PERS for Seniors
Rather than moving into a long–term care facility as they age, older adults prefer to stay at home for as long as possible. Day-to-day issues like forgetting phone numbers or keeping track of medication intake make living alone difficult. Daily monitoring and immediate assistance available at the press of one button solve this problem. PERS provides instant communication anywhere within the range of the base unit which gives individuals the confidence to continue living in the comfort of their own home. Features like two-way voice communication, accurate fall sensors, waterproof devices and medication monitoring implement the benefits of a care home into the home at a lower cost.
Another factor that affects one’s ability to live independently is the risk of falling. About one third of the elderly population over the age of 65 falls each year, and the risk of falls increases proportionately with age. At 80 years, over half of seniors fall annually. Wet surfaces are especially hazardous; in fact two-thirds of all injuries occur in bathroom. For this reason, rubber sealed PERS devices can go in the bathtub, shower and house pool where the risk of slipping is high. For the elderly who fall and are unable to get back up on their own (50% of people who fall require assistance from someone else to get up), the period of time spent immobile often affects their health outcome. Muscle cell breakdown starts to occur within 30-60 minutes of compression due to falling. However, getting help after an immobilizing fall improves the chance of survival by 80% and increases the likelihood of a return to independent living. Those who use a PERS have fewer hospital admissions and the duration of their hospital stay on average is decreased by 26%. Knowing that accurate sensors will detect a fall and immediately alert the central monitoring station lessens the fear of falling and gives users peace of mind.