Expert Column
Laurie Orlov 
Laurie M. Orlov analyzes research and trends in the aging in place technology market,...read more
Articles In This Column
- Connect for Healthcare: Helping Care Providers Communicate with Families
- Does a No-Contract Cell Phone Service for Seniors Really Exist? Yes, and It is Even Better Than You Think
- Seniors & Technology: 5 Changes That Promote Aging in Place
- Cell Phones for Seniors: What's New Including No-Contract Cell Phones
- PCs & Internet Solutions for Older Seniors
- 2009 Market Overview of Technology for Aging in Place
- From CES: 10 New Technologies for Seniors in 2009
- Prognosis Poor for Health Monitoring Technology
- Technology Gifts for Seniors Who Hate Computers
- Aging in Place: Home Monitoring Technology
- Aging in Place Technology: Medication Management & Reminders
- Aging in Place Technology: Helping Seniors Stay at Home
Aging in Place Technology
Comments For "Aging in Place Technology: Helping Seniors Stay at Home"
My mother is almost 98 and lives at home. My brothers and I are able to monitor her medications and 2 physical therapists have already been to her home to assess its conditions for proper safety. However, I wish to find a part-time person who can stay with her 5 hours a day and help her prepare lunch and dinner. The agencies I've contacted are over in price ($22 per hour) to what my mother can afford. She lives in Queens, NYC. Suggestions?
Going through a full-service agency means that the caregivers are all usually screened and bonded. The agency will also look after payroll taxes while also finding replacements if a caregiver is sick or otherwise cannot come to work one day; the agency forwards on these costs to you. However you can bring down the cost of having a caregiver in the home by hiring one on your own. Our How to Find & Hire a Private Caregiver article will help you get started.
You can also find out more about the various ways to find homecare, including full-service and referral agencies or private caregivers along with the pros and cons of each.
Another aging in place technology worth mentioning is called CARE (Call Reassurance). This technology calls seniors at home to ensure they are OK and if no one answers, the police or sheriff's office personnel are dispatched to check up on the senior. CARE is offered for free to seniors through different organizations currently in 22 U.S. states and is also available nationwide on a subscription basis for areas not covered by local police or sheriff's departments.
FotoDialer, which allows people to dial others by photograph, addresses issues 1, 3, and 5 as presented by the author. It allows them to call, preserve safety (the first of six pages has pre-printed flash cards for emergency numbers), and simplifies the sometimes arduous task of using the telephone.