Illuminating Speech by Google VP of Health, Adam Bosworth

Read the whole transcript here, and an excerpt follows:

Now let me switch gears and talk about an area that isn't going as well, and where innovation is badly needed. There is no place individuals can go to get a comprehensive set of health and medical information about themselves. Access to this comprehensive information can be vital to proper and timely diagnosis of the patient, to the patient getting the best possible treatment, and, perhaps sometimes overlooked, to the patient getting the best possible ongoing care and support after the initial treatment, especially for chronic illnesses.

Mr. Bosworth's blog is here.

SimplyHome website

4,000 Children Nationwide Live in Nursing Homes

In the Wall Street Journal today, an article entitled: "Babes Among Elders: Nursing-Home Kids" talks about how parents of disabled children seek lower-cost home care, but Medicaid pays only for institutionalization in some cases. From the article--

Thousands of other children are growing up in nursing homes across the country, many for the same reason as Ronnie. Federal disability insurance guarantees nursing-home care for the disabled. But in many states, its coverage isn't enough to let those people, children included, live at home -- even when the cost to taxpayers, and the strain on families, is often much lower.

We believe a sea-change is coming in reimbursement-- Assistive Technology not only can allow a disabled or elderly person to stay in their home at a far better quality of life than institutional care delivers, but at far lower cost.

SimplyHome website

SugarStats.com launches

We've been watching SugarStats.com and they've gone live. We think it's the best site on the web for managing diabetes, Type I or Type II.

Their description:

SugarStats provides a simple, clean and intuitive interface to track, monitor and access your blood sugar levels and diabetic statistics to spot dangerous trends and better manage your diabetic lifestyle.

With SugarStats you will be able to:

• Bring your readings online. Get rid of that pen & paper log!
• Track & manage meds, foods* and activity*
• Drill down into specific timeframes to get a clear picture
• Visualize your progress with easy to read graphs and trends
• Share your statistics with your family, friends or doctor
• Access your info from any modern web browsers. Home, work, school or anywhere.
• Have a clear and easy-to-use interface to view your stats.

SimplyHome website

Don't Depend Just on a Panic Pendant

SimplyHome has a panic pendant (sometimes called a "PERS" for Personal Emergency Response System), but here is the problem with JUST relying on a panic pendant:

• 35% of all seniors fall in their homes every year.
• 50% that have a PERS pendant wear it.
• Of those wearing the PERS pendant, only 50% will use it in an emergency (making it only 25% effective).

SimplyHome website

The Power of Motion Detectors

Last week in USA Today this article spoke to new uses of motion detectors.

We too believe that the "unblinking eye" that is a motion detector as part of our SimplyHome system is a highly effective way to help the disabled and seniors live more independently, supported by caregivers.

We have an important feature called "Up & About." It works like this:

Using the web interface, set a simple rule saying, as an example, "if the motion detector in the kitchen at mom's home does not show activity each morning by 9 am, send me a cell phone text message, and my sister an email."

Thus the name-- see if the resident is indeed "up & about" in the morning. Panic pendants are good-- our system has one. But if a resident can't find it, get to it, or push it-- what use is it?


SimplyHome website

RL.tv show that we especially like

There's a very informative show on RL.tv called: Focus on: Choices for Independence . Check it out here.

Description of the latest episode:

Featuring: Lt. Governor Andre Bauer and

U.S. Assistant Secretary for Aging Josefina Carbonell

Retirement Living TV host John Palmer (former anchor and White House correspondent for NBC) moderated a panel at South Carolina's Statewide "Call to Action" Leadership Summit on Aging at the Grand Strand Senior Center in Myrtle Beach, SC on April 27.

The panel included Lt. Governor Bauer and U.S. Assistant Secretary for Aging at the Department of Health and Human Services Josefina Carbonell. Bauer and Carbonell discussed how South Carolina and the Federal Government are responding to the growing needs of seniors in America.

RLTV recorded this important community event on April 27, 2007 for broadcast in June 2007.

SimplyHome website

Retirement Living TV

We're excited about this TV network for the elderly, that also has an abundance of content on their website, in case you can't yet get it on your cable system: Retirement Living TV.

Here's how they describe themselves:

Retirement Living TV, a network dedicated to informing, involving, and inspiring people aged 55 and over, was launched in September 2006. Retirement Living TV is comprised of shows covering topics including health, lifestyle, finance, and politics. The Retirement Living TV network roots are in Erickson Retirement Communities, the National Institutes of Health, non-profit research foundations, the Erickson School of Aging Studies at University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), and leading gerontologists across the country. RLTV is committed to changing the perception on aging, and strives to develop innovative and entertaining television for a mature viewing audience. Viewers can also enjoy Retirement Living TV programming by visiting www.rl.tv.

SimplyHome website

Tom DeBaggio's Alzheimer's Journey

NPR has been staying touch with Tom DeBaggio of Virginia as he bravely makes his walk in later life with Alzheimer's disease. Click here, and there's also a very poignant podcast.

The story DeBaggio's battle with early-onset Alzheimer's disease was first told in a series of interviews on All Things Considered five years ago. Melissa Block visits DeBaggio's Herb Farm and Nursery in Chantilly, Va., for a conversation with DeBaggio and his wife Joyce.

SimplyHome website

Statistics

How many disabled people are there in America-- that is, what is the scope of the problem Assistive Technology (AT) seeks to solve?

The Joni and Friends website has the stats, and here are a few we want to spotlight:

How many people in the United States are disabled?

* 54 million or 20.6% people in the United States live with some level of disability.
* 26 million Americans have a severe disability.

How many people have a need for personal assistance?
About 9 million people of all ages are disabled to the point of needing personal assistance for everyday activities.

How many wheelchair users are in the United States?
1.6 million people use wheelchairs.

How many Americans use assistive devices or technologies?
7.4 million persons use assistive technology devices for mobility impairments.

* 4.8 million use canes
* 1.8 million use walkers
* 1.6 million use wheelchairs
* 4.2 million use hearing aides
* 1.7 million use back braces

SimplyHome website

Best to you, Judy Heumann

Per The Washington Post, Washington, D.C. has a new Director of Disability Services; we wish her well in what is an important and difficult job:

Few people understand the challenges faced by the District's disabled residents the way Judith E. Heumann does. She knows the impact of a broken elevator at a Metro station -- and the frustration of being told she cannot do something she wants to do.

Heumann, who appeared at a confirmation hearing this week before the D.C. Council, is slated to become director of the D.C. Department of Disability Services -- a new agency with a legacy of problems. If confirmed to the job July 10, she will bring the savvy and vision of a lifelong advocate who fiercely believes that people with disabilities should live and work as independently as possible.

SimplyHome website

It Takes a Family

First line of defense: Nameless, faceless central station or a family of caregivers? This article seems to point to the latter. Here's the lead:

Some 500,000 Americans use the medical alert service called Lifeline. When you need help you press a button and it connects you with a Lifeline monitor who is supposed to get you the help you need.

But Christine Talley's family says that lifeline cost her her life.

SimplyHome website

Three-Part Series on Seniors and Where They Live (Part III)

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had a three part series on aging in May. The third is here, and this was the lead:

Few older houses were built to accommodate the inevitable physical changes that come with age. Ailing knees can make it painful to climb stairs. Arthritis can make it difficult to get in and out of a tub, flip on a light switch or turn a door knob. And what if you're in a wheelchair? How do you get close enough to the sink or stove to prepare a meal or do the dishes?

SimplyHome website

Three-Part Series on Seniors and Where They Live (Part II)

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had a three part series on aging in May. The second is here, and this was the lead:

When the time came for Alice and Robert Demmler to leave Maiden Bridge Apartments, they knew exactly where their next home would be.

His aunt and uncle and her mother and sister had all spent several years at Asbury Heights in Mt. Lebanon, a continuing care community operated by United Methodist Services for the Aging. Why take a chance on anyplace else?

Last year, the couple made the move into a two-bedroom apartment on the 27-acre campus. Avid travelers, they particularly enjoy the fact that they can pack up at anytime and go.

"And I have a huge kitchen," says Mrs. Demmler. "The biggest I've ever had."

Their eagerness to move makes the Demmlers somewhat atypical. According to 2000 AARP survey, an overwhelming majority of older Americans want to remain in their own homes for as long as possible.

But when they do move, they don't go far. Three-quarters of people age 55 and older who move each year stay in the same state, according to the 2000 Census. Half remain in the same county.

SimplyHome website

Three-Part Series on Seniors and Where They Live (Part I)

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had a three part series on aging in May. The first is here, and this was the lead:

Hilda and Henry Sunderman had always loved the seven-room house in Fox Chapel where they had lived for 36 years.

So the decision last year to downsize to a two-bedroom apartment at a retirement community in Butler County was a very difficult one.

"That was home," says Mr. Sunderman, a retired business manager. "It was the longest we lived in any one place in 54 years of marriage."

Now in their late 70s, the couple had reached the point where mowing the lawn and washing the house's 29 windows was just too big a chore. Adding to their stress level was a health scare in 2004 that started them thinking about what might happen if one of them got sick.

SimplyHome website

Countdown to the SimplyHome eStore Launch

3 days from today...

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Countdown to the SimplyHome eStore Launch

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Countdown to the SimplyHome eStore Launch

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Countdown to the SimplyHome eStore Launch

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Countdown to the SimplyHome eStore Launch

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What does the standard SimplyHome system come with?

A picture is worth a thousand words!

SimplyHome website