![]() ![]() ![]() This type of technology might have helped Mel Chipka stay in her home longer. “We found people don’t want video cameras, they don’t want to be spied on, they don’t want to feel like a lab rat,” said Iggy Fanlo, Lively’s CEO. that is expected to be launched in Canada later this year. Lively is a similar system of sensors made in the U.S. According to a report from the Canadian Association of Retired Persons, 80 per cent of elder care is delivered by family members, and long-term care facilities are becoming less and less accessible. Since 2005, the wait times for nursing homes in Ontario have tripled. In comparison, nursing home costs vary from province to province, but in Ontario a private room in a government-subsidized home costs about $2,300 a month. Care Link Advantage is fully funded in New Brunswick, so if families so choose, the province will pay for the monitoring system. The price ranges from about $130 to $150 a month. ![]() Caregivers get to grant their parents their wishes, and do so without having the burden placed on them.” “Seniors get to live where they want to live. “It was meant to create safety and security for the senior, and it was meant to alleviate the stress of the caregiver,” said John Whitehead, president of Sudbury, Ont.-based Care Link Advantage. The caregiver can then check on their loved one through cameras or call them to see if there really is an emergency.Īndrew Sixsmith, director of the Gerontology Research Centre at Simon Fraser University, said monitoring technology has certain benefits, especially for older people who may be isolated and want to preserve their autonomy for as long as possible. When these sensors and cameras note something out of the ordinary, a text is sent to the caregiver to alert them something may be wrong. By 2051, it projects one in four Canadians will be 65 or older.Īs a result, technologies ranging from robots to talking pet avatars are being rushed to market to aid people in aging gracefully in their homes.Ĭare Link Advantage, specifically, is a system that uses a series of cameras and motion sensors placed around a home. The number of seniors in Canada is rising, from 12.6 million in 2001 to an expected 18.5 million by 2021, according to Statistics Canada. The Armstrongs installed a Canadian system called Care Link Advantage, one of the many monitoring products that are gaining traction throughout the U.S. Sixsmith said seniors are prepared to compromise their privacy by allowing monitoring technology in their homes if it means staying at home. The alternative is often a nursing home, which in terms of surveillance and loss of privacy can be a lot worse. Technology that helps seniors stay in their homes longerĪs a result, many senior citizens are voluntarily being tracked by their caregivers so they can stay in their homes longer.The director of the Gerontology Research Centre at Simon Fraser University said monitoring technology has certain benefits, especially for older people who may be isolated and want to preserve their autonomy for as long as possible. While NSA leaks and reports of CSEC spying on Canadians have made privacy and surveillance a growing concern, for seniors it’s becoming a way to maintain their independence.Īndrew Sixsmith said people are actually asking him to create Big Brother to help the elderly. His mother lives alone in her home in Victoria, B.C., so with her permission, Armstrong installed cameras and motion sensors a few months ago to monitor her. She can’t recall things that happened as recently as five minutes ago. He’s also notified when she’s been out of bed for a long period of time at night there could have been a fall.Īrmstrong’s mother has Alzheimer’s disease and problems with her short-term memory. When Ross Armstrong’s 85-year-old mother opens her door after 9 p.m., he’s alerted via text message. ![]()
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