High-Tech Home Building for the Elderly
The Eskaton Senior Residences and Services, an assisted living facility based in Carmichael, California, opened a single-story, two-bath and two-bedroom model home for the elderly on October 23, 2008. It is a house construction project that provides a glimpse of the role of technology on home building for older people.
The in-home technology featured in the model house helps older people achieved what they most desired; to live the remaining days of their lives in their own houses.
The technologies displayed in this model house not only provide comfort to residents but also peace of mind to their relatives.
For example, you will receive a text message on your cell phone if your aging mother is not yet out of her bed by noon. If she forgets to open her medicine container to take her pills, you will be alerted immediately on your cell phone, laptop or Blackberry.
The model house is part of the Eskaton Certified build home program and is designed to attract the interest of home builders and those in the field of home renovation.
Some technologies featured in the model house are:
- A computer designed in part by the UCLA Center on Aging, that features memory exercises to help older people prevent dementia.
- Intel’s Health Guide touch-screen system allows older people to have medical consultations and receive health-related advice without going to a doctor.
- Grand Care remote monitoring system that allows older people to live in their houses. The system allows you to monitor the whereabouts and activities of your mother.
- Sensors that detect an older person’s motion and can be installed in various places at home to alert her relatives if there has been an accident or medical emergency.
The model house, which is a feature of Eskaton’s home construction program, is an alternative to those elderly people who lost their homes in foreclosure.
