How Senior Living Technology Promotes Health and Safety

Caring for an aging loved one, particularly if they are living with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, often brings about a myriad of ongoing concerns and anxieties regarding their safety and overall welfare.

What if mom wanders outside when no one is looking? What if she falls while dad is sleeping? What if there’s an emergency and she is unable to call for help?

Many families are eventually faced with the difficult decision of how best to care for their loved ones while ensuring their safety. Senior living communities often provide the solutions families are seeking.

Although there may be hesitance to depart from the familiarity of the family home, communal living can offer numerous advantages that not only promote overall health and well-being but also provide a significantly safer environment – especially for those who could benefit from assisted living or memory care.

Senior living technology is playing an integral role in enhancing dignity, safety and quality of life for residents. For staff, technology is improving efficiencies and reducing the burden of administrative tasks, enabling them to spend more time on value-driven, resident-facing interactions.

Resident Safety Solutions

Here are some of the innovative ways senior living technology creates safer environments for residents:

Emergency Call Systems

Emergency call systems are equipped with wearable devices, such as pendants or wristbands that residents can use to call for help in case of an emergency, ensuring prompt assistance when needed. Among the benefits:

• Immediate access to help
• 24/7 monitoring by trained staff
• Rapid response, which is critical in situations such as falls, medical emergencies, or accidents, where every second counts.
• Peace of mind that comes from knowing access to help is at the touch of a button which can alleviate anxiety and fear.

Fall Detection and Prevention

Falls are a significant risk for seniors, often leading to serious injuries and complications. Fall detection and prevention technologies, such as motion sensors, wearable devices, and smart flooring systems, can detect falls or changes in gait and alert staff members immediately.

Mike Abcunas, Director, Product Strategy at Securitas Healthcare, a company that develops senior living technology solutions to ensure safe and efficient care for communities across the country, says the senior living industry is starting to embrace artificial intelligence (AI) technology to prevent falls and monitor health.   “AI technology helps to reduce falls and prevent hospitalizations by collecting resident health data to generate predictive health alerts up to 40 days prior to potential hospitalization,” he says. “This empowers providers to a shift from reactive to proactive resident care.”

Abcunas adds that predictive alerts provide early warnings of issues like urinary tract infection, pneumonia, upper respiratory infections and heart failure. They also alert caregivers of the likelihood of a resident falling so that proactive measures can be applied to prevent them. If a fall does occur, automatic fall detection alerts allow caregivers to respond immediately with an appropriate level of care.

“Knowing exactly when a resident fell is vital,” says Abcunas. “Knowing how to predict when they might fall is a game-changer.”

Smart Home Technology

Smart home technology is being increasingly adopted in senior living communities to automate and control various aspects of daily living. This includes features such as smart thermostats, lighting systems, and door locks that can be controlled remotely or through voice commands. These technologies not only enhance convenience but also improve safety by reducing the risk of accidents and enabling better monitoring of residents’ activities.

Assisted Living and Memory Care Safety Technology

Safety considerations are even more paramount for people living with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, as well as for those requiring support with the activities of daily living. Consequently, numerous assisted living and memory care communities are proactively implementing additional measures to ensure resident safety with senior care technology that includes:

Wander Management Systems

Sixty percent of seniors with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease wander. A wander management system is specialized technology designed to prevent wandering and elopement. It typically consists of a combination of electronic devices and monitoring software that help track and manage the movements of residents within a community, providing residents, families and care staff peace of mind with reliable, individual resident protection.

Health Monitoring Devices:

Wearable health monitoring devices, such as smartwatches and fitness trackers, are being used to track vital signs, activity levels, and sleep patterns. This data can provide valuable insights into residents’ health status and detect any abnormalities or changes that may require attention.

Medication Management Systems:

Medication management can be complex for seniors, especially those with multiple prescriptions. Communities are utilizing medication management systems that automate medication dispensing, remind residents to take their medications on time, and alert staff to any missed doses or potential interactions. This helps ensure medication adherence and reduces the risk of medication-related complications.

Integrated Senior Living Technology for Optimum Safety

It takes a combination of factors to keep residents safe. “In many communities, emergency call systems are integrated with other safety features such as motion sensors, wander management, fall detection devices and video surveillance cameras, as well as environmental monitors like motion and smoke detectors, door and window sensors, electronic health records and fire panel alarm messages,” says Abcunas. “Integration allows for a comprehensive approach to resident safety, with multiple layers of protection in place. And it can offer staff a 360-degree view of resident needs and status – and produce data-driven insights to support continuous improvement.”

How Senior Care Technology Enhances Health and Quality of Life

Technology is also enhancing the quality of life by fostering better connectivity. Communication platforms like video calling and social media help residents stay connected with their loved ones, reducing feelings of isolation.

Virtual reality (VR) and gaming technologies offer entertainment and cognitive stimulation, contributing to overall well-being and mental acuity.

Telehealth systems are enabling proactive monitoring of chronic conditions, allowing healthcare professionals to remotely track vital signs and intervene when necessary. Telehealth not only enhances healthcare accessibility, but it also promotes early intervention, and improves the overall quality of care.

Confidence. Security. Peace of Mind.

Technology is revolutionizing senior living by enhancing safety, promoting independence and improving quality of life for residents. From emergency response systems and smart home technology to telehealth services and fall detection systems, innovative technologies are enabling seniors to age in place with confidence and security.

As technology continues to evolve, the possibilities for improving senior living will only continue to grow, making communities an increasingly safer and more attractive option for seniors. Technology advancements not only improve the quality of life for seniors but also provide peace of mind to their families and caregivers.

Where You Live Matters

Where You Live Matters is powered by the American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA), a respected voice in the senior housing industry. ASHA primarily focuses on legislative and regulatory advocacy, research, and educational opportunities and networking for senior living executives, so they can better understand the needs of older adults across the country.