Senior Population and Requirements

Today’s senior population is generally characterized as enjoying increasingly longer, more active and vigorous lives than in years past—many living together in long-established residences and many living alone into their more advanced years.  A large portion of those elders remain ambulatory; cooking, cleaning, and maintaining themselves—some out of choice and some as a matter of necessity. 

Seniors are demanding a greater say in matters concerning their health and welfare and expect a wider range of services and care.  They want to choose for themselves how to live in their advancing age. 

Accompanying the aging process—and the desire to maintain independence—are issues that increasingly affect our senior’s existence, including those of dignity, self-reliance, mobility, and financial considerations.  Growing old gracefully—particularly in place—is a difficult process that is influenced by many factors. 

Financial conditions often complicate the lives of our seniors, particularly those in solitary living situations.  Quite often, restricted financial assets, particularly of those living on limited fixed incomes, preclude full or part-time companion care.  Similarly, the cost of institutional assistance, whether in a retirement community, assisted living, or a nursing home, is beyond financial reach of many.  Those costs becomes more burdensome and complicated by considerations of relocation, disposition of assets, and other seemingly endless tasks of aging in place.  For many elder couples, who have toiled toward retirement, collected moderate assets, and exist on fixed incomes, the potential impoverishment related to institutionalization is a threatening consideration also. 

  In addition to the 9-1-1 emergency service, a variety of devices are on the market to assist seniors with summoning assistance in the face of emergency, but emergencies are not the only aspects of living that concerns the increasingly large group of seniors; a growing number of them have a requirement for assistance in the management of their daily lives.  As with the 9-1-1 system, those devices do not actively call anyone to check on them either. 

Seniors live alone for a variety of reasons—both through choice and imposition.  Unfortunately, not all seniors have supportive families, friends, neighbors, or caregiver networks to take on the responsibilities of checking on their health and welfare.  In those cases where that support exists, caregiver’s concern about their single seniors is constant.  For some within those support circles, who have additional responsibilities or are not within close geographical proximity, the emotional drain is often considerable. 

Other sectors of our senior population—or caregiver networks—can benefit from selection of the ElderCare service simply because it provides a structure to help manage complex lives at a time when complexity is a bother that they would prefer to have managed in some other manner. 

Most important in the development of ElderCare was service and affordability, which forms the basis of the value proposition for ElderCare.  Flexibility of the service is unparalleled.  Affordability is achieved through a pricing schedule that will permit participation by seniors of virtually all socio-economic levels—or could be shouldered easily and happily by the members of their caregiving networks. 

Caregivers and Caregiving Networks

Caregivers are referred to in a variety of terms.  ElderCare uses the term caregivers to refer to cover the vast array of care providers, comprised of family, friends, neighbors, volunteers, physicians and other professionals healthcare workers—both compensated and uncompensated—who provide care for seniors and others with needs.  They comprise the caregiving/care-providing networks for the seniors and they are the individuals who will be notified in the event that the members require assistance.  Caregivers are inextricably linked to considerations of the aging population; they are key drivers and are key decision-makers for the senior community. 

Several groups are affected by the age-adjustment of our population.  First, there are the elder seniors themselves, living together or alone; war-babies and baby-boomers, who have concerns for themselves and, in many cases, their surviving elder parents for whom they have obligation; and, seniors who would like assistance in achieving less complicated lives.  Equally important—and often more affected than the seniors—are the care-providing networks. 

Daedalus Health developed ElderCare in response to two principal factors: a requirement by a sector of our senior community for a low-cost manner of ensuring health, welfare, safety, and security and the increasing—and in some cases prohibitive costs—associated with long-term care and companion care.  Complicating those factors are the rising costs of healthcare, in general, and a reduction in the number of physicians and other healthcare workers specializing in geriatric care.  There is also a decline in the availability of companion care workers—and a resultant increase in costs—attributable to tightened immigration standards in the post-9/11 era. 

In addition to concerns over general health and welfare, safety and security are constant concerns for seniors of all ages, whether related to their own stability or those from external factors.  Sometimes, seniors simply have a need for someone to check on them, to provide routine or occasional reminders, and, if they require assistance, to summon it appropriately. 

The national 9-1-1 emergency reporting and response service is available to people of all ages to respond to their requests for emergency attention, assistance, and medical care.  That emergency service is passive only—in that it passively collects incoming calls—from citizens who require emergency assistance.  Not all requirements for assistance with daily living or healthcare are emergencies, and the 9-1-1 service never actively calls anyone to check on them. 

Notification to the member’s caregiving network can be accomplished through multi-modal communications.  The information infrastructure supporting ElderCare is capable of moving an enormous volume of information between any type of sensor, processor, storage device, or dissemination system, including telephones, the internet, cell phone, PDA’s, all mobile platforms, and pagers. 

As envisioned, expansion of the service will include monitored care for a range of disease states, diagnostic areas, physical and mental challenges, post-operative monitoring, and incorporation of continuous, transtelephonic monitoring devices. 

Description of the ElderCare Service

The primary means of communication between members and ElderCare is an automated telephone service.  Additionally, the service is paralleled on the internet for the benefit all participants—particularly those of the more, digitally-ready caregiving community. 

Subscribers may choose from a menu of services that will determine their member profile and relationship with ElderCare.  In some cases, those profiles should be chosen by the member in cooperation with members of their caregiving network. 

In general, there are three types of service: one in which ElderCare calls the member; one in which the member calls ElderCare; and a combination of the first two.  A member may choose any type to suit their circumstances and change them as experience of the member and caregivers dictates. 

Under a service in which ElderCare calls the member, the member will select to be called one, few, or many times per day.  During enrollment, the member, caregiver, or both will select the actions to be taken at the time of the call.  The selection will include the actions to be taken—or the individuals to be notified—in the event that an abnormal response is received from the member at the time of the call.  A normal response will simply allow the service to proceed to the next scheduled call.  For example, a member might choose to call ElderCare in the morning and late evening to inform ElderCare that the member is well.  If the member does not contact ElderCare within an acceptable variance of time—as established at the time of enrollment—ElderCare will call to determine if the member simply forgot to call.  If the member is at the appropriate number and does not require assistance, the member will so indicate and the routine will continue according to plan.  If the member does not respond to the telephone inquiry, ElderCare will notify the member’s caregiving network in accordance with the options selected during enrollment.  That set of options may include notification of physicians or, eventually, emergency services.  See Detailed Procedures for a more complete explanation of the manner in which ElderCare works.