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Technology

Nursing Homes Go High-Tech 152

Posted by michael from the I've-fallen-and-I-can't-get-my-LAN-up dept.
mattlary writes "Here's an interesting article about a tracking system being installed in a retirement community. The system can track where residents are anywhere in the campus, and also uses cameras to keep an eye on residents. The community also contains numerous sensors so staff can track residents' activity."
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Nursing Homes Go High-Tech More

Nursing Homes Go High-Tech

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  • We're all USA PATRIOTS here. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by cliffy2000 ( 185461 ) on Saturday July 10, 2004 @02:07AM (#9659374) Journal
    So... how long until a government starts using this technology in a large-scale implementation?

  • Can't wait until I get old... (Score:5, Funny)

    by nametaken ( 610866 ) on Saturday July 10, 2004 @02:08AM (#9659380)
    "Sensors on refrigerator doors that automatically notify staff when residents are up and active each day, replacing older methods such as "check-in" buttons or paper cards on doorknobs."

    I hope when I'm that old I'll still keep bizarre hours. It'll keep the staff on their toes.

    • Enjoy sleeping for 8 hours straight youngster. For that matter, enjoy sleeping.

      And of course there is the always present thought that each morning you could be one of the ones who doesn't wake up at all. Remember retirement homes are places you check into. Kinda like a life sentence in prison with no chance of parol.

    • My parents are in one of these (a very nice one) but I think putting the sensor on the toilet is better than the fridge. After all a lot of these facilities have 3 meals a day in the cafeteria so ..

      In addition this could help monitor everyones bowel movements (!)
  • http://slashdot.org/articles/04/07/08/156224.shtml ?tid=100&tid=137&tid=215

  • Grandma loves the tag (Score:3, Funny)

    by facts ( 257980 ) on Saturday July 10, 2004 @02:08AM (#9659383)
    I wanna be the first boy on the block to have an RFID tagged granny!

  • Absolutely.... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by acceber ( 777067 ) on Saturday July 10, 2004 @02:10AM (#9659390)
    ....nobody wants to have their privacy invaded with cameras, tracking devices, sensoring of activity... even if it's got a fancy name like "Personal Emergency Response System".

    Just gives more reasons for our grandparents to fight against being shoved into nursing homes.

    • Re:Absolutely.... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by randyest ( 589159 ) on Saturday July 10, 2004 @03:55AM (#9659697) Homepage
      Right. Unless they don't want to die painfully and slowly from a minor injory that diasables them but could otherwise be treated easily if anyone knew about it in time.

      Other than those people, nobody indeed.

      You're exactly right.
      • you could fall down a flight of stairs and break your back, and slowly bleed to death from it because you cant move to get help. you could be working on a car and have it slip off the jack and pin you underneath it, and die of thirst if nobody found out in time. should you be monitored throughout your day as well? i know that the odds of the elderly falling victim to what you said are higher than you or me, but where do we draw the line? and, how would you feel if you were suddenly on the other side of that
        • I'm sure I've heard stories about children being tagged by their parents. Now the grandparents get tagged too. Which family members can we tag next, spouses?
        • As someone else pointed out, elderly people are much more likely to be seriously injured or immobilized by a fall (broken hip.) They're also more likely to not be missed for longer periods of time, what with the retired status, many deceased friends, etc.

          If I should suffer one of the scenarios you list, my wife would probably notice, friends are likely to stop by, the appointment I missed will arouse suspicion, or work will send someone to find out where I am.

          It's optional, anyway. And a lot of eld
      • Quite a few, if not most, of them would prefer to risk that instead of being shoved in a nursing home where they're watched every minute of the day.
      • Or if they want to be able to get help when the metal ones [robotcombat.com] come for them.
    • My mother used to live in a retirement home, because she can't see well enough to drive. The section she was in was basically an apartment building with a cafeteria and weekly maid service. She decided to move back into an apartment, mainly for cost reasons, and spend part of the difference on more taxis. One thing that was universal, whether you needed it or not, was that you had to check in daily so they knew you were okay and not lying on the floor with a broken hip, which happens a lot to old people.
      • ... my late father developed a radio alarm beacon deelie for nursing homes. The nursing home staff he showed it to thought it was great - a really handy thing. The "higher-ups" were far from convinced - "Oh, we can't have that, that will take jobs away from our skilled staff". Yeah, and then six months down the line the Thatcher government does just that...

        Anyway, getting back to the beacon, it was a very simple radio transmitter, a button to turn it on, and a simple accelerometer similar to those used

  • Obligatory Simpsons quote (Score:3, Insightful)

    by laserbeak ( 794029 ) on Saturday July 10, 2004 @02:10AM (#9659392)
    Yay we can go outside again! Hmm, I don't like the look of those teenagers! *goes back inside* But on a serious note.. isn't this just a bit derogatory towards older people, it's treating them like animals. Has there been an outbreak of lost elderly people recently?

    • Re:Obligatory Simpsons quote (Score:5, Informative)

      by PeterPumpkin ( 777678 ) on Saturday July 10, 2004 @02:22AM (#9659435) Journal
      Well, the older people you and I see on a regular basis are the sharp ones that can still live like normal.

      However there are those like the Alzheimer's patients who are given some element of freedom, and when they wander off don't remember where they came from or don't know they are lost and keep wandering. Ever try to find someone who doesn't know where they are going or that they are lost? It is more difficult than you might think.
      • when they wander off don't remember where they came from or don't know they are lost

        We have a family member with Alzheimers - it's not a funny topic. But I thought it was interesting to dwell on that sentence above; is someone lost if they don't know they are lost? Just because you can't find me, does that make me lost?

        There's a local man that's been missing for 45 days who wandered off. He can't take care of himself, and so he's probably doomed, or gone already.

        I am a privacy nut, but it's ironic

    • Has there been an outbreak of lost elderly people recently?

      It's kind of an ongoing thing. That's why people get sent to nursing homes. Some elderly people don't have all of their mental faculties anymore. Some of the elderly need to be cared for, so they don't hurt themselves and so they are not hurt by others.

      It was about 5 or 6 years ago, but I remember a case in my area (Western PA) where some guy picked up an elderly woman who had Alzheimer's disease and convinced her that he was her deceased husband
    • I am living currently near a old folks home and the ones you see are the lucky ones. The ones whose bodies are giving up but whose brain is still ticking over as it always been (just that the body attached to it become less responsive). But there are plenty you don't see to who the brain is as badly shot as that woman with walker hips. And they need to be taken care off not like an animal but like a toddler.

      Of course if people didn't elect their leaders based on whom promises to give the biggest tax cut we

      • It seems like one benefit of a system like this would be that staff abuse would be caught on video. I really don't know much about what goes on in nursing homes nowadays, although my grandmother used to run one. But I have heard that there is a lot of abuse by staff on residents in poorly-run nursing homes. Having a disinterested electronic witness to that abuse might help, although of course it doesn't address the underlying cause.
    • Homer: "If you don't start more making sense, we're gonna have to put you in a home. "

      Grandpa: "You already put me in a home!"

      Homer: "Then we'll put you in the crooked home we saw on 60 Minutes."

      Grandpa: "I'll be good."

  • I just hope... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Gamma_UCF ( 777510 ) on Saturday July 10, 2004 @02:11AM (#9659393)
    ..that the nursing home never gets any retired slashdotters there. I'm sure the tin foil would be missing from the tops of the dinner trays and quickly turned into hats...

  • what TFA didnt mention (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ErichTheWebGuy ( 745925 ) on Saturday July 10, 2004 @02:15AM (#9659411) Homepage
    is whether it can trigger an alarm if a patient wonders offsite. It's a bigger problem than most people realize -- an Alzheimer's patient wonders off, gets lost, sometimes for days on end wondering the streets. IMHO the most valuable part of a system like this would be the ability to trigger an alarm if patients cross a pre-defined boundary.

    It did, however, mention that it records the exact time employees enter and leave the facility, so that they only get paid for the time they actually work. The infrastructure and underlying components seem to be there, but it seems to me like they are more interested in protecting their money than their residents.
    • IMHO the most valuable part of a system like this would be the ability to trigger an alarm if patients cross a pre-defined boundary.

      We already have useful systems for handling this [radiofence.com].

      Personally, I want behavioural adjustment collars for my clients to wear...

      I'm sure my tongue is somewhere near my cheek.

      • Can I get a "behavioural adjustment collar" for the end-users at the office? Please?

        end-user: My Windows OS locked -- [bzzzzzt]
        me: what was that?
        end-user: My computer is [bzzzzzzzzt]
        me: i'm sorry, what?
        end-user: just called to say what a great job you are doing :)

        Oh, yeah. I'd pay thousands for that system....
        • What you need is a LART (Luser attitude readjustment tool). They cmoe in many shapes and sizes, my favourite is a red two-by-four on the wall. Coupled with forgetting to answer the phone, the user will have to come to the support desk. When you say, sure, I'll help, stand up and get the LART.
    • Old people still want their privacy. This type of system only work if the patient essentially loses his/her conscious but not mobility, e.g. in later stage of Alzheimer.

      About 15 years ago, my family was involved in the search of my mother's 90yo grandma. Great grandma preferred to live at home despite her illness. She left home at midnight after everyone went to bed... My uncle notified the relatives to launch for a search. It was a puzzle to us. We knew she must be around doing something that she t
      • What a fascinating story, and a great case for systems similar to the one described in the OP. The GPS wristwatches offer a potential solution to that, without invading the privacy of your loved one too much.

        Of course, 15 years ago, GPS was still classified. Nowadays, though, hell it seems like a no-brainer to me.
    • "off, gets lost, sometimes for days on end wondering the streets. IMHO the most valuable part of a system like this would be the ability to trigger an alarm if patients cross a pre-defined boundary."

      Most Alzheimers units are lockdown units, and those that aren't have a wrist band(probably similar in size to what they would have to wear for this thing) that sets off an alarm when the resident tries to leave.

      "It did, however, mention that it records the exact time employees enter and leave the facility,
      • Most Alzheimers units are lockdown units, and those that aren't have a wrist band(probably similar in size to what they would have to wear for this thing) that sets off an alarm when the resident tries to leave

        Sweet, thanks for the info. I have never been employed in a home, nor had a loved one in a home, so I didn't know.

        The employees being watched on camera is universal. My wife used to work at K-Mart, and the loss-control guys always made it clear that the cameras in the store were mostly there to
    • Great! My mother works in a long term care facility, and the horror stories of what other employees do there makes me quite happy about this. If nothing else, it will hopefully help reveal who left a resident in a bath tub alone for several hours so they could go for a long lunch... something they very often can't tell you themselves.
    • Trigger an alarm hey? Like give the patient a sharp electric shock whenever they dare to venture to the mysterious and long forgotten "outside".

      Why are they doing this in a nursing home anyway? I would have thought that something like the prison system would be a better place to implement such technology...maybe even in high schools (which are basically just prisons where people are punished for being born anyway).
      • Trigger an alarm hey? Like give the patient a sharp electric shock whenever they dare to venture to the mysterious and long forgotten "outside".

        No, like notify someone if a person who no longer has full control of his or her mental faculties is in real danger of being harmed.

        Ideally, they should be taken offsite regularly to explore the mysterious and forgotten outside. I know that in practice, it almost never happens. I do not, however, think that the solution is to allow people to wonder the streets
        • No, like notify someone if a person who no longer has full control of his or her mental faculties is in real danger of being harmed

          Or want their freedom back. Some old people really don't want to live any longer, and are sane enough to make that decision, whether the powers that be agree with them or not. My grandmother made dozens of suicide attempts while at her nursing home. She was mostly paralyzed, mute, and in constant agony for about 7 years. They gradually took steps to prevent future suicide atte
      • I would assume it's some of the same tech, really. IT's probably been tested in prisons, or at elast the company making it probably has a backgruond in this in another industry anyway.

        This http://www.geindustrial.com/cwc/products/ge-interl ogix?pnlid=9&famid=67&catid=1432&id=pers&lang=en_U S
        is by GE, and the website of the home itself doesn't mention the new deployment.

  • Refrigerator Door (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Rick and Roll ( 672077 ) on Saturday July 10, 2004 @02:18AM (#9659418)
    Putting sensors on a refrigerator door to see if someone is out and about is a great idea. Sure, after the fact it's very obvious, but most innovations are, after the fact.

    The alert system also sounds very cool. Especially its ability to work in the forested area. Not a bad facility.

    Glad to see they have creative people working there, that understand human behavior. They must be very well-versed in user interfaces.

    • Yea, great idea those sensors on the fridge....then we can have itemized billing as the coke (or ensure) passes by an RFID sensor...oh no, the can went back in...is it empty or half full?....oh well, we'll charge 'em anyway cause they opened the door and let the cold out.
  • All they need now is a moderation system so that they get modded -1 any time they mention their colonoscopy they had a week ago.

  • The way it really works (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Animats ( 122034 ) on Saturday July 10, 2004 @02:23AM (#9659441) Homepage
    "Thank you for calling Friendly Senior Services. Your call is important to us. All attendants are currently busy helping other callers. Please stay on the line, and an attendant will be with you shortly. If this is an emergency, hang up and dial 911".

    • Re:The way it really works (Score:4, Insightful)

      by ErichTheWebGuy ( 745925 ) on Saturday July 10, 2004 @02:44AM (#9659505) Homepage
      ive fallen and i cant:

      - get up
      - reach the phone to call 911
      - move
      - speak

      The point is, it really might be an emergency and you bring up a good point. People are human, that's just the way it is. Humans are limited resources (they can only do one thing at once). Let's also say that the emergency has happened at a time when, oh say the power has gone out, the a/c is broken, a foul odor is afoot, etc. and everyone is hitting the emergency button to get a quick response when they ask WTF is happening.

      Nothing is perfect. But at the same time, this system is better than nothing. I used to be great friends with a lady who was 80-something and had a life-alert necklace. She really did fall and break her hip and arm, and would have had no hope of reaching the phone. That alert necklace saved her bacon on that occasion. This system, in theory, is making great progress on that front. Now, we just have to balance the (valid) privacy concerns with the functionality of the system.
  • These are older people with health problems.
    Having this kind of a system allows the staff to keep tabs on the residents, thereby (theoretically)
    giving them the ability to quickly respond in case of problems.

    Think about your grandmother or other old person you know- if/when they go in, you want them to be monitored- its not that far off from a hosipital, after all. :)

    my 2 decicreds here...

  • All is good and well (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Lifix ( 791281 ) on Saturday July 10, 2004 @02:35AM (#9659479) Homepage
    "The Personal Emergency Response System that will locate residents throughout the 41-acre complex, including the indoor pool, on a trail through six acres of forest and in 64 duplex and free-standing homes."

    Until the power goes out, and the on hand staff must search the entire complex for all the seniors because they haven't prepared for the possibility. The system is great, however the staff needs to be trained to handle a power less situation and to locate the residents quickly.

    One of the disadvantages with using a new system like the one described is becoming dependent on it.
    • I'm sure most of these places have generators on hand. Even if the generator was only used for critical applications, a simple UPS would do long enough for them to round the folks up.
  • I guess they figured that people weren't buying the old excuses about only using stuff like this to track sex offenders/pedophiles so now they're trying to protect old people. Im just waiting for the day when they hand everyone fluffy white wool jackets to wear.

  • Bowels Open ??? (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    As a doctor whos worked in a few resthomes the thought of them going high tech has always amused me.

    One thing about nurses is that they often keep detailed record of things. For example all nursing notes tend to keep a recorded of how many times a persons bowels have opened during the nurse's shift. eg.

    BNO = bowels not opened
    BO x 2 = bowels opened twice

    As these places become more high tech and have nursing notes placed in databases amazing facts of information about people will be able to be gleamed.

    • > I'm sure the department of homeland security could
      > make brilliant use of such information!!!

      For instance they could be alerted whenever someone on an airplane just opened his bowel at an unscheduled time. Fear does that to a man...
  • "Nurse Jones, the computer is telling me Old Mavis is constipated again."

  • Cares.. (Score:3, Informative)

    by 12357bd ( 686909 ) on Saturday July 10, 2004 @02:58AM (#9659553)

    I remember maybe 10 years ago a bed manufacturer who used a grid of pressure sensors, and a neural network to sense people presence, position and activity.
    The idea was simple and seemed good, but I've never see-it in the real world.

    Anyway, technological aids are only that, aids, never a people replacement.

  • I'm just curious if they're using GPS, RFID or Loran type stuff, another interesting thing might be to put an altimeter in each of the little push buttons so they can find out if the person has fallen, and is unconcious, or something. I'm not sure though that this technology is really required though, it seems like the majority of people entering this home are those who are fully functional and can do things like cross country ski, I could be wrong but do they really need all this information/tracking info

  • I work with elderly patients on a daily basis.... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by IanDanforth ( 753892 ) on Saturday July 10, 2004 @03:02AM (#9659563)
    I can tell you a few things about the elderly. Most of them make the decision eventually to get into assisted living facilities. Its not their kids, or anyone pushing them. If they live a long time alone, have a spouse die, or see declining health in their partner. Assisted living becomes a real, and valuable, option.

    Now the participants I deal with are all cognitively aware for the most part, but even the sharp ones will get lost walking up and down a short corridor. Over the age of 80 there is a steep decline, though you'd be amazed at how active people are late into their 70s!

    Only a few of the men I've talked to would take up something like this device willingly, but most if not all would love their spouses to have it. And I'm sure the wives feel similarly (I only get to see the men).

    Would I want such a device? Probably not, but then again I am intimately familiar with what a hip fracture does to someone, and how scary even mild dementia can be.

    -Ian

  • if they install this in a bad old home, i bet they could catch alot of bad stuff happening, like staff beating up old people, old people beating up old people, and everything else that happens.

  • Track the staff (Score:5, Insightful)

    by kmahan ( 80459 ) on Saturday July 10, 2004 @03:07AM (#9659578)
    Another use would be to keep track of the staff. There are frequent news stories about how the staff is either abusing or neglecting the patients they are entrusted to care for. While working at these places seems like it can suck at times you are still expected to provide the patients with proper care -- not rough them up, ignore them, or rob them.

    • Re:Track the staff (Score:3, Insightful)

      by billstewart ( 78916 )
      And there are a lot more stories about nursing home staff who are underpaid, undertrained, and so understaffed they don't have enough time for everything they need to get done, much less time to be attentive to the residents and/or patients (depending on the type of place.)

      Higher-priced independent living places usually do better at it, but they're essentially doing a hotel's job (and often run by hotel chains such as Marriott), but lower-end places and places that need more nursing care are usually a tou

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Saturday July 10, 2004 @03:10AM (#9659581)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • For those who thought retirement was going to be something that was merely delayed due to the insolvensy of social security -- this sort of "high tech nursing home" is more what they can expect. Monitoring behavior of people you are killing with your underfunded malstaffed institutions is part of the controls that will be necessary. Nursing home residents of the future will have too little to lose and perhaps a final moment of meaning in an otherwise meaningless life to gain through "maladjustment".

    Don'

  • Perhaps if they can always monitored for location and vital signs, elderly people can actually have more freedom and safety? They would be more able to get out of the house and do things without worrying about anything.

    Some people must choose between a nursing home or a live-in nurse, and this could help mitigate the costs. Maybe even more privacy, nobody will need to physically go in and bother them to see if they're ok, all vitals are constantly monitored.(I don't know if they can monitor vitals like tha

  • So it isn't Big Brother that's watching us any more, it's Young Whipper Snapper? They keep making things so difficult to follow.

  • Nice.... (Score:2, Insightful)

    by cbdavis ( 114685 )
    I am really looking forward to getting stuck in a
    home. 3 squares a day. 24 hour security. cameras or RFID tags to follow me. No worries or
    responsibilities. Wait...sounds like prison.....!

    Never mind
  • "Key chain fobs for residents that will wirelessly unlock doors to the complex and link to their accounts for purchases in the gift shop and in-house bar."

    At least a few of those old people are going to relate this to the beast, though it's difficult to liken a fob to a mark on the right hand or forehead.

  • Sad... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by igrp ( 732252 ) on Saturday July 10, 2004 @03:53AM (#9659694)
    As I geek I find this interesting. As a human being though, I do find it sad.

    I recently had to deal with a legal case of an elderly gentleman. I can't give any details but it was basically Mr. American Dream: young man immigrates, starts company, finds a niche, works hard and eventually becomes wealthy.

    Due to a heart condition, and I suspect old age in general, he required constant supervision. Since his kids just couldn't handle it any more (I realize this is harsh but taking care of someone 24/7 isn't exactly easy) they moved him into an assisted living community.

    Now, this man was wealthy and, generally doing fine when he moved in. Almost two years and more than $9000 a month later, he was broke and doing not so well (emphasis is on not).

    I got to see the place and on the outside everything was alright. Modern facilities, friendly staff, a pool, competent medical personell and a state of the art security system. That's right. Camera surveillance that would make the British government pale in envy. Even in some of the rooms. Motion detectors. Wireless heart monitors. Kinda spooky in an Orwellian way.

    Of course, this was all not used for surveillance purposes - they installed all this for safety and/or medical reasons. And, of course, the patients signed off on it and were(mostly) aware that they're being monitored.

    The problem is, the constant lack of human interaction (the most you could hope for is somebody coming by once a day to see if you were indeed still alive) is hard on those old people and it does seem to have a really negative effect on their health. Of course, I can't prove a direct correlation but it was pretty obvious that his man's deteriorating health at least had to do with him feeling that there was nothing left to look forward to.

    I think this is one of those instances were technology is not helping but rather hurting us.

    • the most you could hope for is somebody coming by once a day to see if you were indeed still alive

      I wonder if chat rooms (or other technology interaction) would help. Sounds silly (I can't imagine teaching my 100 year old grandfather how to sign onto a computer. And his vision would be an obstacle). But I bet when you and I are 90, we'll have some other options for communication besides face-to-face.

      I'll probably be in chat rooms pretending to be 59 and handsome....

      • Re:Sad... (Score:2, Interesting)

        by ExistentialFeline ( 696559 )
        My grandfather learned to use a computer at 88 or so. He died this year at 91. He mostly used the computer to read his home town newspaper online and write emails, though I imagine he did some other websurfing. I offered to do stuff like play cards online with him but he never took me up on the offer. Of course I think my uncle gave him some equipment that was kinda unreliable so he was offline on a more frequent basis than normal. One of his big problems was that he was pretty much perfectly sound of m

      • I wonder if chat rooms (or other technology interaction) would help. Sounds silly (I can't imagine teaching my 100 year old grandfather how to sign onto a computer. And his vision would be an obstacle). But I bet when you and I are 90, we'll have some other options for communication besides face-to-face.

        Lots of obstacles. Older people tend to have more trouble with their hands too, so typing could be real tough. The loss of multiple senses used w/ the computer will make it hard as well. For example, my g

  • Where's my tin-foil colostomy bag?
  • If you look into it, getting old sucks, big time.

    Not only do you have all the pleasures of old age, and your rapidly approaching death to look forward to - you have to consider who will help you when you can't help yourself.

    Now maybe you'll get lucky. Maybe your children, if you have them, will take care of your, for years maybe. However, with the selfish imperative so much to the fore in today's society, do you really think they are going to drop their lives to look after the end of yours?

    So we come

  • ...or the Soylent Green [imdb.com] will have crunchy bits..
  • It's a Retirement Community
  • Nurse: Computer, where is Captain Kirk?
    Majel Roddenberry's voice, extra-nasal: Captain Kirk is not in the nursing home.
    Nurse: Can you locate him?
    Computer: Processing
    (pause)
    Computer: Captain Kirk has been located by the Personal Emergency Response System of the Hilton corporation. He is in a corridor with a camera crew from Priceline. He is approaching Captain Spock's room.
  • The Register was reporting yesterday that Japan was planning to RFID school kids so that they could be monitored on their way to school: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/07/09/japanese_t ag_schoolkids/
  • As I read this I thought what the hell...

    There is possibly no way to show more clearly that you want to deprieve elderly people of their human rights, to show that they are second class at best.

    Somebody else here wrote that old people themselves like to have some support in living once it gets tough. Those that I know judge their ability to handle daily live as being wastly better than their relatives. But their are definitely some of those self-reflecting types.

    So suppose you want to have help coping

  • Clap-On! Clap-Off!

    Surely those have been in retirement homes for years - not high-tech? :p
  • Ah, but do they have fog machines and control over the passage of time?
  • My father is in the first stages of
    alzeimers.

    So far, he can still remember where he
    is and how to get back home. He goes
    about his daily walks with no problem.

    However, I can see the day when his alzeimers
    advances to the point where he may not be
    able to find his way back home.

    Would it be nice to have some sort of tracking
    on him so that mom (who is caring for him) can
    find him, or better yet, a device that is plugged
    into his ear that tell him how to get back home
    based on gps and street map information; like;
    'Walk left at the next intersection'; and
    so forth.

    We as a family will be needing something like
    this.

  • when you first read the article, that you thought they had come up with some new way to abuse old people? sadly, this can help the elderly who wander off, of course this could be prevented if the people who work at these places did their damn jobs right in the first place. This is another example of why I will never place my mother in a home, because I dont want her to spend the rest of her days being tagged like an animal in the wild and not given privacy, because the elderly are people too, just because t
    • Yes, you are correct. Workers in nursing homes are all rip off artists and like to abuse old people.

      My mother-in-law works at a nursing home and she really cares for elderly people.

      My wife also worked as a nuring administrator for a little while.

      Your statements(and plenty of others) show a clear lack of understanding of what it is like to run a nursing home. Trying to please the patient, the family, and the government at the same is a daunting task.

      Patient: there is a reason why they are in the nursing
  • Sen Corruptus:"It's good for old people right?"
    Educated Individual:"Ummm yeah ... I guess so...."
    Sen Corruptus:"You wouldn't like them to get lost would you?"
    EI:"No,no... but..."
    Sen Corruptus:"And what about your kids? Don't you care about them?"
    EI:"Of course I do! It's just..."
    Sen Corruptus:"So we'll tag them too. In case of pedophiles. Your not a pedophile are you?"
    EI:"What?! No I just don't like..."
    Sen Corruptus:"We'll tag everyone so no one gets lost or tries to be a pedophile."
    EI:"That's wrong. You can
  • But it might be too little too late, several elderly persons have already been dragged away by soul-sucking mummies [bubbahotep.com].

    If only this technology were available two years ago, Elvis wouldn't have had to go through all that trouble.

  • Nursing Home Tech (Score:3, Informative)

    by SteakandcheeseUm ( 191173 ) on Saturday July 10, 2004 @11:07AM (#9660910) Homepage
    This is not a new idea. I work at a nursing home in West Virginia (of all states) and we have been using a similar system (secureCare) for several years now. Generally, you attach an RFID to each confused resident and put these sensors on the doors. If the resident tries to push the door open, an alarm goes off in the nursing station. Everyone in managment is immediately paged with an alphanumeric message telling the resident name and the Exit taken. (this method is much cheaper than the aforementioned tracking system)
    Another new technology that is also being implimented are resident databases with touchpads that help nursing aids take care of residents. It lets nurses use their time more efficiently. (quite cool, they installed windows XP embedded LCD's every 5 yds in the halls)[Each resident has a mag card that the nurses aid takes and swipes to access the residents records]
    The nursing home also implimented a biometric ID system that allows employees to clock in and out.
    I really like working there and being around the neat technology.

    HOPE 5 r0x0rs
  • This anime grapples somewhat with the issue of the tension between the elderly needing complete care and automation being cheaper but impersonal. It made me think about the moral and social dimensions of the issue -- especially as, after all, even an elderly feeble senile person augmented by being hooked up to an internet connected AI nursebot is part of Vinge's singularity and could perhaps outthink and outcompete a normal unaugmented person. See: Roujin Z [animeworld.com] From that page: Roujin Z Plot Synopsis: "In the ve

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