GreatCall, Inc. Introduces New App to Keep Family Members, Caregivers Connected

SAN DIEGO (February 17, 2016)—GreatCall Inc., the leader in connected health for active aging, adds a new level of health and safety awareness for family caregivers with the launch of Link Check-Ins. Using simple, unobtrusive questions, caregivers are kept abreast of the family member’s wellbeing–giving them peace of mind and providing early warning to health issues.

Most connected health solutions for older consumers struggle to gain adoption because they may be too burdensome to use and can feel intrusive. Link Check-in’s simple yes/no questions have been designed to provide relevant, valuable insight to caregivers while addressing the concerns of the older family member.

When a question appears on the older family member’s Jitterbug5 cell phone, he or she clicks yes or no, and the answer is delivered to the family caregiver’s smartphone, via the GreatCall Link app. If the answers (or lack of a response) suggest there is a problem, the caregiver is notified and if they do not confirm that they will handle the situation or are not available, the issue is escalated to GreatCall’s highly trained 5Star agents that will get involved to ensure the family member is taken care of.

The new Link feature allows the family caregiver to select and schedule check-ins from a list of five questions: 1) Did you take your medication today? 2) Do you feel good today? 3) Did you exercise today? 4) Did you get enough sleep last night? and 5) Have you eaten today? The Check-In Scheduler allows the caregiver to schedule the type of question, frequency (daily, weekly or monthly) and the methods in which they want to be notified of any issues.

“The Link app was launched two years ago to provide family caregivers insight into movement, activity, and whether an emergency is taking place” says David Inns, CEO of GreatCall. “Through our ongoing research with our customers, we saw the need to expand the caregiver’s insight into how their family members were feeling. We created Link Check-Ins to provide both simple, regular status updates as well as showing trends over time to identify issues before they become serious. Having 5star agents get involved when the family caregiver isn’t available is a bonus that provides complete peace of mind.”

“We have learned that for family caregivers, having to call their older family members several times during the day to check on them is stressful and can be annoying for Mom or Dad,” adds Inns. “The Check-Ins can alleviate some of this stress, and leave family phone calls for catching up on what matters, not just getting status updates. It helps family caregivers know what’s going on when they can’t be there in person.”

Visit greatcall.com for more information.