Tech talk: 3-D mapping, virtual care nurses and smart homes for seniors

Virtual map allows senior residents to explore community in 3-D

Residents and visitors can use the app to take virtual tours of the community.

Photo courtesy of Shell Point

Florida’s largest single-site continuing care retirement community, Shell Point, has launched an interactive 3-D map and virtual tour software to help visitors and residents explore the 600-acre campus.

The mobile-ready map details Shell Point’s five distinct neighborhoods, health care facilities, golf courses and several other amenities through virtual reality 360-degree panoramic images. Shell Point’s digital media manager, Mike Haber, says the tool displays real-life view from various campus locations and gives users a primer before exploring in the real world.

“Our residents are getting more savvy with technology and they will certainly appreciate a tool that guides them from location to location on our campus,” Haber says. “atlas3D’s wayfinding capability was the immediate draw for us, but the map and interactive media have been valuable for depicting a bird’s-eye view in print materials, or when scheduling an on-site visit. Residents, visitors and even staff find a lot of utility and functionality in atlas3D, and we often hear compliments about our beautiful map.”  

Virtual nurses help CHI Health improve patient safety and discharge times

CHI Health uses 3-D cameras as part of its fall prevention system.

Photo courtesy of Ocuvera

CHI Health’s virtual integrated care team is finding innovative ways to use technology to help manage patient care and support doctors and nurses, according to LivewellNebraska.com.

For instance, at its Bryan West Campus in Lincoln, Neb., CHI Health has developed a fall-prevention system that uses 3-D cameras and an algorithm to predict a patient’s fall risk and alert nurses before an accident occurs.

The health system’s St. Elizabeth and Good Samaritan campuses in Kearney, Neb., use a virtual nurse program, where nurses work remotely to help on-site care teams with admissions, rounds, discharges and patient education. All of the virtual nurses have master’s degrees or are working to complete them. The hospitals say it allows floor nurses to spend more time in patient rooms and to react to call lights. It’s also helped to improve discharge times.

Senior living community uses smart home tech to help residents age in place

Masonic Homes of California has piloted technology such as visual doorbells in its residents' homes.

Photo courtesy of Thinkstock

Masonic Homes of California is using smart home technology in its senior-living communities. Its locations in Union City and Covina, Calif., are piloting technologies to help seniors age in place while ensuring their residents’ safety.

Some of the technologies include:

• Environmental controls and sensors to program thermostats and temperature/humidity sensors remotely. The sensors can detect if windows are left open or if there is excessive humidity and moisture, which could lead to a fall.
• Visual doorbells are linked to apartment lighting so that selected lights flash when the doorbell is rung; this assists those who are hearing impaired. A camera and microphone at the door allows residents to have video chats before answering the door, enhancing security.
• Bed sensors embedded into residents’ mattresses track their respiration rate, sleep duration, heart rate and motion during sleep.
• Digital medication dispensers can hold a 90-day supply of up to 15 medications, and alerts residents if they forget to take a pill and when it is time to reorder.

Masonic Homes is testing other technologies, including sensors on stoves, refrigerator doors and under sinks to track resident activity and to help prevent accidents.