02-19-2025 PTL - Flipbook - Page 22
22 A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Wednesday, February 19, 2025
Gerontechnologist, continued from page 8
want to continue to feel competent and in
emotional control. Staying in touch with
your social network is part of your job.
Golant recommends, at the very least,
participating in digital social communications daily. Our computers and smartphones have multiple ways to communicate and interact with a wide variety of
connections: family, friends, neighbors,
mentees and even casual acquaintances. You can choose between FaceTime,
Skype, Zoom, TikTok (maybe) to share.
Golant calls it “intimacy at a distance.”
You can also share photos and activities.
Then there are newer ways to create
social companions or some form of connections: socially assistive pet-like robots
and voice activated chatbots – “hey
Google,” “hey Siri” – that can combat
loneliness. Using AI, they have distinct
personalities. Joy for All (https://joyforall.
com) and Capital Caring (www.capitalcaring.org) are two places where you can
get them.
A pet robot might especially appeal to
you if you’re not gregarious, socially outgoing and enjoy initiating conversations.
However, if connecting with a robotic pet
is not your thing, then you should think
about joining an online group or setting
up regular calls or digital sessions with
family members or friends. My sister
called our mother every day to check
in and, as she declined, moved it up to
twice a day. And Wise & Well at Keswick
offers most of its classes online and virtually, even the exercise classes.
Health Care at Home
Thanks to the pandemic, videoconferencing with a doctor from your residence
became more popular. The American
Telemedicine Association has lobbied for
continuing its ease of use. One of the barriers to acceptance was whether or not
telehealth visits are covered by Medicare.
Dr. Joseph C. Kvedar, professor of
dermatology, Harvard Medical School
and senior advisor and board member of
the American Telemedicine Association
(ATA), is a strong advocate of telehealth
and has been instrumental in pushing the
benefits of health care at home.
In his book, The New Digital Age,
he states, “There is no separate health
care system for older adults. Aging Baby
Boomers want control of their health and
want to grow old on their own terms.
Digital technologies are creating a new
kind of old, enabling individuals to remain
vital, engaged and independent through
their later years.” (See the article on
Benefits of Telehealth.)
Golant is also an advocate of telehealth. When patients are stuck at
home, it reduces missed visits. Today’s
technology includes wearable sensors,
such as smart watches and rings, that
allow remote monitoring by physicians.
Cardiologists have been using real time
tracking via remote monitors – such as
pacemakers – for years, often becoming
aware of a patient having a heart attack
or other event because of a notification
via a smartphone.
Remote Monitoring
Telehealth, which requires some
remote monitoring, has helped us ease
into more comprehensive remote monitoring. For a person living alone in order
to age in place, there has to be a way
to alert a family member or responsible
party when (or if) there is a problem,
such as a fall. There have been a lot of
new technological ways to prevent being
undetected in these emergencies.
If you purchased an electronic thermostat, you also had to buy sensors for
each room. How Stuff Works (https://
home.howstuffworks.com) describes it
like this:
“Home thermostats regulate heating
and air conditioning systems in your
house, impacting energy usage and comfort. They’ve evolved from simple mercury switch devices to digital and programmable models, allowing for greater
control over indoor climate and energy
savings.
Innovations like talking thermostats
aid those with visual impairments by
announcing settings and temperatures
while telephone thermostats and smart
thermostats offer remote control, enhancing convenience and efficiency.”
You’re already adding sensors to the
rooms in your house, so the next step is
to figure out if these sensors can do more
than measure temperature. The simple
answer is, “Yes.”
“Sensors,” says Golant, “can measure motion, heat, temperature, contact
and pressure.” Starting at the lowest
level, a sensor could let you know if
there are changes in temperature, pollutants, dampness and odors. They can
also ‘measure’ a resident’s well-being by
detecting unsafe behaviors, such as a
fall, staying in bed, and/or a lack of movement in certain rooms of the house, such
as a kitchen. When an unsafe motion is
detected, it should send a notification
to the health care provider/relative/caregiver. And if the resident doesn’t open the
refrigerator door, that would indicate the
resident isn’t eating. Other sensors, like
doorbell cameras, can tell you who is at
the door, delivering mail, leaving a package, or delivering food.
“We need to rethink how we view older
people’s dwellings,” Golant explains.
“These technology solutions transform
a simple residence to a high-tech monitoring center, one that contributes to
the resident’s physical and mental wellbeing. By gaining control, the resident
has agency and is less dependent on
caregivers and outside assistance to live
comfortably. The future, as I see it, will
combine age-friendly residences with
age-friendly communities, the best of all
options.”
Given the leaps and bounds of innovation, especially in the technology arena,
control center enhanced residences
are already possible and will, no doubt,
become more streamlined quickly.
“However,” Golant warns, “there are
still many unanswered questions. They
are grouped by topic and need to be
answered to move forward. We need
to be able to identify who is capable of
aging in place. This generation has more
variations than most and, so, defies categorization.
Telehealth:
• Is it as good as face-to-face and inperson visits?
• Are family members able to be looped
into online sessions?
• Does insurance cover telehealth? Are
regulations fixed or are they still in
flux?
Socialization:
• Are Zoom calls, FaceTime or other
technologies a good substitute for
face-to-face visits?
• What tech can stave off loneliness?
And are people living alone always
lonely?
Home and personal detection monitoring:
• Are older people safer surrounded by
all the technology?
• Will there be false alarms?
• Does detection mean faster responses?
• Does a high-tech dwelling prevent
or delay a move to a long-term care
facility?
• Who are the consumers: family members or older adults?
• Which family members benefit the
most?
Collateral Damage:
• Does this constitute an invasion of
privacy?
• Will this deter or increase the epidemic of scams on older adults?
• Will older adults stay at home too
long, past any benefit gained?
Final Thoughts
There are two additional articles in this
section: one on basic technology classes
and where to find them and one on telehealth. Telehealth is a technology that is
growing and will, in the future, be the way
we interact with our medical providers.
And, of course, technology in general is
here to stay, so learning is good. The side
benefit is it keeps you young and your
brain more elastic.
Aging in place will benefit your peace
of mind. You’ll be surrounded by people
you’ve known for years and with whom
you already have a good relationship.
Ask for help when you need it. There’s a
reason we say, “Home is where the heart
is,” because that’s where you want to be.
This article was written with the support of a journalism fellowship from The
Gerontological Society of America, The
Journalists Network on Generations and
The Silver Century Foundation.
