Deaconess Medical Monitoring is marketing a suite of products designed to allow senior citizens to be more independent as they age.
These products, developed in partnership with
Guardian Medical Monitoring, come as Deaconess continues to evolve from a hospital to a senior services and product provider.
Products currently available include the Personal Emergency Response System (PERS), which alerts a personal emergency responder if a person falls or faces a home security breach. Subscribers wear a necklace or wristband that they can activate in an emergency.
There's also the Medication Management System, an electronic medication dispenser that helps people manage multiple prescriptions or complex medication schedules. Users can load a month's worth of medication at a time, then be alerted when it's time to take correct doses. After they take their medicines, users hit a blue button on the device to signal they've taken the medications. If they don't hit the button after a certain time, the device withdraws the medicine and notifies a person identified as a first responder.
The goal of the new products is as simple as it is necessary. "We are trying to help people age in place and stay independent in their own homes as long as possible," says Deaconess Medical Monitoring Coordinator Holly Williamson.
Other products like internet video monitoring and GPS-powered personal location devices help seniors and caretakers transition from a hospital to home. Lack of a successful transition often means repeat trips to hospitals, which translates into seniors more likely to lose their independence while racking up higher healthcare costs.
Deaconess Medical Monitoring products are being marketed to individuals, hospitals and senior living facilities, and there are more products being developed, Williamson says.
Deaconess Medical Monitoring is an affiliate of Deaconess Associations Foundation. Deaconess Associations, Inc., the parent company for all Deaconess affiliates, owns and operates Deaconess Long Term Care facilities in Ohio, Kansas and Missiouri.
Deaconess Hospital closed in 2010, and has evolved into a health care campus with health-oriented products, services and resources. The hospital building is leased to University of Cincinnati Psychiatric Services; Regency Rehabilitation Hospital ( a long term rehabilitation hospital); and other other private offices and research facilities.
By Feoshia Henderson
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