Enhancing Seniors' Safety with Technology

by Christian Schreiber, staff blogger

You 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!

Touchscreens Touch Lives

by Christian Schreiber, Staff Blogger

Most people don't get a warm, fuzzy feeling when they hear the word technology. Technology has connotations of being cold, lifeless, unfeeling.

But I recently learned about a "cold, lifeless" technology that is allowing Providence caregivers to be more "warm and fuzzy."

This spring we've begun using Touchscreen Charting at our skilled nursing campuses. Now, I used to be a CNA, and I remember "charting." At some point in every shift, each CNA would have to gather the medical charts of his or her 10-12 patients. We'd pile them on the break room table, sit down, open them up one by one, and record all the details we could remember about each patient. It was tedious work, and it took a long time, but we knew it was important: the next shift would be reading our charts and making care decisions based on our notes.

As important as charting is, the down side is that it takes you away from actual patient care. Every minute spent charting is a minute you're not feeding someone, walking with someone, answering someone's call light, or having a conversation with someone's family.

Touchscreen Charting is designed to minimize charting time and maximize charting accuracy. Not only is it a faster way to record patient details, it also allows you to make entries as things happen throughout your shift, rather than setting aside a block of time to sit down and chart. So your records are more likely to be accurate.

Providence has been working on this technology for more than two years, and we're all excited to begin implementing it. We're excited that time-saving technology like this gives us more time to be warm and human with the people we serve. It's one more way we can provide excellent care even when financial resources are in short supply.