home about us how it works our blog buy now faq contact usFrequently Asked Questions
Q1: Does the system in include a Panic Pendant ("PERS")?A: Yes-- but don't over-rate this device. The fact is, folks don't always have them handy, and in a case where say your elderly mother or handicapped brother can press the Panic Pendant button, on some level she or he is OK. The SimplyHome™ system is far more watchful-- you place one or more of our motion detectors (the system ships with one) around the residence.
Then using the SimplyHome web dashboard, you set a simple rule-- if mom or brother is not "Up & About" in the morning (as an example) say by 9 am, you and your wife get an email...and a cell phone text message.
This feature - "Up & About" - is one of many that make SimplyHome far different - we would say far better - than traditional systems. The unblinking eye(s) of the motion detectors connected to you and your fellow caregivers vie email and cell phone text messaging helps deliver a high-confidence level of care, beyond that given by the resident pushing the panic pendant button - if she or he can find it...and indeed is able to push it.
Q2: We have looked at systems that include a Central Station - what is that, and how is SimplyHome different?
A: We believe "It Takes a Family." SimplyHome allows you a high degree of connectedness between what's happening at the residence, and one or more caregivers.
In the SimplyHome web dashboard, with a few mouseclicks you set up rules - such as if the resident presses the panic pendant button, a call/email/cell phone text message (one, two or all three) instantly goes out to you, your sister, the neighbor (one or more).
Similarly, if the resident is not "Up & About," again - messaging is sent in real-time to key contact - people who know the resident, and can decide what to do. Often the reaction is to call the resident, go over to the residence - or in rare cases, vector in Emergency Medical help.
The fact is that no one knows your mother or your sister, as an example, better than the child or the sibling. Rather than a remote call center (aka "Central Station") staffed by service representatives who know virtually nothing about the resident, we believe the powerful connectivity of SimplyHome should loop in family and friends, first and foremost.
Q3: Other Independent Living systems seem to need a phone line, or a broadband connection at the residence - how about SimplyHome?
A: SimplyHome needs neither. It makes use of a 2-way radio network. Each SimplyHome unit has an antenna (see picture below), that at all times is sending data about the residence's sensor activity through the sky to the Network Operating Center, where the data is processed and made available to Caregivers in real-time via the web and via PDA, and alerts & notifications are sent based on rules that have been set by the Lead Caregiver.
The system can be placed virtually anywhere in the residence, on a table or mounted on the wall. The antenna does NOT need a line-of-sight to the sky.
Q4: How does the "rule setting" work with SimplyHome?
A: We know that caregivers need "exception data" - that is, alerts and notifications when something appears awry - and they need this data INSTANTLY.
Here's how it works: The Lead Caregiver logs-in to the SimplyHome web dashboard with a valid login ID and password. Under the NOTIFICATIONS tab, it is then a simple three step process to set-up a notification.
Say, as an example, that the resident should not be leaving (opening the front or back door) after 6 pm and before 5 am. If either door is open after 6 pm or before 5 am any day of the week, an alert is sent. In the web dashboard it is easy to select these two sensors (a wireless contact sensor that is affixed to each door), indicate the time period where if opened, an alert is sent, and then to whom the alert is sent, and how.
As an example, the Lead Caregiver might choose to receive this alert via email and cell phone text message himself, and via say just email to say two other caregivers.
And say that one week the Lead Caregiver is on travel - he can go into the web dashboard and add another caregiver to back him, inputting say both email and cell phone text message addresses for this temporary replacement, and deleting them upon his return.
Q5: How "mobile" is the SimplyHome system - that is, if my elderly mother moves, can it easily be relocated?
A: The sensors are all wireless, and the base unit itself sits on a table or is mounted to the wall, so it is very easy to move all parts of SimplyHome.
Further, we're a rare company in the Independent Living space that does NOT require long-term contracts from customers, relating to the recurring monthly charge. It is a month-to-month obligation only. So if your elderly mother, as an example, goes to live for three months at your sister's house and you don't need the SimplyHome system during this time - thus you can save the cost of the recurring monthly charge during that period.
Alternatively, perhaps during that period you want to try the system at the home of your in-laws, to help them "age in place." In that case, you simply move the system to the new location, and continue on, re-setting the right elements with a few mouseclicks in the web dashboard.
SimplyHome
1311 North Danz Avenue
Green Bay, Wisconsin 54302