Digital App Connects Family to Loved Ones in Elder Care
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowZionsville-based technology company SafeKeeping has created an application to help families get basic care information about loved ones in long-term care facilities.
The firm says the online tool, How’s Mom, allows families to track the wellness of family members, which has been heightened as nursing homes and senior care facilities locked down due to the pandemic.
The software-as-a-service startup says business has grown 400% this year.
In an interview with Business of Health Reporter Kylie Veleta, Chief Executive Officer Doug Wilcox said the reason behind the app is personal for him and co-founder Matt Prasek.
“We had very close relatives and extended stays in long term care. And during that process, we found it very frustrating just to get basic health information of our loved ones,” said Wilcox. “And at the same time, we recognize that it was also very frustrating for nurses and other caregivers to easily communicate that information back to family members.”
He says they set out to develop a platform to receive care data in a relevant real-time way. The company also wanted it to make it convenient by connecting to smartphones or other devices.
Safekeeping developed partnerships with two of the largest electronic medical providers that work with long-term care facilities. The connections help to forego the need for phone calls or emails.
“We enable our clients to share personal health information with authorized family members. So, things like vitals, medications, nutrition orders, other kinds of critical data, families can get in real-time whenever they want it whenever they need it, and on their connected devices,” said Wilcox.
Wilcox says since the systems are already integrated, it means no additional work for healthcare staff.
“There’s no duplication of entry. There’s no change to processes or protocols. And there’s no additional hardware software that they have to manage. That’s very important for them because they already have staff they’re being overrun with responsibilities,” said Wilcox.
Wilcox says business took-off in March as states put lockdown orders in place.
“We were overrun with calls and requests and interest in our platform. And that was because at that time, practically overnight, the senior care facilities were required to better communicate with family members. And that’s precisely what we do. And we were very well positioned for that>”