NEW TECHNOLOGY LIFTS CAREGIVING BURDEN
Metro Washington, DC (April 23, 2012) “Is Mom sleeping well?” “Did Dad wander outside
in the middle of the night?” “What if my aunt isn’t well, but doesn’t want to be a burden? She
has a panic button, but what if she can’t or won’t push it if she needs help?” “How will I know if
Grandma is really okay—or just telling me what I want to hear?”
BeClose, the affordable wireless technology system which provides safety and independence
for the elderly, hears from caregivers every day about the stress and strain of the
responsibilities of caring for aging loved ones. Comprised of a base unit and wireless sensors
placed throughout the house, BeClose offers caregivers the peace of mind of knowing that
their elderly family members are going through daily routines and that nothing is urgent or
out of the ordinary.
Today, the company is unveiling new features, including a web-based caregiving dashboard,
which makes BeClose the first in the field to offer actionable, common-sense interpretations of
what’s going on in their elderly loved ones’ homes presented in a way that gives caregivers
quick and easy snapshots of in-home activity. Clients will now be given user-friendly
summaries of trends in sleeping, eating, and activity levels.
“Caregivers can rest assured that we’ll let them know if something important happens,” says
Liddy Manson, President of BeClose. “The entire reason for BeClose’s existence is to answer
the stark needs of caregivers, while providing the elderly the life at home they desire. We set
out to create an affordable system that gives the information every caregiver needs—that
their mom or dad is safe. And if anything is amiss, they’ll find out immediately. We take reams
of raw data, and make sense of it so that caregivers don’t have to.”
Once installed, the BeClose system of wireless sensors spends two weeks learning about the
resident’s activities and patterns (eating, sleeping, comings and goings), and determines his or
her typical routine. Using that data, the dashboard will report any changes in routine to the
caregiver—either events that need immediate attention, or more subtle changes over time
that might be important.
Example of BeClose Intelligent Algorithm at work:
Your mother usually:
- Sleeps from about 11 PM to 6 AM
- Takes a 2 hour afternoon nap
- Leaves the house on average 3 times a day
- Opens her refrigerator 5 times in a 24 hour period
- Makes one trip to the bathroom in the middle of the night
Using this data, the BeClose intelligent algorithm knows to let you know if something is out of
the norm – on the dashboard with alerts in red (causes of concern), yellow (notable events), or
green (routine events). If it’s a red alert, caregivers also receive a text, email, or phone call.
In a time when nursing home care averages $77,000 a year, assisted living costs $200 per day,
and live-in nurses can cost thousands per month, BeClose is determined to help the elderly
live at home for as long as they can.
A recent report found that BeClose system will allow US families to keep their older family
members at home for 2 years longer than they would have otherwise, realizing significant
savings for the family.
Personal Emergency Response Systems (“I’ve fallen
and I can’t get up!” buttons) might seem like an easy
solution. But they usually fail in real-life situations—
either because the elderly person isn’t wearing the
button, is too disoriented to push it, or is reluctant to
call 911 and summon an ambulance and all of the
commotion that comes with it. A 2008 study suggests
that residents fail to push their buttons in 80% of
accidents, a staggering failure rate.
“At BeClose, we know that state-of-the-art technology
can take families from a state of fear and crisis
management to a truly collaborative, connected way
of caregiving. Residents can have the independence
they desire, while receiving a safety net broader and more user-friendly than anything
previously available,” says Manson.
About BeClose™
BeClose™ is a breakthrough remote home monitoring system designed to allow people to age
in place independently while giving their family members and caregivers the peace of mind of
knowing that they are safe. The system of wireless sensors is fully customizable and techfriendly,
and is based on a research and development partnership with Alarm.com, the
nation's leading in-home wireless monitoring system, serving more than 500,000 homes and
businesses nationwide. BeClose headquarters are outside of Washington, DC. For more
information, visit www.beclose.com
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