by Christian Schreiber, staff bloggerYou may have noticed in our newsletter articles and previous blogs that Providence Life Services appreciates technology. We are not a technology company, but we understand that technology is a powerful tool. We get especially excited when we find ways to use technology for enhancing relationships.
So when a company called Status Solutions developed a Situational Awareness and Response Assistant — SARA — Providence saw the benefits. So far, we've installed SARA in three of our communities: Palos Heights’ Providence Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center and Zeeland’s Royal Park Place retirement community and Royal Atrium Inn Assisted Living community. SARA allows residents of these communities to alert caregivers whenever they need help — in both emergency and non-emergency situations.
As a result, seniors are safer and their families worry less — and that kind of peace of mind helps make relationships less strained.
Providence of Palos Heights is one of our skilled nursing/rehab communities, and Royal Atrium Inn is our Assisted Living community in Zeeland. "Wander detection" is important in these communities because people with memory issues tend to want to roam. At Providence, we want to provide as much independence as possible, without opening up anyone to danger. SARA has an egress monitoring system that frees us to keep doors unlocked, because it sounds an alert when the doors are opened or left ajar, it triggers magnetic locks on the exit doors, and it sends calls and emails to staff. The SARA system gives us a beautiful balance of freedom and safety.
Royal Park Place is our retirement community in Zeeland. Their needs are different from the needs of a skilled nursing or Assisted Living setting, but SARA has capabilities that benefit them as well. SARA’s wireless emergency call capabilities will enhance not only safety but also efficiency. We set it up to send voice and text alerts to people's pagers, email, telephones, cell phones, radios, and CCTV, and — so both staff and residents can be notified of important events at any time, wherever they are located. A wireless pendant (pictured above) will be available soon as well. Having all these communication options available means staff members will be able to address safety concerns or environmental problems before they turn into emergencies.
And SARA is easy to maintain and support. Our in-house technology experts, ProviNET Solutions, are the first line of support for any technical issues that may come up. In fact, with remote access, ProviNET staff can log into Royal Park Place’s SARA server, diagnose, and resolve a problem without ever leaving their office.
Technology is exciting, and it's fun to have the latest gadgets and gizmos. But the real excitement comes when that technology makes life better for everyone.
Do you agree? Or do you think that most seniors find technology to be a hindrance rather than a help? Post a comment to let me know what you think — and share examples from your own experience to illustrate your point!
