31-01-2025
New device detects life-threatening emergencies in older adults, gets help
SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – An Upstate organization serving older adults is using a new tool they said will help save lives.
Staff at Griswold Home Care told 7NEWS their team is now offering SensAI devices to clients. It's a system that monitors health and can notify staff members when something is wrong.
'A client may be expressing pain or something…the system would indicate that and then we could investigate that to see if there were other things going on in the home,' said Griswold Home Care Co-Owner Jacque Varty. 'Once we get the signal, we're on it immediately.'
Varty said the health monitoring device plugs into an outlet in the home like an air freshener. According to Varty, it listens out for key phrases and sounds that indicate a person is in distress. Varty also said the system alerts his home care administrators about potential emergencies 24-7.
'It's really given us a 24/7 window on what's going on in the home. Even though we're not there 24/7, we're able to see a pattern, or patterns develop, which we can pass on to the family, other healthcare providers, like home health and hospice,' Varty added.
Varty said the SensAI devices can pick up on a wide scale of health conditions, from a urinary tract infection to a heart attack. He said around two dozen of his clients are using the device right now. He told 7NEWS his organization is working to expand access.
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