Tech Innovations to Promote Senior Safety

February 18, 2018
| Vitality Living

When it comes to healthy aging, quite honestly, there’s a lot to do. You’re supposed to make sure to keep your body active and your brain engaged all while maintaining your social connections as well. Sure, the benefits to your overall well-being are worth the effort, but retirement is supposed to be a time with less responsibility on your plate, right? Well, it turns out that in senior living you can have your cake and eat it too, so to speak. Here’s how programs like our Vivid Life make keeping active, engaged, and connected easy and fun!

Benefits of Healthy Aging

Good things happen when you focus on healthy aging. In addition to feeling better overall, which in and of itself is a win, other benefits of keeping active, engaged, and connected include:

Improved ability to do everyday things
Reduced impact of illness and chronic disease
Enhanced mobility, flexibility, and balance
Improved sleep
Increased energy level
Reduced feelings of depression and stress
Increased feelings of happiness and self-confidence
Reduced risk of cognitive decline
Increased mental adaptability and cognitive reserve
Improved memory recall and problem-solving skills
Improved concentration and attention to detail

How Senior Living Can Help

At home, particularly when living alone, it can be hard to stay as active, engaged, and connected as you’d like. From lack of opportunity to lack of motivation to lack of transportation to mobility challenges, and more, it’s tough, we get it! That’s why we created the Vivid Life program in our senior living communities. It’s composed of three parts: Vibrant Body, Vibrant Brain, and Vibrant Connections. Here’s what each entails:

Vibrant Body – We offer amenities such as a state-of-the-art fitness center, a pool, walking trails, gardening opportunities, and even a dog park to help you stay active. A sample of activities includes:

Walking club – Daily walks at different outdoor locations using pedometers to measure steps.
Yoga – At least once per week for gentle yoga, and once per week for mindful breathing.
Fitness classes – At least two times per week using a variety of hand weights, resistance bands, and circuit-type exercises.
Tai Chi – At least once per week with a live instructor.
Non-traditional exercise – Dancing, gardening, etc. at least two times per week.
Physical games and sports – Golf, putting, bowling, croquet, bocce, and ping pong available daily with organized events one to two times per week.

Vibrant Brain – We offer monthly calendars filled with classes, events, creative arts, and enrichment opportunities to help keep you engaged. A sample of activities includes:

Visiting lecture series – Twice per month with topics such as cultural, historical, local interest, career-oriented, etc.
Creative art series – At least one per week with a theme that runs 3-6 weeks, such as poetry writing, storytelling, painting, digital photography, etc.
Learning series – At least three times per month with an emphasis on learning something new such as foreign language, sign language, technology, hobbies, etc.
Games – At least one time per week and may include poker, bridge, Scrabble, etc.
Mindfulness – A meditation class once per week and gratitude discussion group twice monthly.
Church service – At least once a week through visits by local churches.
Stress reduction – At least once per month class that offers deep breathing exercises, nature walks, music appreciation, spa-type treatments, etc.

Vibrant Connections – We offer resident-led clubs, social events, outings and volunteer opportunities for any interest to help you stay connected. A sample of activities includes:

Outings – At least twice per month and may include going to concerts, art shows, museum visits, theatre productions, etc.
Intergenerational programming – At least once per month and focuses on building relationships between young adults/children and residents.
New resident welcome party – At least once per month to formally introduce all new residents, and includes ice breakers, social games, etc. to encourage connection.
Philanthropic program – At least once per month provide residents the opportunity to give back to the community, such as volunteering for a local food bank or pet shelter.
Resident-led clubs – May include game clubs, professional clubs, common interests, etc. that meet at least monthly.

What’s more, it’s all right outside your door (or transportation is provided offsite) and all in a supportive environment with home maintenance, housekeeping, and restaurant-style dining freeing your time to make it even easier to stay active, engaged, and connected.

Learn more about Vitality Living’s Vivid Life programs. Or find a Vitality Living community near you today to schedule a tour.

Family caregivers face many challenges each day ranging from how to organize and track a senior’s health information to how to prevent their older loved one from experiencing a debilitating fall. The good news is that technology to support seniors and caregivers offers a variety of reliable and meaningful solutions.

Let’s talk about a few that might help you better manage your family caregiver responsibilities.

Tech Products to Improve a Senior’s Safety

Technology plays a large role in senior safety, especially on-site at a community. Pay attention to the buildings and interior processes from the minute you pull into the community’s parking lot. Specifically look for:

Medication management: Sometimes a senior just needs a simple reminder to take their medication. Smart phone apps like Mango Health or Dosecast can be used to alert the older adult it is time to take their medicine. Other times a loved one needs more than a reminder. For those adults, a system like Med Minder might be a better choice. These locked pill dispensers allow you to choose from options and features such as a blinking light in the compartment that contains the scheduled dosage, or an automatically generated text message that is sent to a caregiver if a dose is missed.
Home monitoring: Many local and national home security companies have health monitoring options to supplement their basic services. They can alert a family member if a window or door is opened or if the senior presses a button to call for emergency assistance. There are also national companies that focus on monitoring the senior’s whereabouts inside their own home, and can alert a caregiver if there is a change in pattern or an emergency.
GPS tracking: If a loved one who lives alone has memory loss, wearable GPS technology can be used to monitor their location. These technologies are designed to protect the senior’s dignity and privacy while keeping them safe. They look like an everyday watch, pendant or even a belt. PocketFinder and Mindme are two to explore.

Organize a Senior’s Health Information Using Technology

Keeping a senior loved one’s health information organized and stored in a manner that is safe but easy to access can be a challenge. This is especially true if multiple family members are involved in the senior’s care. Fortunately, there are tech products that make it easier to keep everyone connected.

Caring Village: This helpful app allows you to store important medical information, make it easy for family and friends to sign up for a day and time to help with meals or errands, manage medication schedules, and more.

If you are trying to coordinate meals, transportation, and other support across multiple people, Lotsa Helping Hands might be your solution. The primary caregiver can post requests on the Help Calendar and friends and loved ones can sign up to complete them.

Learn More About Senior Living Options

If you are struggling to keep up with your senior loved one’s care, an assisted living community might be the best solution. The older adult receives the support they need to safely maintain their independence and improve their quality of life.

You can learn more by downloading The Complete Guide to Choosing Between Senior Living Options, compliments of Vitality Senior Living.

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