I was the primary caregiver for my mom, for over ten years, until she was ninety-three. As much as I loved her, wanted her to do well and helped her live independently with great quality of life in her final years, I learned that caregiving was a stressful endeavor. It was coming off of my experiences in being a caregiver for my mom and seeing all the challenges I faced, that I knew others were going through the same struggles. There had to be a better way to make it easier and less of a burden for all.
Since I started Senior Technology Solutions of Colorado, I have met and talked to so many others who have experienced the stressful side of loving and caring for an aging parent or loved one. Technology has streamlined our everyday life and made it easier for people to work anywhere, be more mobile, stay more connected, and do more with less. In the same ways, technology can help the lives of seniors and caregivers as well. It has validated our passion for finding the ways to use technology to assist with caregiving.
I recently read about ‘Caregiver Stress Syndrome’. It is defined as “a condition characterized by physical, mental and emotional exhaustion. It typically results from a person neglecting their own physical and emotional health because they are focused on caring for an ill, injured or disabled loved one.” Check out the full article by Ron Ingber to learn more about how caregiving can create life altering stress for those who serve as caregivers. There has to be a way for caregivers to take care of those we love and under our charge, without sacrificing our own health and wellness.
So, how does technology help relieve the stress of caregiving? The answer is really simple…it allows us to share the caregiver role with others so that it is less of a questionable burden and enables us to enjoy the golden years with our loved ones. We believe caregiving is a team activity, involving many different teams working together. It involves a personal and professional team, a local and remote team, a medical and non-medical team and a friends and family team…all connected by technology.
Senior Technology Solutions offers technology that is intuitive and easy-to-use for all seniors. It allows all caregiver teams, based on their roles, to communicate with seniors as they age in place. That may be in their own home, or in a senior community. It might involve something as simple as video calls and photo sharing. It might include passive activity monitoring to be sure a senior is up and moving about normally without being there to observe it in person. Perhaps it involves medication reminders and compliance validation with remote monitoring and medication dispensing. It could even include remote medical monitoring of key indicators like blood pressure, oxygen levels, blood sugar or weight. It can also include telehealth with video physician calls.
Want to know more?
We offer free demonstrations. This affordable technology can help you bring together a team of caregivers and relieve much of the stress of caregiving for you or your senior community.
Call us at (720) 316-9732 or email us at info@seniortechcolorado.com.