Lifespark and Partner grandPad to Co-Present at Aging 2.0 Conference
I came down the stairs to hear the sound of baby laughter from my mother-in-law’s room. It was 7:30 am and I was pretty sure there wasn’t a toddler behind her closed door. Then the laughter repeated. She poked her head out, saying she just had to share the video with me – it was of my grandson, her great grandson, Declan laughing with full body delight at his dad and dog.
She told me she woke up early this morning and just needed a little giggle herself. There was sheer joy plastered all over her face.
Not so unusual, you say. Everybody watches videos these days. But at 89 years-old Nana is a senior who has resisted all technology. Give her a hard cover book and a rotary dial phone, and she is happy. She finally relented a few years ago to get a flip phone for when she is in the car. She doesn’t want the hassles, the wires, the updates, or confusion when technology doesn’t work the way it is supposed to.
So what was she watching the video on? Her Lifespark grandPad, which has pretty much been inseparable from her since she got it this summer. Lifespark has partnered with grandPad to offer these small tablet computers to the Lifespark community, including clients, families, partners, and anyone in the Lifespark network. They are the perfect complement to Lifespark’s efforts to spark lives through whole person senior care.
Their success is easy to see in Nana’s face – whether she is playing Sudoko, listening to Frank Sinatra, watching a family video, or making a video call I know that she is only contacted by people from her Lifespark grandPad network. I am the family administrator for her grandPad app, and control who is part of her family network keeping her completely safe and secure.
According to Paula Span, writing in The New Old Age blog for the New York Times, “to reach seniors, start-ups must first relate to them,” adding that “design still plays a crucial role in how useful consumers find any of these products.” And grandPad has successfully done that.
As Lifespark CEO & Founder Joel Theisen explains, “We’re excited about grandPad’s ability to keep people connected to their social network simply and easily. We’ve seen how important those social connections are and how Mom or Dad thrive when they’re able to share in the online conversations and photos.”
“Our partnership with Lifespark is the perfect marriage of using a technology tool to allow family caregivers to ‘virtually’ care for their loved ones literally 24/7 keeping seniors engaged with family and the things they love while also having health care experts watch over their care needs at home,” notes Scott Lien, grandPad CEO and co-founder.
So what makes the Lifespark grandPad for tech skeptic Nana? I encourage you to learn more about the grandPad to find that out.
Change on!