service agency such as Adult Protective Services by someone concerned about the elder.  It is never an easy process. As a professional, I am there to help the older adult (my client) and to help the family figure out what help is needed.

And, as readers of this blog already know, I strongly believe that technologies can help older adults to remain at home for longer and at lower cost.  Kim Clark’s article provides an excellent overview of different types of products, nearly all of which I have tested and can make available to those who are interested.  Many of these devices are either covered by Long Term Care Insurance or medical insurance if prescribed by a medical professional.  The version of the MedReady carousel-shaped electronic pillbox which I can provide connects directly to a call center, so if the medication is not taken, the older adult gets a friendly reminder call, and if they don’t, the next person on the list is contacted.  A call center also calls the older adult if they have fallen while wearing the MyHalo automatic fall detection monitor.   The BeClose system is an inexpensive, wireless motion sensor system which sends very simple reports to a smartphone or email account.  I can help folks figure out whether this or a more complex system is needed.  And finally, IdealLife, a telehealth device that automatically transmits data from various peripherals, such as blood pressure, weight, or oxygen to the caregiver.    These are all great systems.  Keep an eye out on the 21st Century Care Solutions SHOP Page during the next few weeks to find these and many more products.  Or, subscribe to this blog or our twitter feed and you will be notified automatically.