livingwell@home
Then one day, one of the off-site nurse specialists who review the data collected by the sensors began to notice a shift in Olson’s daily routine. The sensors showed he was visiting the bathroom up to 20 times a day. Fearing he was ill or having some other kind of health problem, the nurse specialist quickly contacted the Good Samaritan Society – Waconia and Westview Acres campus, where Olson lives.
“But it turned out to be no problem at all,” says Cindy Larson, the registered nurse at Waconia who fielded the call. “When I asked David about it he smiled and explained, ‘Well, I go in there to draw — the bathroom has the best light!’ ”
Olson is one of 1,600 volunteers participating in a major research study sponsored by the Good Samaritan Society to evaluate the effectiveness of using sensor technology, telehealth services and personal emergency response systems in helping seniors maintain their wellness.
“We also hope the information gathered in the study will give the Society the evidence it
needs to persuade public and private insurers to provide reimbursement for the technology so all seniors can afford it.” – Kelly Soyland
The Society wants to better understand how these technologies can reduce hospitalizations, premature admission to a long-term care center and overall healthcare costs; help seniors maintain wellness; and give seniors the option of living more independently in their homes.
As the nation’s largest not-for-profit provider of senior care and services, the Good Samaritan Society believes technology — such as the sensors in Olson’s apartment — will be pivotal in providing quality care for seniors and essential to managing healthcare costs. In June 2010, the Good Samaritan Society created its LivingWell@Home program to implement new ways to help seniors live more independently as they age in the places they choose to call home. An $8.1 million grant that the Society received that same month gave the organization the finances to pursue a large-scale study to test the efficacy using technology in maintaining senior wellness.
4 The Good Samaritan • 2011 • Vol. 45 • No. 1 Sensor spotlight
The lack of information from a doorway sensor alerts caregivers to potential trouble. The client usually leaves her apartment each day to be with her spouse, who receives care elsewhere. When the doorway sensor indicates she has not been going in and out according to her routine, a nurse specialist at National Campus gets in touch with the assisted living center to see if anything is wrong. Assisted living staff members find that the client is in bed. She tells staff members she had passed out and has been sick, but had not told anyone what happened. Caregivers provide treatment and continue to monitor her progress.
“We believe the research — and the technology and information it gives nurses — will have a meaningful, positive impact on the health of seniors,” says Kelly Soyland, the Good Samaritan Society’s director of research and innovation. “We also hope the information gathered in the study will give the Society the evidence it needs to persuade public and private insurers to provide reimbursement for the technology so all seniors can afford it.”
Conducted by the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health, the study’s first phase began in mid-January at 30 Good Samaritan Society assisted living locations. A second phase, which involves 1,200 participants who receive services in a community setting, is starting this spring. In all, seniors in 40 North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa communities where the Good Samaritan Society has a presence will be part of the three-year study.
continued on page 6
A motion sensor installed in a shower detects humidity levels and gives caregivers information about a senior’s activities of daily living.
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