HOMELINK S U P P O R T T E C H N O L O G I E S
The Support You Need, On-Demand, Virtually Anywhere Seizures, falls, disorientation, wandering, medical conditions, incontinence, fear of strangers, loneliness, problems taking medications Individuals who struggle with these issues, especially the elderly and those with special needs, have may choose to move into a group home, assisted living, or other dependent living setting. These solutions, however, are extremely costly, come with high rates of caregiver turnover, and lessen an individual s independence, privacy, and ability to make decisions. Now, imagine the improvement in quality of life and cost if that individual received immediate support in their own home, on-demand. Individuals who forget to take their medications are reminded and watched to make sure it is taken correctly. At night, individuals who become incontinent receive immediate care from a support professional. Others who have an unpredicted medical condition, like a seizure disorder, receive care from a nurse moments after a seizure occurs. Parents receive coaching from a behavioral analyst after their child with autism exhibits seriously challenging behavior towards younger siblings. What if there was a way to know exactly when and what kind of help was needed at home? What if this help could be provided on-demand? If this was possible, might this be a better and more affordable option for preserving or achieving an independent, safe, private, and secure life? Of course it would!
GETTING STARTED What is homelink support technologies? Parents, guardians... even those who have been reluctant in the past: once they see what Homelink does they love it. They just love it! -Jon Zehnder CCO, Disability Supports HomeLink Support Technologies is a breakthrough use of technology that combines advanced security and smart home technologies with specially trained professionals who provide remote and deployed support. HomeLink offers an unlimited amount of options to seniors, individuals with disabilities, and other special-needs populations. With HomeLink you don t have to trade your independence to get the support you need. And you don t have to pay for intrusive and expensive in-home caregivers who have no choice but to sit around and wait until a need arises. HomeLink Support Technologies delivers health and behavioral support, home security, in home care, or emergency support to a home when and where it is needed. It can be used to remotely supervise in-home caregivers; arrange shopping services; laundry; answer questions; provide help in ensuring that individuals are taking the right medicine; or offer assistance in how to cook a meal. For those needing some conversation and company, support professionals can connect a person via Skype to a friend or family community to one or many homes in need, virtually anywhere.
HOW IT WORKS: BREAKING DOWN HOMELINK LINK BY LINK HomeLink Support designed to meet an individual s needs, allowing as much independence as possible. HomeLink may include the use of sensors, which can track security, health, or behavioral issues, or the use of low- or no- light cameras or inter-active speakers/microphones in a home. HomeLink may also involve using innovative technology to morph a home TV/entertainment system into a teleconferencing network that connects individuals in the home to training, support, or advice personally and on the spot. Or, HomeLink may involve using smart home technology that remotely controls systems, equipment, or appliances in a home. This all may sound very technical, but the real art of HomeLink is that it doesn t require any technical expertise. Really! Our state-of-the-art monitoring and virtual support center, located in Lawrence, Kansas, does all the work. The specially trained support staff monitor homes based on each person s individual desires, provide in-home, remote assistance, and dispatch and notify local networks of care as needed.
HOMELINK KEEPS YOUR PRIVACY PERSONAL Privacy is personal, and we take each person s privacy very personally. In an ideal situation, we would all live independently in our own homes forever. The reality is, however, that many of us must compromise some privacy in order to get the care we need. At HomeLink, we are focused on minimizing intrusions in our customer s lives while helping them live as independently as possible. HomeLink puts the decisions about privacy in the customers hands, and gives them the ability to control and minimize the intrusion in their lives as they balance their need for support. With HomeLink you can: need. Do you want HomeLink to be alerted when you or your loved one gets out of bed at night? Is incontinent? Has a seizure? Falls? Wanders from your home? Or, do you want HomeLink alerted only when you hit a help now button? sensor is activated. Do you want HomeLink to call you at home? Do you want them to be able to see you? Hear you? What areas of the home do you want them to see and hear? What areas should be kept private? Do you want the HomeLink monitoring team to virtually them in your home by pressing a button to invite them to be able to view you or hear you in your home? Do you want to see support professionals on your TV screen and interactively talk with them? you need it, and for how long. Do you need HomeLink to remotely turn a light on or off? Unlock a door? Tell you how to turn the stove on and check to make Or use Skype to talk to and see your son while you sit in front of your TV? Or perhaps you want HomeLink to deploy a nearby caregiver? And when that person arrives to help, do you want HomeLink to remotely supervise them while they are in your home so you can be assured that you receive proper care? Traditional care strategies offer few choices and little control over the level of intrusion and what services are provided. In most cases, a caregiver is unsupervised and the individuals they support have little say over what the staff do and do not do while they are in a home. On the other hand, with HomeLink, your choices are almost endless. If HomeLink support can allow you to live in your own home or a less restrictive setting, then the advantage of Home- Link becomes crystal clear.
HOMELINK APPLICATIONS Virtual Village Semi-Independent Living Support Program Some elderly individuals and individuals with special needs could live more independently if there was a way to provide interacting with the individuals remotely on a daily basis. This way, HomeLink can ensure that individuals are taking their medications, not wandering away, or letting strangers into the home. When a problem arises, HomeLink can deploy local staff members immediately, providing the necessary help at a moment s notice. Remote Night Monitoring and Night Supervison HomeLink Support Technologies helps you rest easy, knowing that care is being provided, even in the middle of the night. HomeLink Support Technologies are currently being used in residences throughout Kansas and the homes that have this technology from a remote location. If an individual gets out of bed, opens a door, presses a help button, or activates another individual s preference, the HomeLink team can also independently check a home every few minutes to determine whether there is a need not indicated by an alarm or sensor. When help is needed, local staff members are deployed. Remote House Visits, Conferencing, and Home-Based Training Medical professionals, social workers, and other support staff can help an individual or family with HomeLink Support Technologies. HomeLink connects the individual, in the comfort of their own home, * Photos used in this brochure are for illustrative purposes only. All person depicted are models.
Custom Local Monitoring Solutions HomeLink Support Technologies can also be designed so that the monitoring is done by someone other than HomeLink staff. A company or individual who wants to provide their own local, remote support can be set up to do so. Local applications can be designed so that professional supports and teams are connected to preschools, nursing facilities, assisted living homes or semi-independent communities. Multiple family members or caregivers can also be directly connected to self-monitor their loved one. Remote Quality Assurance and Supervision Quality assurance is an essential component of programs that serve vulnerable populations. HomeLink Support Technologies provides a tailored strategy, providing eyes on direct observations of home operations, teaching, interactions with individuals served, and more. A quality review system can be developed to provide announced or unannounced visits where an evaluator will virtually knock on the door, and then observe and collect information about what is happening from a remote location. DVR archived recordings can be randomly sampled to gather information about the quality of services provided, or can be reviewed by program administrators when there is a report of a care concern. Sensors and Switches HomeLink Support Technologies has the ability to incorporate a variety of sensors and switches into our system that will detect when a person gets out of bed, opens a door or window, is incontinent, or has crossed a barrier (like a doorway). Switches can be used to turn on a light for a person, if requested, or an in-home switch can be activated by an individual to indicate a need for help. Remote Behavior Analysis and Earbud Coaching Program Behavior analysis is highly effective and concerns. Traditional behavior analysis can time to collect data, analyze behavior, develop an effective intervention plan, and coach staff to implement the plans consistently. In most cases, interventions are developed by professionally trained behavior analysts based on second hand information relayed by family members or other caregivers. Even when direct observation is possible, the presence of a professional often changes the dynamics of the behavior and how caregivers respond to it. HomeLink eliminates these issues by being an invisible eye when problem behaviors are exhibited. Behavior analysts can provide caregivers immediate coaching via an earbud, giving them techniques for dealing with challenging behaviors. Because HomeLink can monitor behaviors around-the-clock, behavior experts are provided a vast amount of data immediately, circumventing the time-consuming data collection process. Fire Safety Training Individuals who live independently in the community must be able to evacuate their home quickly, should an emergency arise. HomeLink recording them on video, and providing the video to program administrators or family members to help in training techniques. Smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors and other local sensors can be tied to systems. Our team members can also provide verbal prompts and alarm sounds. This ensures that individuals who live independently are protected in an emergency.
HomeLink is an Applied Research Partnership... HomeLink is not an invention of new technology, but rather a unique forging of technology to between professionals, faculty and graduate students from the University of Kansas Department of Applied Behavioral Sciences. Since 1999, the focus of this partnership has been to incorporate technology into homes that support dependent populations. These homes are where our HomeLink Saves You Money... savings are considerable, but independence, safety, and piece of mind are priceless. G E T C O N N E C T E D especially interested in expanding our partnerships with community service providers to better and more cost effectively deliver its home supports to new regions for senior and special need populations. HomeLink Support Technologies mikestrouse@homelinksupport.com www.homelinkst.com