New technology could allow for a shift in rules about how senior living and care operators handle fall emergencies, one health tech CEO asserts.
Falling is a major, often fatal, problem for older adults, both at home and in residential community living. Federal agencies and states have mandatory rules in place, limiting how much on-site staff members can do when such incidents occur, as it can be difficult for family members or caregivers to help someone back up.
Not only can older adults who fall have injuries such as head trauma or hip fractures, but caregiving staff members themselves can become injured in the course of attempting to assist, notes health tech entrepreneur Steve Powell.
“You can’t expect a staff member at a senior living facility to lift someone who is 300, 400 pounds,” Powell told the McKnight’s Tech Daily on Wednesday. “That could damage them [the staff] permanently. But fire chiefs have told me they’ll have to go to a specific site three or four times a day to pick up different people. It’s expensive for a truck or ambulance to come that often.”
Powell founded IndeeLift, which produces a self-operating device of the same name to make it easier, and safer, for older adults to get back up after a fall.
Powell spent the past two weeks speaking with local fire chiefs and legislators in Wisconsin, to discuss preliminary interest in adjusting state laws.
“We’re looking to implement a new program and law that transitions to a new way of handling fall recovery,” Powell said. “We can create new rules because we have new tools. Many places are being proactive with new technology.”
Although such potential laws are in the early planning stages, one of the legislators most interested in getting involved is state Rep. Lori Palmeri (D-Oshkosh), Powell said.
In addition to lifting technology, many senior living and care operators are installing sensor systems, or deploying wearable trackers, to help reduce falls and predict when they might occur.
Despite the magnitude of the health risk, many older adults are hesitant or reluctant to seek help during a falling incident, out of a sense of personal pride, Powell said.
IndeeLift is one of several recently new machines designed to help seniors in a way that preserves their dignity in the face of increased mobility issues due to age. SedMed, a mechanical toilet seat lift, also was created with that purpose in mind, a spokesman recently told the McKnight’s Tech Daily.
