At Home with MIMI
MIMI Provides Peace of Mind for Adult Children with Elderly Parents
Description
Male, 91, has lived alone since 2002. Both of his adult children live relatively close – his son lives in the same neighborhood, and his daughter is only about 10 miles away, but it takes her 20 to 30 minutes to reach him because of traffic. His medical conditions include a deteriorated heart valve that can’t be repaired and severe hearing loss that prevents him from being able to use the phone.
Opportunity
The roles we play within our families often reverse as parents get older and begin to experience health issues with adult children assuming responsibility for mom and/or dad’s well-being. However, parents often rebel at the thought of assistance because they don’t want to lose their independence.
This was the situation for Marol Ammond whose 91-year-old father started having heart problems but was adamant about remaining in his home without assistance. Complicating matters further, he is hard of hearing so he can’t communicate via the telephone. If Marol called to check on him, he might not even hear the phone ring much less be able to answer her questions about his status.
Marol faced a common dilemma: honoring her parent’s desire to take care of himself as long as possible while ensuring his safety and her own peace of mind. And living a half hour away, she needs a means of getting him help quickly if ever he really needs it.
Solution
As a Status Solutions employee, Marol knew the company’s MIMI health monitoring solution offered the answer that both she and her dad needed. By wearing a MIMI monitor, Marol could remotely monitor her dad’s activity. And because the device looks like a fashionable wristwatch, he wouldn’t mind wearing it because it wouldn’t make him feel helpless or send that message to others when he’s in public.
Now every morning, Marol logs on to MIMI’s secure Web-based interface to make sure her father is up and moving about normally. She does the same at night to ensure he gets to bed safely. In between, Marol knows that she’ll receive an alert if he should fall or become inactive for an extended period of time. She also knows if the device is fully charged and can clear it remotely in the event of a false alert.
Unlike other monitoring solutions geared toward seniors, alerts from MIMI aren’t managed by strangers in a call center but instead are sent automatically via text or voice to family, neighbors or friends. If something should happen to Marol’s dad, she and her brother, who lives only a short distance away, are instantly notified so they can go to check on him or call one of his neighbors to do so. From there, they can decide if additional medical intervention is required. And should Marol or her brother go on vacation, they can reconfigure MIMI to alert someone else they trust to check on their dad, but they can continue to monitor him remotely.
MIMI is powered by AFrame Digital’s CareStation, an unobtrusive device about the size of a cable modem that’s connected to the Internet. It collects data from the watch and other sensors placed throughout the home, displaying the information on any Web browser or mobile smartphone. In Marol’s case, indicators let her know her dad’s general status and location within the home and if he should fall. MIMI also can be configured to indicate changes in activity, temperature, sleep and eating patterns, as well as baseline vitals such as heart rate and blood pressure. Marol’s dad didn’t agree to that level of monitoring because he felt it was too invasive. However, those options are available to Marol and her dad if they agree to them later.
Partnership
Marol has received a few alerts since implementing MIMI, but her dad is fine. No major emergencies have occurred. Because of his heart condition, he is prone to dizzy spells, usually followed by blackouts. Fortunately, he can feel them coming on and has time to call for help using the duress button on his wrist monitor.
He also has a tendency to trip but manages to catch himself, avoiding actual falls. With the ability to control the device’s sensitivity, Marol and her dad can avoid the stress of false alarms. But if he does fall, Marol can take comfort in knowing that she will be alerted so she can take appropriate action. And her dad will know that help is on the way because the wrist monitor will display that message. With MIMI, motion turns into meaningful information.
