5 questions seniors (and their families) should ask before buying that tech

In my recent post on questions that senior living providers should ask before buying the latest and greatest technology, I outlined what providers should be asking before they implement technology in senior living communities (or what those considering senior living will want to know). But, what about the individual thinking that a device purchase will make their lives easier? How do you know what device or service to buy? Well, you’re in luck!

Here are the top five questions for individuals to ask:

1. Why do you want it? Similar to the question what problem are you trying to solve? its important to ask if you are attracted to the “shiny and new” or if you really will use it to make your life better/easier/more enriched. For some, its a necessity to stay in touch with family and friends. For others, it may be necessary to ensure critical tasks are done, like remind you to take your medications. Whatever the reason, make sure it will be a good fit for you.
2. What do you need the technology or service to do?  Similar to the reasons above, knowing exactly what you need the technology for and what actions you want it to perform will help narrow your search for the right piece of equipment and the right price. Sometimes getting the simpler model will mean less headache for you. Which begs the question….
3. How quickly do you learn to use new technology? Do you need a user manual or a tutor to help you learn it? The more “features” a device has, the longer it will take you to learn how to use it. Which is why you need to identify what you want it to do, so you can get a device that is simpler if you don’t need or want all the bells and whistles. If you do need special tutoring on how to use it, call your granddaughter or the high school kid next door–chances are, they ‘ll be able to teach you in a few minutes.
4. How much research are you willing to do? With the dawn of the internet and user reviews has come the ability to see what other people think (for better or worse). Check out Cnet or MIT Technology Review for credible tech reviews and information. These sites exist to help consumers make sense of technology that is forever changing.
5. What kind of infrastructure or additions will I need to use it? A lot of devices assume that you have a wi-fi network, the ability (and know-how) to create a user profile or account, and that you know the difference between when you’re using wi-fi and when you’re using cellular data. Make sure you ask what other accessories or requirements you’ll need to make it work. It may seem silly to ask does it come with headphones and a charger? But, with more wireless charging devices and really cheap headphones available, you will want to make sure you’re prepared for both additional cost and eliminating headache when it comes to getting set up. This includes reading the fine print of contracts. Always know what you’re agreeing to when you sign up for a service and what you will be charged if you decide to cancel.

Have a technology-related question? Post your questions in the comments and I’ll help you get pointed in the right direction! Happy tech-ing!

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About the Author: Amira T. Fahoum is the Director of Marketing and Director of Operations, Northwest Region for Compass Senior Living located in Eugene, Oregon. Her path to senior living started when she simply decided to be open to possibilities in life. Possibilities are what led her to eight years of learning the senior living industry in roles ranging from Administrative Assistant to Director of Sales and Marketing to unofficial IT coordinator. Possibilities also led her into the world of education technology for almost three years. Now, on her journey with Compass, she has found true reward in working with the people that care for others. She lives in Eugene with her husband, Michael, where they enjoy golf, travel, and volunteering.

FIVE really cool gifts to buy for Grandma and Grandpa!

Black Friday  is at the end of this week after Thanksgiving.  What to get for grandma and grandpa?    The lists of things to buy are usually lotions, and socks, and slippers, and grocery gift cards – all which are good!   But I was thinking…. what do elders really want?

My grandchildren say I am ‘really cool’ because I stay connected with them on Facebook, Instagram, texting, phone, and Snapchat.   I don’t know about cool, but I am grateful that in my elder years I can continue to be part of the greater community and my family even when the day comes that I cannot travel as I can now. So I asked the elders I come in contact with around the United States What do you want?   And their answers were the same as mine!

• To spend quality time with friends and family.
• To have a purposeful life.
• To maintain independence in choice.
• To  continue learning and growing.
• To have joy and spontaneity.
• To have peace of mind.

The greatest gift you can give is a way for your loved one to stay connected.   You might be surprised how savvy elders can be with a quick tutorial on tablets and iPads and smart phones.

There are some things that are important to consider, if you are thinking about technology gifts.

• Wi-fi must be set up in the senior’s home.  If living in a senior housing community, most have free wi-fi.
• It is important to have someone to to tutor and  build a relationship during the learning process to navigate the device.  Grandchildren, friends, or if in a Senior housing community, the Millennial care-team members and their volunteer teams are great resources.

FIVE REALLY COOL GIFTS FOR GRANDMA AND GRANDPA

1. TABLETS AND IPADS: These all-in-one devices are in many ways perfect for seniors with their touch-screen technology and large print options.   The touch screen allows the elder to access apps easily with a tap of the finger.

• Facebook–  In our senior housing communities, I have seen the joy on the faces of elders who are connecting with grandchildren and long lost friends.  One of our Millennial care team members showed an 87 year old elder how to do a video chat on Facebook with her son.  It made her day!   The next morning, when I came into the community, she told me, “I got 8 likes last night!”  Friends she had not connected with in 40 years had found her and connected!
• Learning and researching–  I talked with a 92 year old man  sitting in the living room with earphones and the tablet watching youtube videos about how to care for plants, as he advised us on the landscaping.  He told me, “This has opened a world of new information to me!”
• Google earth– Want to ‘walk down the street’ of your childhood home, or visit places in the world?  Some of our teams have hooked a laptop or a tablet to a computer and taken a tour of the world. One woman, who was born in France was able to virtually visit her home town!
• Cost: Tablets cost between $129 – $300 depending on the brand.

2.  SMART PHONE: Phones are not only important for keeping the social connection, and necessary for quality of life — but also give elders peace of mind. Many smartphones  offer large buttons, speed dial, visual rings and more.

•  Samsung Jitterbug is available on Amazon.com for $60.
•  If your family has a a ‘family plan’ with your provider, you can add grandma or grandpa for $20 – $40  a month, and purchase the phone on an installment plan.
• Several residents and care team members were chatting with Mrs. Jackson who had just received  a new iPhone from her family.   Jasmine, a care team member,  talked about ‘Face time’, so  we asked Mrs. Jackson if she had her grandson’s phone number in her phone.  She did, and Jasmine showed her how to make a Facetime call.  When the grandson answered he saw faces of  of his grandma and all of her friends and  care team members  excited about the connection!
• Add ear phones to the gift, and show grandma or grandpa how to access their favorite music too!

3. DIGITAL PHOTOS:  With most of our photos on social media these days, we don’t often take the time to print photos.

• Digital photo frames are available from $34 to about $110 (which also supports video), depending on what size and capacity you want.
• Another nice option is to use Shutterfly, where you can upload your photos from Facebook or other social media, or directly from your phone or computer to create a traditional photo album with captions. The photo book  can be mailed directly to your grandpa and grandma to enjoy.  Depending on the size of the book, the cost can be $25 – and up.

4.  IPOD OR MP3 PLAYER & HEADPHONES: Studies have proven that music has a powerful therapeutic benefit for all people, and particularly elders.

• Purchase head phones for $15+ depending on the quality.
• Purchase an MP3 player or iPod shuffle.  The cost is between $20-$50.
• Download a song list of music you know that your grandparent loves.

If you haven’t seen the documentary ‘Alive Inside’, it is available on Netflix, and we have seen the power of music to alleviate depression, improve memory, and enhance life!

5.  AMAZON ECHO DOT: Cost  $50.   This is my newest best friend, and I have one in my home office.    In the morning I can say, “Alexa good morning, what is the weather like today?”  She gives a weather forecast.  I can ask what the time is.  I can ask Alexa to play my favorite music.  I can even order through my Amazon Prime account.  “Alexa, add sugar to my cart”.    I can also say, “Alexa, tell me a joke” (they are not very funny!), or “Alexa, what’s in the headlines today?  or  “Alexa set a timer for 10 minutes”.   This week, as I was experimenting with this, I thought this might  be nice for an elder to have in his or her home, especially if visually impaired.  If you have a ‘smart home’, you can also say, “Alexa, turn on the lights in the living room”, or  “Alexa, lock the front door.”

I found a funny video of elders learning to talk with Alexa.

I had to add this  to my “Cool list” today

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Technology is here to stay, and the elders I talk with are excited about the possibilities of leading a more vibrant connected life in this new era.  Yes, some say, “I am too old for this.”   But as soon as a connection is made, it is amazing to see how purpose, connection, spontaneity, and joy is evident in their lives!

Another documentary available on Netflix I have been following is ‘Cyber Seniors”  watch the trailer here.   Happy Holiday Shopping!

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About the Author:    Jean Garboden is the Director of Education and Innovation at Compass Senior Living, located in Eugene Oregon. Jean is an Elder Advocate and Eden Alternative Educator with over 30 years’ experience in not-for-profit and for profit health care organizations. She is honored to lead the mission and values culture development for Compass Senior Living.  Jean lives in Las Vegas, Nevada where she enjoys the weather and volunteers with the Nevadans for the Common Good, advocating for caregivers and elders in southern Nevada.

I don’t want to move.

“You can start over when you’re your age, not at my age.” That’s what my mother-in-law said about moving closer to kids when getting older. “If you want to be closer when we’re old, you have to move here.” She’s not even that old, but there’s no point in arguing. When she and dad moved to their beautiful retirement town, in Florence, Oregon, they decided that was it—period.

Florence is on the Oregon coast, directly west of Eugene. The average age of people living in Florence is 59.4*; and the average age of the country is 37.2*.

Don’t let that average age fool you, though. This community is active in volunteerism, activism, and recreation. Sure, there are quilters and bingo players. But, you’ll also find authors, artists, dog agility trainers, yoga practitioners, and bus drivers who take cancer patients to Eugene to the hospital.

I have talked with people who have retired in Florence, and are getting pressure to move closer to children.

It makes sense to most adult children to move mom or dad closer to you. You’ve got your own kids you can’t uproot; you have a career and you can’t move or work remotely… and maybe you just like where you live. You may be concerned that by moving mom or dad closer to you, you may be uprooting them from:
• Daily support systems and friends
• Clubs, churches or spiritual connections
• Recreational activities, favorite restaurants, barbers, and shopping
• Neighborhood watch groups, and walking or jogging routes
• And, most importantly, the community that they have been connected to for years or perhaps decades.

Many adults are struggling with living far away from parents who are entering elderhood. There are needs that can’t be attended to unless you are right there, right? Well, yes, and no. You may find there is support right in mom and dad’s back yard!

What type of support is available in their hometown? Florence is a small retirement town, but is lacking in enough geriatricians and major medical treatment services. As a result, non-profits have popped up to serve the needs of the population such as the Friends of Florence.

Are senior housing options in their hometown? Visit (or ask your parents to visit) independent living, assisted living and memory care communities. Most people still think of grandma’s 1960 nursing home when they think of these communities. That’s just not the case anymore. Most are modern, comfortable and community-based environments where more elders are thriving simply because they are not alone at home.

Introduce your parents to technology. Use Facebook to stay connected and keep them connected to friends and family around the world. Get them a tablet or smartphone. Ask the senior living communities you are considering if they have wi-fi and if they regularly update their Facebook page on what’s happening. Ask them if they can text or email you with periodic updates.

Plan ahead. Create a plan together. Discuss things like who to call in an emergency. How about medical alert systems or other home emergency system? Who will check on them regularly? How will they ensure they eat well? How will they take care of home maintenance? The best plans are those made before something happens.

Talk finances. Find out where their income is. Low-income services such as Meals on Wheels may be able to help. The Veteran’s Aid and Attendance benefit may be available to veterans and surviving spouses.

At the very least, before they get old enough to need any help, it’s worth finding out where they want to live.

 

For more examples of True North Elderhood, we invite you to follow Compass Senior Living on Facebook.

* Statistics courtesy of city-data.com

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About the Author: Amira T. Fahoum is the Director of Marketing and Director of Operations, Northwest Region for Compass Senior Living located in Eugene, Oregon. Her path to senior living started when she simply decided to be open to possibilities in life. Possibilities are what led her to eight years of learning the senior living industry in roles ranging from Administrative Assistant to Director of Sales and Marketing. Possibilities also led her into the world of education technology for almost three years. Now, on her journey with Compass, she has found true reward in working with the people that care for others. She lives in Eugene with her husband, Michael, where they enjoy golf, travel and volunteering.

Grandma plays Pokemon Go!

 

JUNE LAKE, CALIFORNIA – JULY 24, 2016: The hit augmented reality smartphone app “Pokemon GO” shows a Pokemon encounter overlain on a lake shore in the real world.

On Tuesday, July 26th, I was visiting my 15 year old grandson, Gabe, in Eugene, Oregon. Gabe and I have always had a great connection. Over the years we connected through Lego building, collecting Pokemon cards, and more recently with Snapchat.  The last time we were together, he and I talked about how much we miss the old days when we played together, as he is now so busy with school and track practice.

When I saw in my newsfeed about the new Pokemon app on Sunday, the 24th, I texted Gabe and asked him if he had downloaded it.   Yes, he had!  When I arrived in Eugene, we decided to go to the University of Oregon campus and have dinner, and try out the new app.  The Olympic trials were going on, so a lot of people were on campus, and it was hilarious to see  people walking around with their phones, hunting Pokemon. Gabe and I walked and laughed and talked and captured Pokemon for 3 hours! It was an awesome connection for us both.

I was born in the 40’s and grew up in the 50’s and 60’s. It is a different world now, and I am grateful for the power of social media to keep me connected to my grandchildren who do not live near me.

The elders who live at home or in Assisted Living communities can benefit from the connections social media can facilitate for them. I have seen it happening in the communities I visit.  We encourage our care team members to help the elders connect with their families, and the outside world.  In the process the care team members make a special connection with the elders and develop deeper relationships.

In one community in Roswell New Mexico, Ms. Virginia  was not able to travel to San Antonio to attend the wedding of her granddaughter due to fragile health.  The Executive Director, Mary Beth,  contacted the family and asked if they could stream the wedding through a smart phone or an iPad so that their grandmother could be there.   Ms. Virginia had a front row seat as she watched the wedding on an iPad from her apartment in Roswell, and even got to speak with her family face to face.  Both Mary Beth and Virginia shed tears of joy and gratitude.

In another community, the Life Enrichment Director was introducing social media during a resident council meeting, and  Skyped me in from my home in Las Vegas to talk with them.  At first the residents thought they were watching a movie until I started greeting them by name!

Face time is being used  in one of the Memory Care Communities I visit.  The daughter lives in another state, and every night she calls her father on his iPhone and they talk about his day, and she wishes him sweet dreams, and he tells her he loves her.

I talked to one 87 year old elder who was introduced to Facebook while I was visiting.  The care team called her family to let them know she was on Facebook, and they were able to video chat that evening.  The next morning when I went back into the community the elder told me, “I got 8 likes last night!”   Her family had notified some old friends, and she was connected with people she had not heard from in 40 years.

I saw one 92 year old man with headphones and an iPad.  I asked him what he was watching.  He said, “I am watching youtube videos about gardening.  This has opened a whole new world for me.”   Another woman who grew up in New York was able to do google earth, and virtually walk down the street where she grew up.

It is a basic human need to be connected to one another. It is also crucial to our well-being that we all continue to learn and grow through childhood, through adulthood, and into elderhood.  Let’s create places where the elders are the center of the community, where  we facilitate connections, and grow and learn together.

Watch this short trailer Cyber Seniors  from a documentary created by teenage sisters with a mission to remain connected to their own grandparents, and in the process changed the lives of many.

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About the Author:    Jean Garboden is the Director of Education and Innovation at Compass Senior Living, located in Eugene Oregon. Jean is an Elder Advocate and Eden Alternative Educator with over 30 years’ experience in not-for-profit and for profit health care organizations. She is honored to lead the mission and values culture development for Compass Senior Living.  Jean lives in Las Vegas, Nevada where she enjoys the weather and volunteers with the Nevadans for the Common Good, advocating for caregivers and elders in southern Nevada.  She spends her leisure time with her husband Art, her dog Max, her cat Molly, and a 50-year-old desert tortoise named Myrtle.