who uses grandcare?

Ethel's Story

Ethel had Grandcare in her independent home mostly because she was lonely and her children and grandchildren wanted to be able to send pictures and messages to her TV.

The Problem

When Ethel began falling, GrandCare called her daughter, Julie, who lived 20 minutes away.  Julie was happy to go help her, even in the middle of the night.  When the falls became frequent, the children made the decision to move Ethel into assisted living.

The Solution

When Ethel moved into her new apartment, she brought her own furniture and she brought GrandCare.  Ethel found the GrandCare channel so comforting that her family chose to install a dedicated flat screen monitor on her wall that always plays the GrandCare channel.
Now anytime Ethel gets out of bed in the night, the nursing staff is alerted.  They can prevent falls before they happen.  They don’t have to worry about her hurting herself, or worse, that she would not be near a call button and just wouldn’t show up to breakfast the next morning.  If she does press a call button, she knows someone can come quickly. 

The Conclusion

Ethel’s daughter still picks her up for doctor’s appointments and breakfast outings.  She uses the GrandCare calendar to help remind Ethel, but she also has the calendar send an email to the staff, so they know when Ethel is planning on leaving.  The staff can also enter social activities on all residents’ GrandCare calendars.

Ethel’s extended family members record their vacations on her calendar.  She is anxious about them being out of town, and before GrandCare, she called them frequently to refresh her memory about their plans.  With GrandCare, the dates are on her calendar, and sometimes a banner runs across the bottom of her monitor with special information.

Ethel has a touch of dementia.  A few years ago, an investment broker called her many times and finally convinced her to bring her portfolio to his office.  He “rolled over” all of her investments – for a cost of over $15,000.00.  Now, GrandCare alerts the family if there are repeated phone calls from an unfamiliar number.

The staff at Ethel’s facility will spend less time on the phone with relatives of the seniors who have GrandCare in their rooms.  Those families take an active role in the care of their loved ones.  They share the monitoring, and they contribute to well-being with the enhanced communication. 

Ethel particularly enjoys inviting her new friends to her apartment so they can see her constantly updated picture album, right on her wall.