Sep 19, 2019
Remote Monitoring – Real Stories from Real Customers

At Clairvoyant, we read and talk a lot about remote monitoring for caregiving support – we can’t help ourselves, it’s what we do and we are passionate about it.

When we speak with prospective customers, we find that each  person has their own unique story about why they need caregiving help. We understand this, that’s why the company was founded – to bring new, useful and affordable technology to help busy caregivers.  In fact, read more about our CEO Steve’s caregiving story here.

Once our customers start using Theora Care remote monitoring solutions, they very often become passionate about how remote monitoring helps them! Many people want to share their stories about how Theora Care technology is helping them today, because they want to help others. And who better to tell you than someone who uses  our solutions? Here is glimpse into some of their stories:

• In Houston, a gentleman with dementia is prone to wandering, so his family purchased the Theora Connect wristwatch-style wearable for him. His caregivers – a connected team of his siblings – can see where he is located on their smartphones using the accompanying Theora Link app. One day, on a hot 100°F Texas afternoon, his family was concerned for their brother who they had not heard from for a while. As it turned out, he was collapsed by the roadside and using the GPS feature they could find him and go directly to retrieve him, potentially saving his life.
• A young woman with early-onset Alzheimer’s was walking to a nearby appointment as she had done before, knocks on the door, and when a strange man answered she ran away towards home scared and confused. Upon arriving home, her husband looked at the historical data reporting included on the smartphone app and could see that she had indeed taken a wrong turn and arrived at the wrong building. Her husband was able to reassure his wife that it wasn’t the disease manipulating her memory, she had taken a wrong turn, and what she had seen was accurate.
• A young man with Autism enjoys his independence being gainfully employed as a certified pastry chef. He lives at home with his family, who can pursue their professions knowing where he is and be able to check in on him when needed through the 2-way cellular communication built into the Theora watch.
• An older gentlemen with memory loss became separated from his wife at a large grocery store. She called him on his Theora Connect wearable, and even though he was confused, he could still hear her reassuring voice. So could a nearby Good Samaritan who stayed with her husband until she rejoined him – in the store parking lot on a very busy street at dusk!
• A very active mom in the early stages of Alzheimer’s loves living in the home she has lived in for 50 years – read more here.  She has always been very busy and connected, that when she has downtime she has a tendency to find something to do. In this case, she “bolts” as her family refers to it, towards her favorite grocery store located near a very busy intersection. Her sons use the Theora Link Safe Zones feature, and Theora Quik Alert, which notifies them via an app text message when she leaves her home  and where she is, so they can coordinate picking her up before an emergency event can occur.
• A daughter in Texas stays connected with her Mom in Oregon and can call the wearable to check in, and has pre-set Safe Zones to know if her Mom should wander and can contact her to make sure she is all right – read more here. Plus, her mother loves wearing the cool, non-medical looking device, unlike the cell phone and lanyard she would not use.

New Buyer’s Checklist

In addition to continually seeking ways to enhance our products – such as proximity monitoring, environmental monitoring, sleep activity — we are also learning from the thoughtful feedback we receive from our customers. Our customers are generous in sharing what additional functionality would be useful to them, and some of our new products are in response to their requests!

We’ve also heard that our customers are deluged with so many different products, it’s difficult to know what’s important and what works. Here is a simple checklist that has helped them in selecting remote monitoring products and keep up with ever changing technology. We hope this checklist can help you and others who are facing a similar decisioning process.

• It should provide more peace of mind for caregivers, who cannot always be present 24/7, by keeping them in touch with their care recipients– across town or across country, inside and outside;
• Privacy-sensitive (non-video) technology that enables care recipients to stay in their home of choice longer, enjoying more independence with the confidence of knowing someone is keeping an unobtrusive and reassuring eye on them;
• Useful features – Beware of too many bells and whistles, which are often more expensive and confusing or distracting for care recipients and caregivers. Focus on getting just the condition-specific technology you need;
• Ease of use – as mentioned above, if it’s too complicated it probably won’t work for you;
• Two-way communication to check in or contact when assistance is needed, with no button pushing required from the care recipient;
• GPS locator for tracking, with customizable safe zones and notification alerts;
• Historical tracking data that can help uncover changes in activities and behaviors that may require intervention, before an incident occurs.
• Close proximity tracking. At home and away location tracking for places you go together and where you might get separated, like a busy mall, big box store or restaurant;
• Water resistance – look for IP67 compliance means it’s water resistant and can be used in the shower and normal activities (just not submersed for longer periods);
• Lockable band option;
• No long-term service contracts should be necessary;
• Investment protection – look for a family of remote monitoring solutions that can grow with you when you need more types of functionality versus a one-off solution;
• 4G LTE is very important for location accuracy and superior cellular signals – beware of solutions that only support up to 3G technology;

Many thanks to our customers for sharing their stories, we love hearing them. If you have questions about the solution that is right for you, please call us we’d love to chat with you.