Senior service network studies telehealth effectiveness

Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society has announced it will join three vendors of telehealth solutions--WellAWARE Systems, Philips Lifeline and Honeywell HomMed--to offer technologies designed to help seniors live more independently and longer at home or in assisted living facilities.

The Good Samaritan Society, based in Sioux Falls, N.D., operates a network of skilled nursing facilities, senior living apartments, home healthcare, assisted living facilities, hospice care, inpatient and outpatient therapy centers, and specialized units for people with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. The society, which serves about 27,000 people at its 240 locations, calls itself the nation's largest not-for-profit provider of rehabilitation/skilled care and senior services.

Launched with an $8.1 million grant, the society's LivingWell@Home program includes a three-year research project that began in January. The University of Minnesota's School of Public Health is conducting the research at Good Samaritan Society locations in five Midwestern states to study the effectiveness of using sensor technology, personal emergency response systems and telehealth services in helping seniors maintain wellness.

WellAWARE Systems will provide the sensor technology for LivingWell@Home. Philips Lifeline will supply the medical alert service and fall detection components of the collaboration. Honeywell HomMed will provide telehealth services, including remote patient monitoring.

To learn more:
- read the press release
- check out this post from John Farrell's Mobility Blog at MobileHealthWatch

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