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New High-Tech Monitoring Systems
Mar. 19, 2007 - Whether you live in the same house or miles and miles away, there's no way to avoid worrying about your parents as they get older. In fact, caring for an aging parent or relative is one of the issues of our day. But Consumer Specialist Ric Romero says there are services that promise peace of mind by allowing you to monitor mom and dad remotely.
These new high-tech monitoring systems can do lots of things. Some will track every move that your mother or father makes, or if you prefer, the system can just keep an eye on their blood pressure. But they're not perfect so they're not a replacement for hands on care.
Eighty-seven year old Tom Araps has lived alone for 30 years now. "I'm independent. That's what I like best about living alone," says Araps.
But after Tom suffered his second stroke, his daughter Connie didn't feel safe leaving dad home unattended. So she installed a home monitoring system in his condo that keeps tabs on his activities and reports back to her. "This gives us a level of visibility and control that I don't think any other technology can do," says Connie Araps.
"There's really been an increase in the development and use of home monitoring systems," explains Gail Hunt,
Thirty-four million Americans now care for someone age 50 or over. The National Alliance For Caregiving says no matter what the living arrangement, family members worry. If they live in the same house or nearby they don't like leaving for work or running errands.
"For the 15% who are doing long distance caregiving, there's even more of a concern because there you've got the distance," says Hunt.
There are several monitoring options. With some services like iCare, users type in daily health information like blood glucose or blood pressure readings.
"Those can be entered into a handheld device that sends information to a system of nurses and then provide information back to, for example, the family caregiver," explains Hunt.
A system called Elitecare is moving from nursing homes into regular homes and tracks a person's movement with badges. The Araps use Quietcare, which relies on sensors around the house.
"The system learns what's normal for that individual and when there's a change in behavior or potential emergency, the system dials out to our servers," says George Boyajian, Quiet Care.
If Connie's dad doesn't open his refrigerator to eat his medicine cabinet to take his prescriptions or get out of bed the sensors will go off and Connie will be alerted. She can even keep track of all his activity online.
"Having this system has given me a level of peace of mind that I did not have for all the years that he's been living alone," explains Connie Araps.
Home monitoring systems vary in price depending on their services. Installations can range from about $50 to $200-dollars and most systems also charge monthly fees.
QuietCare 767 Third Ave, 14th Floor New York, NY PR contact:
Gail Hunt, National
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