According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of elderly in our population will experience “considerable growth” as Baby Boomers born in the 1940s and 1950s get older. They will also live longer than the generations that came before. The number of people over 65 is expected to nearly double from 43.1 million in 2012 to 83.7 million by 2050. This growth has enormous implications for our economy and our healthcare systems. It is far less expensive for seniors to live independently in their own home than in settings that provide personal and professional care such as nursing homes.
In many cases, the elderly need only a small amount of assistance in order to live safely on their own. In recent years, we have seen a growing number of technological solutions to this problem, designed to monitor the activities of people in their own homes and issue alerts to family, caregivers, or emergency personnel when appropriate. A new option will be available soon: Presence Pro Care. This is a combination of hardware, software, and services that are an outgrowth of the company’s successful Presence app that has had more than 1 million downloads. The company has launched an Indiegogo campaign to launch the system, which will include a variety of “smart” devices and sensors, from a panic button to door and motion sensors. The system can even use spare smartphones and tablets as connected cameras and digital picture frames.
The system will include 24/7 professional monitoring, and there will be a $20 per month subscription fee. Presence Pro Care requires that the home have WiFi and Internet service, and caregivers will need to use an iOS or Android device to run the Presence app. The company has reached their flexible goal for the Indiegogo campaign as this is published, and the web site projects a May 2016 ship date.
