New Developments to Help Live a More Independent Life

Getting by on your own can be a challenge at any age, but age-related complications like illnesses or limited mobility can make remaining independent into your sunset years an even tougher task.  Fortunately, there are more services and products dedicated to supporting independent living than ever before.

In observation of February as Senior Independence Month, this article looks at three new developments that can help you or a loved one live a more independent life.

Wallflower Smart Monitor

Few things are as dangerous to a senior’s prospects of long term independence as a preventable house fire, and no appliance in an American home is more prone to causing such a calamity as an unattended stove.

In an effort to prevent some of the 5,000,000 fires that occur annually in the US, engineers at Wallflower labs have developed a simple to install plug placed between the power cord of an electric stove and it’s wall outlet.  This plug monitors how long a stove has been left on and will send both audible alerts through a built in alarm, as well as send messages to a user or loved one’s smart phone to alert them to a possible fire hazard.

The entire system takes about 5 minutes to install and is completely customizable, allowing users to set alarm timers and determine who should receive alerts.  For the less tech-savvy, the system will actually monitor how long a stove is typically left on during meal preparation and automatically change it’s internal timer to match normal usage patterns.

Pixie Pad UTI Testing System

Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) are the leading cause of emergency hospitalizations among Americans aged 65 to 84 and an emergency hospital stay for an untreated UTI typically costs an upwards of $25,000 – a crippling financial blow for many independent seniors.

The Pixie Pad is a simple testing system inserted into a patient’s adult diaper that acts as a small testing kit. Once the pad has been used, the user or a caregiver scans the pad through Pixie Scientific’s app and results are immediately sent to the user’s medical team, catching UTIs earlier and allowing steps to be taken to manage any signs infection before emergency medical intervention is needed.

Capsule Pharmacy

Trips to the pharmacy and waiting in line can be a drain at any time of year, but that is doubly true during the winter months, or if you or a loved one experience limited mobility due to an injury or illness.

To make receiving medication easier, many New Yorkers are turning to Capsule, an online pharmacy in which doctors forward a patient’s prescriptions to Capsule’s Manhattan office along with contact information for the patient.  Capsule then contacts the patient, accepts payment (if there is a co-pay) and then arranges a 2-hour window in which the patient or a trusted friend/family member can receive the delivery – with no added delivery fee.

On top of their delivery service, Capsule also offers patients the traditional counseling and guidance of a brick-and-mortar pharmacy via phone, email and text with the help of their in-house pharmacist.

SelectCare Home Care Services in New York hopes you found this guide useful. No matter what our age or how independent we might be, it’s always comforting to know that there are helping hands out there to help you or a loved one recover from a stumble.

Our team of home health care experts and compassionate home caregivers have been helping New Yorkers live happier, healthier lives in the comfort of their long-time homes for more than 30 years.  To learn more about how SelectCare helps, call SelectCare today or request a free in-home care guide.