SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- A charitable trust established by the late hotel and real estate baroness Leona Helmsley is providing $8.1 million for a wellness project that will involve about 1,600 senior citizens in five states.
The money from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust will be given to the Good Samaritan Society over three years. It will be used in a sensor technology project called LivingWell(at)Home, which involves wireless sensors throughout an elderly person's home to help track wellness.
The sensors detect movement, monitor sleep quality and collect information on day-to-day activities such as frequency of bathing. No cameras or microphones are involved.
"What you're really looking for is how is this person doing in their home," said Janet Tiemeyer, a registered nurse with the Good Samaritan Society, which provides rehabilitation, skilled care and senior housing services. "Are they safe? Are they cared for?"
People in 40 communities in South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska will participate. Family members will have access to the information, which is transmitted via a secure Internet site to a registered nurse. Participants also can measure their own vital signs such as blood pressure and send the information electronically to be analyzed by a nurse.
ADVERTISEMENT
"This technology will allow people to live at home and where they choose to live with adequate care and monitoring by professionals," said Walter Panzirer, grandson of Leona Helmsley and a trustee of the charitable trust. "This is truly an amazing day for senior citizens not only from South Dakota, but all over America. Because if this works here, this can work anywhere."
