livingwell@home Technology helps caregivers meet the changing needs of seniors


LivingWell@Home provides health- monitoring technology for seniors that includes sensors, telehealth and personal emergency response services. These tools focus on wellness and prevention of health problems so seniors can live longer and more independently in their own homes.


For seniors and their families, the program offers: • A proactive approach to care delivery


• Early identification of potential medical problems


• Timely response to safety concerns • An opportunity for clients to participate in their own care


• Added assurance knowing that professionals are monitoring a loved one’s health in a non-intrusive manner


For the Good Samaritan Society, the LivingWell@Home program has four main goals: • Expand the use of sensor technology, telehealth services and personal emergency response systems


• Study how sensor technology, telehealth and personal emergency response systems can help seniors, and evaluate the cost savings associated with the services


• Secure reimbursement from public and private sources to pay for these services


• Develop business models to sustain LivingWell@Home as a major service line for the Society


or her own vital signs — such as blood pressure and heart rate — and sends the information to a caregiver at a central location. Personal emergency response is a system that notifies family members or professional caregivers in the event of a fall or sudden illness.


Participants in the second phase will include seniors who fall into one of the following groups:


• Seniors who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid/Medicaid Waiver program funding and have been hospitalized during the last 12 months. Participants in this group would include those 65 and older who require the level of medical care provided in a skilled care center, but choose to receive those services in a community setting such as a group home or apartment building where healthcare services are provided by an agency.


• Seniors who have been discharged from a hospital, but have been out of the hospital no more than two weeks.


• Seniors who have been discharged from a Good Samaritan Society rehab/skilled care center, but have been out of the center no more than four weeks.


These three groups, as well as the assisted living center group, were selected in order to test the efficacy of the LivingWell@Home technologies among seniors


This WellAWARE screenshot is transmitted to caregivers. It shows that sensors have detected “significant change” in bathroom trips and movement and a “change” in shower habits.


representing a variety of healthcare needs and who live in a variety of settings, says Dr. Les Grant of the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health, the study’s lead investigator. “These seniors were selected because of who they are and where they are on the long-term care continuum,” he says.


Soyland says that by researching the value of technology in senior care, the Good Samaritan Society seeks to give seniors greater access to innovative technologies. A few years ago when the organization installed technology at several locations, including Waconia, it showed great


The Good Samaritan • 2011 • Vol. 45 • No. 1 7


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