HC Caregiver 2016-digital.pdf

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Serving Howard County,
Anne Arundel County, City of
Laurel and Northern Prince
George's County
PROVIDING
FIXED ROUTE AND
PARATRANSIT SERVICES
first wireless blood pressure monitor approved by
the Food and Drug Administration. Once the device
is connected with a home’s Wi-Fi, all readings are
automatically uploaded to BlipCare’s servers. They
can then be viewed online or via an app. There’s also
a wireless weight scale.
Fall-prevention lighting
Falls often lead to hospitalizations, and they are
especially likely to occur at night, when there’s a
combination of low lighting and poor vision. With the
Luna Lights system, when someone gets out of bed,
a pressure pad on the bed automatically illuminates
small portable lights that create a path to the
bathroom. The lights turn off when the person returns
to bed.
Medical alert devices
These devices allow wearers to call when they are in
distress. Philips Lifeline with AutoAlert, an updated
version of its classic wearable pendant, features an
accelerometer that automatically calls for help in
the event of a fall, without requiring the user to push
a button.
Floor-mat alarm
AARP’s caregiving expert, Amy Goyer, is a fan of the
FallGuard Safety Auto Reset Monitor with Floor Mat
from the Smart Caregiver Corp. It’s a wandering-
prevention tool that Goyer uses to monitor her father,
who has Alzheimer’s. You place the mat by the bed
or doorway, and an alarm sounds the moment it’s
stepped on. She says, “Dad sometimes gets out of
bed and thinks he’s already in the bathroom, so I
need to reach him quickly.”
Home motion sensors
Several new systems, such as SafeinHome, can alert
you if a family member who lives alone is unusually
inactive (though it can’t notify you of a fall). It can also
assure you about routine activity levels — Mom is out
of bed at her usual time, say — via an app or website,
and report the indoor temperature. The person you’re
tracking doesn’t have to wear or do anything.
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