Senior Health Watch

Often, sons, daughters, or other family members (i.e. care givers) need to assist their parents or older relatives as they age. This is even more true when the elders have experienced a medical emergency or accident that limits their ability to live truly independent. However, these young care givers then must navigate all of the challenges that come with juggling their jobs, family, and sustaining support for their elderly loved one. It is a difficult time for all involved, and the care givers begin to consider alternatives such as retirement homes or assisted living facilities. The safety and health of the senior is the center of this important decision.

However, there is a large financial burden with this type of move. Normally, the home will sit vacant when the residents are moved to a facility. These homes are typically paid for, and now need to be maintained while sitting to avoid depreciation. There are income and asset qualifications to receive aid such as Medicare when paying for a facility (which can cost thousands of dollars a month). Navigating this process, especially if additional aid is not possible, can be taxing on care givers and their loved ones. Therefore, if there is a way to allow them to remain comfortable in their homes as long as possible (a choice many elders would prefer), it alleviates some of this burden by providing more time to save up for such a need.

NuSpatial is always trying to apply innovative solutions that solve every day problems while leveraging the best techniques of hardware and software. This is the case for our newest product in development: Senior Health Watch.

NuSpatial’s Senior Health Watch is a system built around the concept of monitoring people in their home in a non-intrusive, private manner. It allows seniors to remain in their homes as long as possible while providing peace of mind to their care givers. The system allows care givers to define the situations they are most concerned about, and notifies them when such an event occurs or is imminent.

Care givers will have an initial consultation to determine the situations and conditions they are most concerned with. A customer service representative will map out the layout of the home the system will monitor, and advise the care givers how the system will be able to monitor their preferred conditions. A technician will then come out and prepare the home for monitoring, and the care giver will receive access to the smartphone app. The app provides status of the pre-defined conditions (set by the care giver) within the home of the senior and will notify the care giver when a situation occurs or is imminent. These notifications have the option to be sent to the care giver’s phone via push notifications.

Senior Health Watch can be tailored to monitor many different conditions that are unique to the home and its occupants. Here are some common examples of conditions Senior Health Watch is capable of monitoring:

• When there is a power outage in the home.
• When doors are open and shut, and how long they remain open.
• When a stove is turned on, and for how long.
• When someone has used the bathroom (this feature is important when a senior has a medical necessity to use the bathroom often but may forget to).
• When the AC or Heat go out.
• When someone may have fallen.
• When someone starts pacing the house randomly (a common precursor to dementia).

1. I have an Alexa (or IP Camera, or Ring Camera, etc.). Why do I need Senior Health Watch?

First and foremost, Senior Health Watch monitors the home and the people inside of it in a non-intrusive, private way. We will never sell your information to another company, nor will we ever allow another company to “listen in” through our devices. Our technology is simply not designed for that. Privacy is paramount to us. Secondly, these 3rd party devices have limited, if any, ways to alert you for certain situations (especially complex conditions) as they do not possess the ability to monitor for the exact conditions that Senior Health Watch does. To monitor the same suite of specific situations, you would need multiple Alexa’s or cameras throughout the home and to be checking them often to ensure that someone hasn’t fallen or turned the stove off in a reasonable time.

Senior Health Watch does not seek to compete with other smart devices from Google and Amazon. Our system simply meets a different need.

2. My parents don’t like being monitored by a camera. Are we still able to use Senior Health Watch?

Yes! Senior Health Watch uses technology to detect changes within the home rather than relying on cameras. However, there are some monitoring capabilities that may be more accurate if a camera is used. In these events, the cameras will not send images outside of the household- only data.  If the caregivers want image snapshots provided on the smartphone app, Senior Health Watch can provide them in a secure way. Reduced dependency on exporting image outside a house is not a security issue but more of a data bandwidth issue.

3. I have to go out of town and someone else will be monitoring my parents. Can they access the app while I’m gone?

Yes! As long as they have the app downloaded onto their smartphone and have the invitation link, they can monitor and receive notifications while you’re gone, in addition to you. You can then remove their access at any time within the app.

4. What happens when there is a power or internet outage?

The smartphone app will notify you of a power or internet outage, and when the power or internet has been brought back online. If there is an extended power outage, some monitoring capabilities may be limited until power is restored to the home. However, this capability is only available if you opt-in to the cellular option of Senior Health Watch. For those plans that do not opt-in, all capabilities will be down until power or internet is restored.

5. Does Senior Health Watch require the home to have internet access?

Yes, but there are different options that make this possible:

• If the home already has internet and WiFi is available, then Senior Health Watch is setup to utilize the existing WiFi with no further action.
• If the home has no internet currently, but it’s available and can be installed, then Senior Health Watch can be setup to utilize it once internet is installed and connected.
• If the home does not have internet and it is not available in the area (such as in very rural homes), then Senior Health Watch can be setup to include a cellular option.

6. What is the Senior Health Watch Cellular Option?

The cellular option is available if there is no internet connectivity available for the system to use. This can be because there is no internet available in the area or because caregivers want updates regardless of if power or WiFi go out. The cellular option is simply an alternate way to access the internet that does not rely on cable, fiber, or other typical ISP services.

7. Does Senior Health Watch contact 911 if my parent experiences a medical emergency?

No. Senior Health Watch is not certified for medical or emergency use at this time.

8. I’ve had Senior Health Watch for a few months now, and my concerns for health and safety issues of my parents have changed. Can the Senior Health Watch system be updated to include new conditions to monitor and notify?

Yes! Senior Health Watch can be trained to detect, warn, and inform of possible new conditions. You would contact your service provider and discuss any conditions you want to add. If the system does not already have the option available, there is a possibility it can still be custom added. This is what’s so special about the Senior Health Watch system, and we are very proud of it!

9. I no longer need Senior Health Watch. What do I do with the equipment?

Your service provider will be in contact to schedule the removal of all Senior Health Watch technology.

If you are a visitor to our site, have read this, and want to offer some feedback, that would be appreciated. If you are interested in deploying, marketing, or selling Senior Health Watch please contact us at info@nuspatial.com.