Telecare reduces errors and gives families the tools to help

By Shelle Womble, senior director of home care services

This article appeared in the November/December2009 edition of Medical News: The business of healthcare.

The state of Indiana is currently offering a new telecare technology as an option to people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. The state has recently received approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to have the RestAssured service, provided by Louisville-based ResCare, approved as a Medicaid waiver program.

The shrinking workforce and expanding population of the elderly and those with disabilities make finding effective, efficient waiver models an imperative. According to John Dickerson, executive director of The Arc of Indiana, an advocacy group for people with developmental disabilities, “In my 35 years of working with families, it’s one of the most exciting developments out there of beginning to promote independence, while still providing security and safety in a non-intrusive way,” Mr. Dickerson is an outspoken proponent of the telecare model.

ResCare’s Senior Vice President of government relations, Ken Lovan, says, “The use of emergent technology can play a vital role in enabling the elderly and persons with disabilities to remain in their own homes, while maximizing scarce resources. Programs such as Rest Assured have been presented to numerous states and federal officials with universally positive reaction.”

So far, Rest Assured’s strongest advocates are its users.

“Rest Assured is completely focused on solving the challenges of the people they care for,” said Colleen Henry, the daughter of a woman who sustained a brain injury in an accident over 30 years ago. “The cost is much less than 24/7 home care would be and it’s geared toward what my mother needs, instead of what works for the company, which is much better than we ever hoped for.”

“Caregivers communicate face-to-face with individuals they serve via a 15-inch touch screen computer monitor,” said Dustin Wright, the company’s general manager. “The technology is almost invisible to the people in the home. Cameras, alarms and two-way speakers are placed strategically in a home’s common areas and electronic sensors in bathrooms and bedrooms. They give families confidence that their loved ones are watched appropriately, not in a way that invades their privacy. Our mission is to help people live as independently as possible, while providing careful, unobtrusive support.”

“We want Mama and Daddy to be able to live independently because that’s what they want. We just need to make sure they’re safe and that someone checks on them consistently,” said Colleen. “Rest Assured makes this possible because these people understand how to use technology to make help available, accessible and affordable.” 

Each Rest Assured caregiver has at least two years of direct care experience before completing 100 hours of training through the College of Direct Support to understand the care protocols of people they support. Staff members work directly with clients and their families to develop customized care plans depending on each individual’s needs.

Care programs can be scaled to fit any situation or budget, including using Rest Assured caregivers for respite care. The system can be set up so seniors have the option of turning the system off, as desired, and emergency support can be included as part of the care plan.

In a small rural community near the Georgia coast, as in many rural areas, finding people to provide in-home respite care is a struggle. Driving distances are lengthy, availability of work is scarce. But one family living there decided to take a chance on an unlikely solution to the challenges they were facing.

Lavinia Fitzgerald had always taken care of herself and those around her, but that changed more than 30 years ago when she sustained a brain injury in an accident. Since then, her daughter, Colleen Henry, has been her primary caregiver. But with a father who is now aging, and her sister Peggy more than 75 miles away, the burdens of providing care and keeping an eye on both parents are more than Colleen can handle.

“I’m at the house every day to tend to Mama’s personal needs and prepare meals, and Peggy keeps the house clean. At his age, Daddy’s just not able to help as much. We were approached by our Community Care provider Coastal Home Care last year, and they told us about using computer technology to help keep an eye on Mama. We thought we should give it a try,” said Colleen.

The family uses the Web-based telecare system offered by Rest Assured® (www.restassuredsystem.com), which combines wireless technology, a secure broadband Internet connection and state-of-the-art support and response center staffed with professional caregivers. By pooling all these resources, the system is the first of its kind to offer round-the-clock, in-home support that can be customized to the needs of any individual it serves. Rest Assured® is a joint venture between the Louisville-based ResCare and the Wabash Center of Lafayette, Indiana in collaboration with the Purdue University School of Technology.

“Rest Assured keeps Mama safe when no one else is there, and we’re able to also ‘visit’ with her using the two-way audio and video that the system offers,” said Colleen. “They’ve done everything they said they would, except for telling me how our parents’ lives — and ours — would change. This has given them a new lease on life and they’ve developed real friendships with the telecaregivers. Mama and Daddy sit and talk to them like old friends. I’ve seen the relief on Daddy’s face because he knows someone is watching out for them at all times.”

Shelle Womble is Senior Directory for Private Duty Development at ResCare, Inc.