By Roberto Muñiz
You may have heard me speak of #WithIt… but what does that really mean? Parker introduced the phrase and hashtag just over a year ago. We’ve shared #WithIt stories of inspiring personalities that bring the phrase to life. Now, you’re about to hear a lot more!
We are taking this movement to the national stage. Why? Because our culture no longer appreciates or accepts the aging process or those who are aging. Our society actually fears aging. Parker’s Second Annual Aging in America Survey shows that Millennials and Gen Xers are nearly twice as likely as members of the Baby Boomer and Silent generations to consider people “old” by the time they hit their 70s.
#WithIt looks at aging as beautiful. It’s a positive way to think about getting older, encouraging all of us to drop our biases and open ourselves up to shared experiences and society. It’s the best form of defense against ageism.
#WithIt is bigger than our organization or one person, yet it starts with each one of us. #WithIt is a campaign inspired by Parker that is breaking the mold, making participation in society between young and old a matter of relevance and awareness. It showcases individuals of all ages and abilities, invested in and engaged in their lives: Whether at work or with family and friends. It moves aging from the sidelines to the center of what today’s culture prizes most: being in the mix.
#WithIt invites each one of us to search within ourselves, asking questions such as: “Why am I #WithIt?” or “Why do I think a particular person is #WithIt?”
You might be #WithIt because you know you only get better with time, believe someone can still run for office at the age of 80 or practice yoga well into their 90s. This movement demonstrates how older people at any age remain in touch with what matters to them and encourages us to value their ongoing presence and contributions in their many forms.
#WithIt will soon have its own website and it will be talked about at the National LeadingAge Conference in October. You don’t have to work in Aging Services to join this movement. We all have loved ones who are aging and WE are all aging.
This movement impacts each one of us, and because of this, let’s celebrate what inspires us to Make Aging Part of Life.
I will soon have more to share with you on how you can get involved and Join the #WithIt movement.
Credit: Photos Compliments of Angela Burton
Part of the VITALITY ARTS SPECIAL REPORT
Although she has been a writer and teacher for more than 20 years, Angela Burton credits her late father, Joe Kirtley, with inspiring her deep appreciation for the power of stories.
“After my dad retired at 78, he grew depressed and was kind of lost,” recalled Burton, who lives in Louisville, Ky. “He’d go down to the basement to the computer. We thought he was playing chess.”
In fact, Kirtley was writing stories, essays and poems. Some were typed. Some handwritten. And he wasn’t keeping them to himself — he was sending them to the local newspaper and his work was being published.
“It really gave my dad a different sense of purpose at the end of his life, and we were left with this marvelous treasure trove of stories,” said Burton.
Finding A New Purpose
After her father died in 2012 at age 84, Burton, now 54, started searching for her own renewed sense of purpose. She realized she wanted to create a workshop experience where older adults could come together to write — and read — their own stories.
In 2015, she launched Feet to the Fire Writers’ Workshops® (FTTF), a six-week series regularly offered at assisted living and senior housing residences in and around Louisville. (Burton also holds workshops for younger writers at another location.)
In a small group setting of no more than eight people, participants meet for two hours. During that time, Burton gives them a writing prompt — a word or a phrase — and then they begin putting their life stories on paper. No computers allowed; everything is done by hand.
“Having the stories in their own handwriting is precious,” said Burton. “I tell them that as long as they can read what they’ve written, that’s fine. No one will look at their stories except them. And if they want feedback, they have to ask for it.”
‘But I’m Not a Writer’
The most common concern expressed by workshop participants, who have so far ranged in age from 70 to 98, is this: “But I’m not a writer.”
Judith Conn, 78, admitted that was her initial reaction when she enrolled in March 2016.
“I grew up in a family of storytellers, but neither of my parents wrote,” said Conn. “So, I can tell a good story, but writing them down is difficult sometimes.”
As the workshops have continued, Conn has grown to enjoy the writing process. “I have found it freeing and it is helping me to remember … I did not realize that I had parts of my growing-up years tucked away and not exactly forgotten, just not thought about for a long time.”
Conn is also keen on writing another set of stories. “Since my husband died in 2014, I am learning that I need to tell some of his stories, too. He did write, but not about himself.”
Part of the workshop experience includes an invitation to the writers to read their work to the group. “They really get affirmation from each other,” said Burton. “And some of the stories they hear from members of the group trigger their own memories.”
In addition to the writing, Patricia Hendren, 71, also appreciates the fact that being part of FTTF enables her to forge connections with fellow writers who also live in the Christian Care Communities residence in Louisville.
“You’re getting to know some of your neighbors,” said Hendren. “We can share our experiences.”
Their Story to Tell
In an interview, Dan Bauer, one of Hendren’s neighbors, read a story he wrote about visiting his grandparents’ New York home, being surrounded by familiar smells in their kitchen, but calling himself “a frightened 9-year-old boy,” facing surgery on his leg the following day. He writes about returning to their home after his hospital stay and using a chair to practice walking across the kitchen floor as his mother watched, encouraging him so he would be well enough to attend his brother George’s upcoming wedding.
In the years since she launched FTTF, Burton has heard some incredible stories, both joyful and heartbreaking. She has worked with more than 600 writers, and estimates the shared stories number in “the thousands.” By virtue of demographics, Burton said more women than men have participated in the workshops, but one of her oldest students was a 98-year old man.
“He served during WWII and had two Purple Hearts. He told me it ‘wasn’t a big deal’ and remembers tossing them on his bunk when he got them,” said Burton. “He then pointed to a scar on his face and said he’d been shot on his daughter’s third birthday. The story he wanted to write was about missing that day with her.”
Burton always offers a bit of guidance to start the group members off on their writing journeys.
“I give them permission not to remember someone’s name or a certain fact,” said Burton. “I want them to feel comfortable knowing they are telling their version of their story — and that might be different from the version their siblings or their children would tell. It’s so important for them to have their own voice.”
Mary Haynes, president and CEO of Nazareth Home in Newburg and Clifton, Ky., where Burton also facilitates Feet to the Fire Workshops, appreciates the fact that these experiences offer adults the chance to reflect in ways they may not otherwise.
“I have had the honor of being in the ‘recital readings’ and they are truly sacred times. Sometimes the stories are funny, often they have some pain, and they are always tender,” said Haynes. “The writers do support each other in interesting ways. It is an empowering process. Relationships are formed from the empowerment, and community is built.”
Making Sense of Their Lives
For some FTTF writers, the bonds they make with other writers are so essential, they’ll continue attending the sessions no matter what. “There’s a woman in one of the groups who had a stroke and she can’t write anymore,” said Burton. “But she still comes regularly because she doesn’t want to lose those connections.”
Since its inception, several group members have passed away. Burton is grateful for the comments family members have shared with her about the impact the writing workshop had on their loved ones.
“One woman told me she always called her mom on Monday nights and her mother would read the stories to her that she’d written in the workshop that day,” said Burton.
“Sometimes participants will say to me, ‘I don’t think this will be valuable to anyone.’ But what I always say is: ‘But how valuable is it to you?’” said Burton. “This process of reflecting has to do with closure in a way. We need to make sense of our lives as we age, and this gives them the chance to take their life apart in pieces.”
Spreading the Fire
Word of the success of Feet to the Fire has spread beyond Louisville. Burton recently created a “Training the Trainer” program, complete with journals and training materials, that can be used to launch FTTF in residences across the country.
Julie has worked as a writer and editor for more than 20 years; most recently she was a managing editor for the community lifestyle magazine group at Tiger Oak Media in Minneapolis, where she also served as editor of Saint Paul Magazine. Julie can be reached via email at jpfitzinger@nextavenue.org Follow her on Twitter @juliepfitzinger.
By Danielle Woodruffe
With August 26th being National Women’s Equality Day, we sat down with some amazing Parker women. We’re celebrating their career and personal achievements, some of them were pioneers in their fields.
Jean Burton, Parker at River Road Resident
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Tell us about your education and career?
“I received my bachelor’s and Ph.D. from Ohio State and then became a professor at Rutgers’ Douglass College teaching psychology.”
What were some of the highlights of your career?
“I loved my career very much. I made lifelong friends among the staff and some of them joined me here at Parker. I helped push the department to hire someone who became a good friend, but who was also responsible for bringing the Office of Disability Services to Rutgers. Hiring her was my most proud moment, because the center still lives on.”
What advice would you give women today?
“Follow your dream. I don’t regret any of it.”
This dream chaser is a pioneer in women’s equality and #WithIt.
By Danielle Woodruffe
With August 26th being National Women’s Equality Day, we sat down with some amazing Parker women. We’re celebrating their career and personal achievements, some of them were pioneers in their fields.
Maria Rabinowitz, Parker at Stonegate Resident
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Tell us about your education and career?
“I graduated from Rutgers’ Douglass College and received a fellowship under the Buenos Aires Convention. I was sent to Mexico and taught Spanish literature at the American School. I fell in love with the country. When I came back, I worked for Pan Am as a flight attendant in their Latin American division out of Miami. After that, I taught at Miami Beach Senior High and moved back to Mexico to be a translator for the Mexican Social Security Ministry. Later, I returned to the states and taught Spanish and French at Rutgers Prep.”
What are some exciting things you remember about your career?
“At Pan Am we were weighed and measured periodically. That is unusual today. Also, one time we lost two engines because of a bird strike. I was just happy to be alive.”
You’ve had such an interesting career and life. Have you captured a lot of it in your self-published book?
“My book: Clouds, Rain is a book of poetry. A lot of it is about my late husband who developed dementia. I cared for him for 8-10 years.”
What advice would you give women today?
“Slug it out. You can’t take on the whole world, but you can change your own world.”
Changing her world, Maria Rabinowitz is a pioneer in women’s equality and #WithIt.
By Danielle Woodruffe
With August 26th being National Women’s Equality Day, we sat down with some amazing Parker women. We’re celebrating their career and personal achievements, some of them were pioneers in their fields.
Charlotte Rosen, Parker at Stonegate Resident
You’ve had two careers that were very different. Tell us about them.
“I lived in Manhattan and owned a store with my husband on Third Avenue and 76th Street. I inherited the store from my uncle. It was one of the oldest thrift shops in the country, but it was not a charitable one. It was a high-end thrift boutique. Later in life, I worked for the FBI as a transcriber.”
What are some of the highlights of your career?
“At my store, I served celebrities such as Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda, Ava Gabor, Shelley Winters and Frances Hutt, the wife of former NY Governor Thomas Dewey. While working with the FBI, I received top security clearance. They told us when we were sworn in, ‘You are not joining a company, you are joining a family. If ever you find yourself anywhere in the U.S. or the world, in trouble and you need help, you call us.’ I thought to myself, ‘My gosh, what a company.’”
Do you have any interesting stories?
“When I applied for a job with the FBI, I had no idea I was interviewing. The first question from the head of the department was ‘Do you like to do crossword puzzles?’ I had no idea who she was. My job was to listen to telephone wire taps and transcribe many undercover deals and prostitution rings. With one transcription between FBI agents, I thought that, ‘it’s so hard to just put words down when they’re so emotional.’ Having been in theatre I wrote, ‘with sarcasm dripping from his lips.’ The agents reading the transcription said, ‘We have never read a focus group and laughed and really understood what was going on like the way you typed up that conversation.’ So they gave me two days off as a reward.”
What advice would you give women today?
“Do what you love because if you love it, you’ve got to do it. If you don’t like your job you’re miserable. I loved my job so much I couldn’t wait for the weekend to be over to get to work.
Charlotte Rosen, business owner and FBI employee is a pioneer in women’s equality and #WithIt.
By Danielle Woodruffe
With August 26th being National Women’s Equality Day, we sat down with some amazing Parker women. We’re celebrating their career and personal achievements, some of them were pioneers in their fields.
Michelle Brown, Parker at Somerset Resident
Tell us about your education and career?
“I received both my Bachelor’s in Advertising and my MBA from Rutgers University. I ended up working for one of the largest advertising agencies in the world, and after that the first African American advertising agency.”
What are some of the highlights of your career?
“I was part of the original team of advertisers for McDonald’s that targeted the African American population, and did the same for Burger King. At the time there were not many women, even fewer black people. I also got to ride in a blimp over the Indianapolis 500 parade and rode in a horse and carriage with Ronald McDonald through the Amish Country.”
So you were a pioneer in your field?
“Yes, I guess you could say that.”
How would you describe your career?
“It was fun because a lot of the ads were channeled to black people and that was exciting for me.”
What advice would you give women today?
“There’s a bigger struggle nowadays in the advertising field and it’s harder to get your foot in the door. I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. Today, there’s a bigger crowd looking [for advertising jobs]. You must be twice as smart. I tell them to go for what you want and make a career out of it.”
Michelle Brown is a pioneer in women’s equality and #WithIt.
By Roberto Muñiz
How do we create a great company culture?
I recently discussed this very topic with other CEOs and executives at the last Culture 2100 gathering in California. Culture 2100 is a mastermind group that brings together leaders from both non-profit and for-profit organizations to discuss ways of improving company culture in the aging services field.
Our discussions centered around the question: how do you continue to grow while making company culture a top priority?
What I learned is that all of us are doing a few things well, but very few of us are doing ALL things well. That’s why it’s so important to move forward together – not with a spirit of competitiveness, but with collaboration and openness. We must be continuous learners on best practices of improving culture and be willing to learn from each other.
Our group paid a visit to the headquarters of one organization that seems to be doing this right with a record low turnover– the legendary In-N-Out Burger. At this company, the expectations are clear: everyone is responsible for culture. I marveled at how company pride can be seen from the servers to the top executives. In-N-Out Burger has some out-of-the-box processes for integrating everyone into the culture such as encouraging employees to hold each other accountable and I admire this.
We also discussed ways of integrating new employees into the culture, which includes ideas like having a good orientation and onboarding process, and how to continually integrate employees who have been with the company into a culture that may be changing. Many times, they just need to feel like they are part of the organization’s evolution.
At Parker, we are relentless about finding what works, shedding what no longer works and identifying what is unique about our organization. Culture is the foundation on which we build an engaged, productive and fulfilled workforce.
I believe that a big part of being #WithIt is establishing a strong company culture. Let’s learn from each other and continue this conversation. What are some best practices you are using that help bolster your company culture?
(Credit: Adobe Stock)
By Debbie Reslock
Part of the TRANSFORMING LIFE AS WE AGE SPECIAL REPORT
Do you lie awake at night in a cold sweat, worried about your dad living alone? What if he falls and can’t get to a phone to call for help? But he maintains he’s fine.
When the goals of safety and longevity clash with those of autonomy and independence, you’ll find the basis of most conflicts between older adults and their children, according to Dr. Leslie Kernisan, a geriatrician practicing in San Francisco.
It’s easy to appreciate both viewpoints. But disputes like these can fracture families. Older adults see visions of a life ending in disappointment and less meaning. Their children see them lying on the bathroom floor or being duped out of their savings.
The Rights of Older Parents Are Clear
These are not elders whose capacity no longer allows them to understand a decision or its consequences. Or children who don’t care. This is what happens with good intentions from both sides.
The problem is where a road lined with those intentions can lead, says Barbara Cashman, a Denver attorney specializing in elder and estate law. It is often a place where older adults are treated as incapable and their children sink under the weight of responsibility for people who refuse to listen.
But if there’s no lack of capacity, the adult has the right to make his or her own decisions, even bad ones, Cashman says. “Even if I decide to give my money away, a judge could say that it’s my money and my choice what to do with it.”
Kernisan agrees. “If there aren’t signs of cognitive issues and there haven’t been any red flags, the older person has the right to make their own decisions — even if they make others uncomfortable,” she says.
Ageism Plays a Role
Why do we see the world from such different perspectives?
Ageism, the stereotyping of a group of people based solely on their age, plays a big role. Most of us have an unfair preconceived view of what it means to be old. So we often assume an older parent is at risk for being taken advantage of or should no longer live alone.
“We don’t value aging,” says Penny Cook, president/CEO of Pioneer Network, an organization supporting changing attitudes toward aging and elders. “Our negative perception helps marginalize older adults. They become ‘less than’ because that helps us cope and then we take on the parental model.”
In the blog, Time Goes By, a reader recently commented about an 80+ friend who wasn’t allowed to sign a contract with a company to do work for her because their policy was that a younger family member needed to be present. This was based solely on a predetermination of an age, not whether the company believed the woman understood what she was signing.
But there is support from the law.
“A neighbor can call Adult Protective Services and say they just saw you on your roof or fall off your front steps,” Cashman says. “They may send a caseworker out, but if they find no evidence of self-neglect and there’s food and heat, you still have the right to stay in your house.”
Don’t Make it a Lose-Lose Situation
This situation is admittedly complicated for grown kids. Cook says one of the hardest things to feel is helpless. “It’s such a difficult place to be in if you can’t help. I have a lot of empathy for kids that are trying to do what’s best,” she says.
But fear and anxiety may unknowingly force parents into keeping secrets because of what a conversation may trigger. Cook talked to someone in her 80s who’d been taken advantage of financially. Even though it was a situation that could have happened to someone at any age, she felt she had to keep it to herself.
Other times, children don’t understand what’s really happening. Says Cashman: “They may think a neighbor is taking advantage of their mom for free day care, but what they don’t see is that she’s really enjoying feeling useful again.”
Parents may be unsure, too, and potentially, scared.
Instead of drawing a line in the sand, look for a compromise, like a housekeeping service, public transportation, meal delivery or home care a couple of days a week if it becomes needed.
Sometimes, adult kids may not realize how important it is to their parents to continue living in their own homes. Meeting with a card group at their church in Tinley Park, Ill., Teresa Hughes, 75, asked her friends about their decisions to stay in their own homes. Overwhelmingly, the group, ages 75 to 94, didn’t want to leave the homes they loved or their neighborhoods.
Some admitted to loneliness, yet felt moving to a working child’s home could be just as lonely until the son or daughter came home at night.
5 Suggestions for Bridging the Gap
Here are five suggestions for grown children and their parents to find middle ground:
- Learn the Pioneer Network principles to shift assumptions about aging. They include being entitled to self-determination and recognizing that risk-taking is a normal part of life.
- Talk to each other. Share this article with your parents as a starting point. Recognize if you're making things more difficult. Work for a solution so you don't sacrifice your time together.
- Address what's happening. Be honest, Kernisan says, and share your concerns.
- Ask how to help your parent keep his or her quality of life. Listen from the heart. And if there's a crisis, try not to make decisions then.
- Be prepared for a bumpy road. Logical arguments often fail to convince people with whom we have emotional relationships, says Kernisan, since we're not always rational about issues that stir up certain emotions, like our identity, self-worth and autonomy.
Debbie Reslock is a freelance writer who specializes in aging issues and the 55+ market. As a former caregiver, she's also an advocate for aging-in-place whenever possible and person-centered long term care when it isn't. She's on the board of directors for the Colorado Culture Change Coalition and lives in Evergreen, Colo.
By Danielle Woodruffe
Some of my former colleagues may be surprised to hear what I’m up to these days. I started my career in broadcast journalism as a television news reporter, and now I’m in the aging services field. How did this turn of events happen?
Yet this comes as no surprise to me. Each phase of my career has prepared me for the next step. My latest move into the role of Communications Manager at Parker feels like I’m at home and is opening my eyes to a new area of work where the vision and mission are not difficult to align with.
My time spent as a reporter was exciting and interesting. I was able to see life through the eyes of the unique people I interviewed. I saw two sides (and more) to every story and gained new knowledge on anything and everything: Red Tide, Hurricanes, how to make glass, teach your kids stranger danger, the legal system and local politics. Yet at times this career choice was discouraging. Many of the stories I covered broke my heart. After spending several years as a journalist, I decided to make the transition to public relations.
As a communications professional for the last twelve years, I’ve worked to elevate the public profiles of many clients: college professors, CEOs, sports figures and lawyers to name a few. Working in the media, has given me insight into what a good story looks like. You learn to have a “nose for news” and tell those stories to the media who are always looking for a good angle.
So what does an aging services organization in Piscataway, NJ offer for news? There are countless, touching stories happening at Parker on a daily basis. They are stories so engrained into the DNA of the people who provide care here that I don’t know if they always realize how amazing what they’re doing is. In just three short months I’ve seen aging in a way I never seen it before. I’ve seen it celebrated and treated with honor, dignity and respect.
Each day I witness a husband making the walk from his home in our assisted living to the nursing home next door where is wife lives. He can still be close to her because Parker focuses on the different stages of aging and is meeting the needs of people aging at all different levels. I’ve seen nurses dancing with residents, recreation staff applying makeup that made all the difference in brightening one woman’s day, our personal trainers inspiring people to become stronger in their late 80s and push five minutes more on the stationary bicycle, and technology being mixed into all aspects of aging. Parker’s vision to Make Aging Part of Life is becoming clearer to me. It’s about celebrating who people are (and have been), their unique differences, and using this step in their life to fine tune that even more. It’s being #WithIt, as Parker has coined the term for people who are defying the stereotypes of aging.
When I left college I sought the “exciting” career. I wanted to make a difference, but the outcome often left me feeling short of that. Now being part of an organization that prides itself on enriching life for all means I finally get to make a difference and share the wonderful stories of my colleagues who do the same.
During my first week of work Parker employees were each asked to describe this company in one word. The word I chose was “welcoming”. Thank you for welcoming me. I look forward to the journey ahead.
(Credit: Adobe Stock)
Old folks just don’t like technology.
That’s been the conventional wisdom for years, particularly as smartphones became a hub of daily life. Slick handheld devices were seen as too expensive and complicated for them.
But Davis Park is a big believer that innovations in what’s known as voice-first technology — best exemplified by smart speakers such as Amazon Echo and its voice, Alexa — could make a big difference in letting older adults age in place and avoid social isolation.
Signs that Voice-First Technology Helps
Park has seen it firsthand. As executive director of the Front Porch Center for Innovation and Wellbeing, he oversaw a pilot project last year at the Carlsbad by the Sea retirement community near San Diego that introduced a group of residents to Alexa and then closely observed how their use of it evolved.
Among the findings from the research (which initially included about 20 residents and later expanded to 90 homes, with most participants older than 80): 75 percent used the smart devices daily, and almost as many said Alexa helped them feel more connected to family, friends and the rest of the community.
“When we deployed the Alexa devices, we focused on helping [the older adults] find a meaningful connection with the technology,” Park said. “So we would ask people, ‘What kind of music do you like? Who’s your favorite sports team?’”
Once a connection was made and participants were trained in using the device, they started to explore other ways to interact with Alexa, such as using it to listen to audiobooks and get medication reminders.
Tying Voice-First Technology to the ‘Smart Home’
A second phase of the project offered residents the opportunity to see how Alexa can be tied to “smart home” technology. Soon, a number of them were controlling lights and thermostats in their homes with voice commands.
That capability gave people, particularly those with mobility issues, a greater sense of control and independence, Park noted. They no longer had to bother partners or caregivers to turn on lights or adjust the temperature.
“They’re simple things, but these simple things can have tremendous and dramatic implications for daily living,” he said. “It blew us out of the water at how really excited people were.”
Amazon still dominates the voice-first market, with other smart speakers, including Google Home and Apple HomePod, playing catchup. Overall, it’s become a booming business, with sales tripling from 2016 to almost $25 million last year.
4 Types of Voice-First Technology Geared to Older Adults
The field of voice-first technology is still fairly new. But it is beginning to flourish thanks to the success of Amazon Echo. Here are four new technologies that look particularly promising:
Ask Marvee: It’s a smartphone app inspired by a real person named Marvee — the mother of its creator, Heidi Culbertson, a voice technology expert. Marvee, Culbertson explained, played tennis into her 80s, but then developed macular degeneration and became blind and frail. When the first Amazon Echo came out in 2014, Culbertson and her siblings bought their mother one.
But Culbertson wanted to customize the experience for her mom and others like her, so when Amazon opened the platform to third-party developers, she went to work on an app that enabled people to use their voice to send messages to family members, friends and caregivers.
Through the basic Ask Marvee service, which is free, a person can send out a “Morning Beacon” every day to loved ones simply by saying, “Alexa, ask Marvee to say I’m OK.” Anyone on the pre-selected list will receive the notification by text, email or both. A person can also, through a voice command, request social visits and retrieve news and updates sent by family members. There is a fee to expand the list of contacts to 10 people ($15 a month) or 20 people ($20 a month).
As Culbertson has trained older adults to use Amazon Alexa, she’s learned that the device can talk too quickly for some. Also, older human voices can be weaker, and for those, she recommends using a remote that allows a person to talk to Alexa from a distance.
But that’s all part of the learning process. “Voice-first,” she said, “is a huge opportunity to change aging.”
Ask My Buddy: It’s not quite like calling 911 — that can’t be done on smart speakers — but Ask My Buddy comes pretty close. It’s an app, accessible through Amazon Echo, Google Home and Microsoft Cortana (a voice assistant which is built into Windows PCs), that sends an alert to designated people.
Once a person tells Alexa or Google Home, “Ask my buddy to send help,” a text message, email or automated phone call is made to everyone on that person’s Ask My Buddy list, and they’re asked to check on him or her. The alerts can also be sent to smaller groups, such as just family members, or to an individual.
“There are so many people who won’t call 911 until it’s too late,” said Pat Coggins, who with his wife, Sheryl, created Ask My Buddy. “This is a way for people to reach out if they’re scared or worried.”
Ask My Buddy is free for 10 messages — each text and call to each person on the list counts as a separate message. A payment of $3.66 a month buys 120 messages and one of $5 a month buys 400 messages.
LifePod: While LifePod will use Alexa’s voice recognition technology, it promises to ratchet human-machine caregiving interactions up another level. Users will not need to “wake” LifePod with a command. Instead the device will initiate conversations based on preconfigured schedules.
The idea is to use prompts from LifePod to help older adults follow their routines. In the morning, they could be reminded to take their meds or call a family member. In the afternoon, they might get a wellness check-in, such as a reminder to stay hydrated or get some exercise, or, if scheduled, the LifePod could play music.
“The content is tailored to the needs of each individual user to help them periodically through the day,” said Stuart Patterson,” LifePod’s CEO and co-founder.
If a person doesn’t confirm that he or she took the pills or doesn’t respond to a pre-set number of check-ins, a text is automatically sent to a caregiver or family member.
Patterson said LifePod will be able to use artificial intelligence to recognize anomalies in the older adult’s condition and behavior, such as sleeping routine and physical activity, and make caregivers aware of lifestyle changes.
LifePod aims to make a soft launch later this year. The cost is expected to be between $75 and $150 for the device, plus a subscription fee of $25 to $50 a month.
ElliQ: This device moves into robot territory, but one that sits on a nightstand or table like a smart speaker. ElliQ, created by Intuition Robotics, is designed to interact with older adults — from sending and receiving messages to playing music to showing pictures of the grandkids. It might even suggest someone take a walk if he or she has been sitting around all day.
“Body language” has been incorporated into ElliQ so the device swivels its “head” toward someone who’s talking, and its “face” lights up when it’s speaking. The concept is to make ElliQ feel engaging, but without seeming too human. It’s meant to be a service bot, not a companion.
That said, older adults involved in an ongoing pilot with ElliQ seem to have connected to it, according to Dor Skuler, Intuition Robotics’ CEO. “Testers refer to ElliQ as ‘she’ and they define her as a new ‘entity’ in the home — clearly not a person, but also not an appliance,” he said.
ElliQ is currently being tested in seven homes in California, but Skuler said the pilot will expand to as many as 30 homes, including some in Florida. It’s tentatively scheduled to go on the market by the end of 2018. No price has been set.