Living to old age is everyone’s desire. However, aging comes with its challenges. If you have an older adult living alone, you will be concerned about her welfare. Granny can easily fall, and falling in seniors may be catastrophic. If your senior is also on medication, there are chances that she may miss her drugs. That is why many older adults leave their homes for assisted living homes. If your senior requires medical attention, then she may prefer a nursing home. However, you can install many smart devices in the house of your parents and loved ones to ensure their safety.
What Are the Challenges Facing Older Adults?
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that one senior would fall every second of every day. It is recorded that one-third of seniors in the United States experience fall every year. That is even the reported case. The actual case might be as much as half of the seniors. This makes falls the highest cause of injury in the country. Indeed, this calls for concern if you have a senior living alone.
Asides from the fall, you will also be concerned about the security of your older adult. Safety comes first. So, let’s consider a scenario in which your parent is leaving alone. She has to take medication and tends to miss her medications. She is prone to fall. You are also worried about her safety from intruders and natural hazards. She might be at risk of things like fire, extreme coldness, and carbon monoxide. Then, how would you feel if technology can monitor her welfare remotely, prevent accidents and injury, and raise the alarm when her safety is compromised. That is what smart devices offer nursing home care for older adult.
What is Smart Health Care?
Smart healthcare uses modern technology to manage medical conditions and provide healthcare services spontaneously and intelligently. The technology used in smart healthcare includes the internet of things, artificial intelligence, mobile data, cloud computing, information, and communication technology, among others. You can use smart healthcare to effectively allocate medical resources, connect with medical practitioners, and make informed decisions. Smart healthcare includes eHealth and smart homecare.
eHealth involves the use of information and communication technology to deliver medical care. Statistics show that over 60 percent of Americans search online for medical assistance. eHealth and mHealth are providing the needed solution.
Smart Nursing Home devices
For an older adult living alone or in an Assisted Living community, many smart devices can be of great help. These include:
· Video Camera Doorbell
Video camera doorbell shows who is at the door to your senior inside. Hence, there is no need to get to the door to know who the visitor is. They usually come with Chimes and microphones, enabling you to communicate with the person at the doorway. If an older adult has a visitor at the door, the senior can easily know with a “ding dong” sound coming from a chime installed inside. However, the doorbell can also be connected to a mobile app on a smartphone so that the senior can open the app and start a two-way conversation with the visitor without having to go to the door. Not only does this smart device bring comfort, but it can also be used as a security gadget as it enables you to know when intruders are at your door. In many, you can program the doorbell to trigger an alarm on a smartphone when someone gets in contact with the doorbell or moves close to the door.
· Security Smart Camera
This is mainly for security. The smart camera takes pictures of everyone who comes within a specific range of the home. It also triggers an alarm when people get close to the house. With the camera, you can monitor your home from anywhere. This enables you to monitor your parent’s home for security reasons from your place. Some also have two-way voice call features so that you can talk remotely with your senior.
· Smart Lock
Smart locks allow you to control the locking of your door from anywhere. Using the home Wifi and an application on your mobile phone, you can remotely lock and unlock a door with a smart lock without any need for a key. It is not uncommon for seniors to forget to lock the front door before going to bed. But with a smart lock, you can always help your older adult out, even from your own home. Locking and unlocking can be done with a password, or fingerprint, so that your senior won’t be at risk of forgetting the password.
· Zigbee Wireless SOS Panic Button
A Zigbee wireless SOS Panic Button works with Zigbee Gateway to trigger a panic alarm whenever it is pressed. Your senior can keep it with her and press it whenever she feels she is in danger. With that, she can get help as soon as possible.
· Smart Speaker
Smart speakers enable you to give a command to a wireless smart device. Typical examples are Siri and Alexa. With a smart speaker, your senior can enjoy virtual assistance with just a voice command. The technology can be used to remind seniors about their medication, place calls, set alarms, or even as a companion for communication.
· Light Switch
There are many smart light switches that do not require your older adult to press any button. It will switch on whenever it detects the presence of someone and switch off when there is no one in the room. A light switch will help save energy and ensure there is always light when the senior needs it. So, the senior will not have to struggle in the dark to locate the switch.
· Sensor Alarm
Sensor alarms will trigger a warning whenever it detects an issue. Typical sensor alarms include the Window /door sensor that triggers an alarm the door or window is opened or closed. The Water leak sensor will trigger an alarm when it detects water leakage anywhere in your water pipe. Pir Motion sensor is used to detect burglary. An emergency button can be pressed or automatically triggered when there is an emergency. You can program the sensor alarm to alert a place where help can come, like the police. Vibration detection detects vibration on your senior’s asset, while gas detectors can detect gas leakage or poisonous gas.
How Nursing Home Can Get the Best from Smart Devices
If you run a nursing home, here are things you can do to get the best from smart devices:
· Choose Good Supplier
Most smart devices come from China, but there are many suppliers. Make sure you critically consider the supplier you want to work with. Choose a supplier that is reliable, experienced, and can supply all devices you need.
· Use Safe System
Make safety your priority. Hence ensure you choose only a safe system. Experienced smart devices suppliers from China can advise on systems that are safe for a nursing home.
· Save Cost
When making decisions, costs are always important. It would be best to compare prices from different suppliers and choose only a supply willing to help you save cost.
We Can Help You
At Lavinia Smart, we supply wholesalers, resellers, agents, and contractors with smart home devices. We are based in China but supply products to buyers in every part of the world. You don’t have to order your devices from different sellers. We are a one-stop supplier. You can get everything you need from us. All our products are of high quality and with a guarantee. Our products include locks, thermostats, leak detection, lighting control, and we have been able to help smart nursing homes in the US control vacant units and common areas from one simple dashboard. This reduces the liability by controlling vacant units and common areas in real-time, monitoring for leaks, and managing access. With this, we have been able to give smart nursing homes in the US full control over access, climate, and lighting from mobile and voice apps.
Conclusion
Nursing homes can keep seniors more comfortable and safe by adopting smart health care. Among the essential smart devices that a senior can use for safety and comfort are a video camera doorbell, smart security camera, smart lock, smart speaker, smart light switch, and sensor alarm.
