LeadingAge CAST has released updates to its Safety Technology Selection Tool. The tool helps aging services providers to learn about and select the safety technologies that are the best fit for their facilities.

The latest version includes updated product information within the matrix and online selection tool for 39 products. Two new products have been added:

• Zemplee improves quality of life for older adults aging in place by using strategically placed artificial intelligence-powered sensors and devices.
• Accutech offers a ResidentGuard solution that provides flexible and reliable wander management protection, plus Accutech Access, a reliable, affordable, and scalable electronic access control (EAC) solution.

New Case Studies

The tool also includes four new case studies, which help providers understand the practical implications of these technologies.

Increasing Staff Efficiency and Peace of Mind through Safety Technology: Loretto Health and Rehab selected Accutech’s ResidentGuard as an integrated call/wander system that would allow staff to expeditiously respond to wander and elopement events.

ResidentGuard saves employees time, as their smartphones tell them immediately if someone is having an issue. The system also provides a more professional, quiet environment and drives better quality of life for residents.

The wander management system, in collaboration with policies and procedures, gives staff and families peace of mind that elopements will be prevented and that residents can walk the facility more freely.

The facility collects quantifiable data by documenting wander or elopement events via software or nurse call stations. The data can help staff evaluate the system’s validity.

Law Enforcement Use of Technology to Proactively Respond to Wandering: Using grant funding from the Department of Justice, Sumter County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) is using new technology to find people who wander from The Villages in Florida.

Families can contact SCSO and receive a free GPS enabled watch, Theora Connect™, for their loved one living with Alzheimer’s/dementia and set up the Theora Link™ smartphone app. The monitoring dashboard, Theora ESP™, allows SCSO and primary caregivers to know location in case of a wander. The family caregiver can call the smartwatch, and it will automatically answer for the wearer so that the caregiver and wearer can speak.

Sumter County Sheriff’s Office has experienced a 50% decrease in related calls. Family caregivers use the technology to locate their loved one in an average of six minutes, versus three hours through SCSO.

Larksfield Place Reduces Falls with Injury by 80% using Artificial Intelligence: Therapists at Larksfield Place Retirement Communities (LFP) employed VirtuSense VSTBalance, a fall-risk assessment tool that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine vision to identify deficits in balance, gait, and function.

To protect residents who are high-risk, LFP used VSTAlert, an in-room AI monitoring platform that identifies a resident’s intent to exit their bed or chair 30-65 seconds before they rise, then notifies staff to prevent a fall.

After introducing the VST ecosystem, LFP saw over 70% community-wide fall reduction. Screenings using the VSTBalance assessment, coupled with appropriate preventative measures, kept residents in independent living longer. The right therapy and exercises addressed residents’ specific risk areas. In LFP’s short-term rehab unit, using VSTAlert on only eight out of 38 beds reduced falls with injury by 80%. 

Life Safety Systems Improve Staff Workflow, Response Times, and Resident Experience: During the pandemic, Birmingham Green looked for ways to improve its dated safety systems and help residents in isolation.

Birmingham Green installed a modern wireless nurse call system from Symtech Solutions, which included wall-mounted stations and wearable pendants for the residents, along with an elopement prevention system. It also offered tablets to every resident for entertainment, community updates, and personal use, which entertained residents when only minimal contact was safe.

Now alerts go to staff members’ iPhones and staff can respond more quickly, which reduces the chance of accidental injuries from elopements.

Residents embraced the tablets, which staff believe lifted overall morale at the community. Residents’ families are happy that the tablets let them video chat and connect with their loved ones.