High-tech devices permit some elderly to live at home with monitoring
NEW YORK - First thing every morning, Lynn Pitet, of Cody, Wyo., checks her computer to see whether her mother, Helen Trost, has gotten out of bed, taken her medication, and whether she is moving around inside her house hundreds of miles away in Minnesota.
Last summer, Trost's husband had a stroke and died, but she wanted to stay in the house, in Mankato, where she had lived for 36 years. She did not want a live-in helper, and she cannot drive. At 88, Trost has macular degeneration and takes medications for seizures, memory loss, and restless leg syndrome.
"She's a feisty gal," Pitet said of her mother. "She is fine when she takes her medicines, but, even so, I was terrified of leaving her alone."
Pitet and her sister decided to become part of a small but growing number of people who have installed motion sensors and a remote monitoring system to keep aging relatives safe. Sensors attached to the wall are able to register when Trost gets out of bed and whether she stops at her medication dispenser, and to alert her daughters to any deviations from her routine that might indicate an accident or illness. The family is updated by an electronic report every morning.
Monitoring systems like these, which go far beyond the emergency response buttons that have been around for years, are not found in many homes yet. Privacy is an issue for some older people, and the basic package can range from $50 up to $85 a month for the motion sensors and remote monitoring system like Trost uses. More comprehensive packages can include devices to track blood pressure, weight, or respiration.
Specialists on aging say that the systems will become commonplace as the 76 million baby boomers approach ages when disabilities or conditions like diabetes and failing eyesight jeopardize the ability to live independently. The population of those 65 years and older is almost 40 million today, and the Census Bureau says that that will more than double, to nearly 87 million, by midcentury.
Right now, there is little federal healthcare reimbursement for such devices. Private insurance coverage is just beginning to evolve, said Dr. Jeremy Nobel, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health who cowrote a study on the feasibility of such technologies. "We are at the beginning stages regarding the availability of such services and before business models are developed," said Nobel, a medical doctor. "I expect we'll see a significant increase in the adoption of such systems in two to five years, and widespread adoption in 10 years."
The coming wave of aging Americans threatens to swamp the existing stock of retirement communities, assisted living and nursing home facilities - making it impossible to accommodate everyone who will need, or might want, more structured care.
Specialists on aging say that motion sensors and other high-tech devices will help cover the shortfall, allowing older people to live independently for longer.
Technology systems to underpin living independently, or what some call "aging in place," are still years from being rolled out in a big way, awaiting adequate financing for research and other incentives, according to Nobel's study, which was released in March.
