Posted by Peter Radsliff on Tue, Aug 17, 2010
These highly-rated iPhone Apps help family navigate the challenges of caring for their parents and what to do in an emergency. And now for a limited time only, they are FREE!
Do not hesitate. Go right to the Apple iTunes App Store and download both of these apps so you will have them when you need them. Elder 911 can be downloaded from your iPhone or iPod touch. Elder 411 contains a lot of video content and needs to be downloaded on your computer, and then sync'ed to your iPhone or iPod touch.
If you wish to read more about the apps before downloading, visit: http://www.elder411.net. Both apps take over 35 years of expertise from Doctor Marion and make it portable and instantly accessible. Lots of robust app features such as embedded videos, search, browse, notes, and email. Plus, registered users will get a full digital copy of Doctor Marion's book, "Elder Care Made Easier."
Don't wait until you get a phone call from the hospital. Get prepared for that day now, and have Doctor Marion at your side as you face the challenge of caring for an elder loved one.
Posted by Peter Radsliff on Tue, Dec 01, 2009
Sometimes an idea comes along that just makes so much sense that it takes on a life of its own. A number of months ago, I was meeting with Craig Caryl and Marion Somers Ph.D. (a.k.a. Doctor Marion) of Elder Health Resources of America, Inc. We were talking about the synergies between our two businesses and what a need there is in the U.S. for solutions like Presto, and experience like that amassed by Doctor Marion over 35+ years as a geriatric care manger. We also were talking about the economy and how business had changed, requiring new innovative ways of working together to get things done.
At that point in the conversation, a phone rang and both Craig and I reached for our Apple iPhones. After a shared smile and the obligatory discussion of our favorite apps, it dawned on us. We started talking about the possibilities of combining Presto’s expertise in software development with Doctor Marion’s expertise in elder care to provide expert advice to family caregivers when and where they need it most—on their smart phone. Right then and there we decided to work together, leveraging each organization’s strengths to bring something new and very much needed to the world: the first Elder Apps.
After initial research, we confirmed our assumption that the iPhone would be the platform we chose. And after further research, it became clear that two apps were needed: one to provide a guide in case of an elder medical emergency, and one to provide expert advice to ease the ongoing task of providing elder care. The app names were a natural outgrowth of their functions: Elder 911 (emergency) and Elder 411 (information).
Our collaboration is one of convenience and shared passion for providing solutions for family caregivers. With today’s announcement of the Elder 411 and Elder 911 app for iPhone and iPod touch, Presto and Doctor Marion have forged new ground. Not only by launching the first elder care apps for iPhone, but also by finding a new way to work together and make the result worth more than the sum of its parts.
Posted by Peter Radsliff on Mon, Oct 26, 2009
It's funny how people in the high tech sector refer to the target recipients of elder technology as "those people who didn't grow up with technology." Nothing could be further from the truth. I'd like to see how the Facebook generation would cope with the first telephone, the first automobile, the first airplane, the first telephone answering machine, or the first electric typewriter…all within the first half of their lives. And what about the first calculator, the first teletype machine, the first facsimile, the first computer terminal, and of course, the first personal computer.
I actually think of my Dad's generation as the original "early adopters" of technology. Think about it, besides all of the marvels listed above, in his lifetime, he has seen the building of the Interstate highway system, international air travel, jets, space travel and man setting foot on the moon. Not to mention the Apple I computer, the PC AT and XT, plus DOS, Word Perfect, CalcStar and Lotus 1,2,3.
But after a certain age, people get lumped into the “they just don't ‘get it’” category not getting credit from the technorati of the day for their mastery of the phenomenal forward strides in technology they experienced throughout the 20th century.
So before we write-off our seniors as being too dimwitted to “get” Facebook, remember that they had "party lines" when they were kids and they knew how to socialize and make new friends in person, and they even knew it was the chicken's way out to send a “Dear John” letter (and it's still wrong to do so, even by text message).
Some of them choose Presto computerless email, because they think it's “cool” to get letters and photos faster than snail mail and without the hassle of Windows 7 upgrades, virus definition updates or Comcast triple play fees. And they might just know what they're doing using a system that let's them get incoming email without any expectation of written responses.
So cut grandma and grandpa a little slack. Recognize them for being the cool, early adopters that they were. And maybe listen closely when they don't get all excited about the latest tech gadget unveiled on Gizmodo (maybe, just maybe, it really wasn't that “cool” to begin with).