Aspen Services

In today’s modern and tech-savvy world, more and more people are embracing technology, seniors included. Close to 70 percent of the elderly are now connected to the internet. Undeniably, technology for seniors is growing in popularity and has shown no signs of slowing down.

Nowadays, tech devices have become an integral part of the daily life of most seniors. These ingenious technologies have allowed them to move around, connect with loved ones, and live healthier, fulfilling, and more connected lives.

Invaluable Tech Solutions for Seniors

From managing medications and sleep to assistance with day-to-day life, here are some of the most innovative technologies that have made life easier for seniors:

A photo of a phone, headphones, and a watch.

Hero Digital Pill Dispenser

Hero digital pill dispenser is designed to dispense a senior’s medication at a scheduled time each day. The Hero digital pill dispenser can hold up to 10 different kinds of pills of various shapes and sizes. It can also be tailored to any medication schedule.

The digital pill dispenser can store up to 90 days of medication supply, depending on the pill’s size. This digital pill dispenser is also connected to the Hero app, which tracks the pills’ consumption and doses.

The Hero digital pill dispenser won’t accept half pills, gummies, and sticky dissoluble pills to avoid contamination.

Additional Features

  • 30-day free trial
  • Password protected
  • HIPAA-compliant security for all data
  • Free shipping and returns
  • Notifications (when medication is low)
  • Free software update

Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Generation)

This smart and compact speaker has many senior-friendly abilities and features. Apart from being voice-activated, it is also small, so they can take it anywhere. This imaginative device can also be used to:

  • Stream music
  • Play games
  • Check the weather
  • Receive news updates
  • Set alarms for medications
  • Chat
  • Create grocery lists

When set up to guard the home, this additional feature included in the Alexa app provides seniors alerts about smoke alarms, broken glass, and carbon monoxide.

Additional Features

  • Hands-free calls
  • Privacy Protection
  • Voice control (turn on lights, adjust thermostats, and lock doors)

COWIN E7 Active Noise Cancelling Bluetooth Over-Ear Headphones

If your senior loved one has hearing loss, the COWIN E7 can be a great option. Its advanced active noise reduction technology is designed to cancel lower frequencies. This gives them the ultimate listening experience when they listen to their favorite music or podcasts or watching their favorite movies.

COWIN E7 also comes with Bluetooth technology that makes hands-free listening possible.

Additional Features

  • 30-hour battery life
  • High-quality built-in microphone
  • 90 degrees swiveling ear cups
  • Professional padding
Elderly woman wearing headphones and using a cell phone

GrandPad

This easy-to-use tablet is designed primarily for seniors and comes with built-in wireless data. It allows them to listen to music, video chat with their loved ones, and play games with the utmost ease.

This breakthrough technology also allows seniors access to their own private family network where approved friends and loved ones can update contact information and add photos.

The GrandPad is also a practical gift for seniors who are not tech-savvy since it won’t require passwords and won’t need any modem.

Additional Features

  • Unlimited support team access
  • Safe from spams and scams
  • Has enlarged text for easy reading
  • Sends voice-automated emails

Tile Sticker

Seniors who always lose everyday items would sure love Tile Sticker. Tile Sticker is placed on wallets, keys, remotes, and other things that can easily be misplaced. When seniors need to find their lost items, they need to use the company’s app on their phones to locate them.

The Tile Sticker has a Pro version that’s recommended for valuable items. It comes with a Bluetooth range of 400 feet.

Additional Features

  • 3-year battery life
  • Free shipping
  • 30-day guarantee
  • Waterproof

Fitbit Versa 2

The Fitbit Versa 2 is a health manager and versatile watch rolled into one. It comes with a heart-rate tracker and provides easy access to information and apps. You can also use it to listen to unlimited music on Spotify, track the weather, and set alarms. What’s even impressive? They can use it to pay the bills while on the go.

Additional Features

  • Personalized clock face
  • Fitbit pay
  • Sleep tracker
  • 24/7 heart rate tracking
  • Built-in Amazon Alexa

Ring Video Doorbell

Ring designs doorbell camera systems that provide notifications to smartphones in real-time when motion sensors are triggered or when visitors ring the doorbell. This product will not only help ensure their safety, it can also help make life easy for seniors.

With the Ring Video Doorbell, they can speak to visitors anytime and anywhere. The device can also be used to monitor the doors around the home. Custom motion settings can be set. Safety and crime alerts can also be sent directly to a smartphone.

Additional Features

  • Advanced motion settings
  • 1080 HD video and two-way talk
  • Night vision

Conclusion

It is reassuring to know that many innovative technologies are now available to help make life easy for seniors. While some technologies require some getting used to, they are a massive step in the right direction for improving their quality of life.

Melissa Andrews - Paradise Living Centers

About the Author

Melissa Andrews is the Content Marketing Strategist for Paradise Living Centers, an assisted living center for seniors with locations in Paradise Valley and Phoenix, Arizona. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking and going on hiking trips with her siblings and cousins.

Aspen Senior Care is pleased to announce that we have received the 2021 Best of Home Care ® – Provider of Choice Award from Home Care Pulse. The Provider of Choice Award is granted only to the top-ranking home care providers, based on client satisfaction scores gathered by Home Care Pulse, an independent satisfaction research firm for home care. Aspen Senior Care is now ranked among a select few home care providers across the country who have proven their ability to provide outstanding care. Aspen Senior Care is also the only provider to receive this prestigious award in Utah County!

“We’re excited to congratulate Aspen Senior Care for their well-deserved achievement on earning the Best of Home Care ® – Provider of Choice Award. It’s wonderful to see the hard work that Aspen Senior Care is putting in to provide high-quality care and employment – and their effort isn’t going unnoticed. This award allows them to provide proof of quality to potential new clients and caregivers.”

— Erik Madsen, CEO of Home Care Pulse.

Best of Home Care ® – Provider of Choice award-winning providers have contracted with Home Care Pulse to gather feedback from their clients by conducting live phone interviews with their clients each month. Because Home Care Pulse is a third-party company, it is able to collect honest and unbiased feedback.

“This is not an easy award to win, but it shows our dedication to our caregivers and our senior clients,” says Susan Johnson, Relations Manager of Aspen Senior Care. “It also shows our willingness to be transparent in all that we do. We credit our wonderful team of professional caregivers who share our passion for helping seniors in Utah live comfortably and independently in their own homes.”

“At Home Care Pulse, our mission is to help home care businesses create an experience that goes beyond client and caregiver expectations,” says Erik Madsen, CEO of Home Care Pulse. “We are happy to recognize Aspen Senior Care as a Best of Home Care ® – Provider of Choice and to celebrate their accomplishments as a trusted home care provider.”

About Aspen Senior Care

It all started in 2004 when Gary finally figured out what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. He’d been searching for two years looking to start his own business — something that would do good in the community, be fulfilling, and provide a service he could be passionate about every day. Senior care fits the bill!

Gary is a people person and loves to get to know people from all walks of life. He’s also a big family guy and loves his wife and kids and his big extended family. He knew senior care was definitely his thing as soon as he came across it.  After researching the market, he decided to join The Senior’s Choice network and start Aspen Senior Care in 2004.

Since then, he’s focused on finding top-notch caregivers first and foremost. If he trusts them to take good care of his parents, then he knows he can trust them to take good care of yours. He grew his office staff by promoting great caregivers as Aspen has grown over the years. It’s been a great formula and one that continues to be successful to this day. As Gary looks back, he says he has no regrets, just a lot of gratitude.

To find out more about Aspen Senior Care’s commitment to excellence, please call 801-224-5910.

About Home Care Pulse

Home Care Pulse is the industry’s leading firm in satisfaction research, quality assurance, and caregiver training. On behalf of home care businesses across North America, Home Care Pulse gathers unbiased satisfaction ratings from clients and caregivers and detailed feedback to ensure the best in-home care possible can be provided. Powerful online reports allow businesses to identify needs and take action to reduce increase satisfaction, reduce caregiver turnover, and address client needs. Home Care Pulse combines detailed client/caregiver insights with top-rated caregiver training through In The Know. Please call Home Care Pulse at (877) 307-8573 or visit homecarepulse.com.

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For most of us, aging comes with increased health issues, thoughts of our own mortality and sometimes watching the ones we love—friends and family—pass away. It becomes very easy to fall into depression and depression can lead to a variety of physical problems like high blood pressure, heart problems and diabetes. That’s where the power of positive thinking comes in. Positive thoughts condition our brain to think positively and our body follows the command of our brain.

For older seniors a caregiver plays an important role in maintaining positive thoughts and healthy aging. Caregivers are trained to watch for warning signs of depression like loss of interest in daily activities and restlessness. With careful observation, caregivers can help to stave off depression by offering companionship and promoting fun, happy, activities like gardening and dancing or offering transportation to social events and church.

Here are some tips to maintain a positive frame of mind—for both caregivers and their charges:

  • Cultivate enthusiasm. Do your best to be happy and not to indulge in negative thoughts. The glass can be half full or half empty—it’s always the same glass. 
  • Keep a sense of humor. Perhaps more than any other strategy, finding something to laugh about is an effective buffer for the difficulties we face in life.
  • Show gratitude. Everyday find something to be grateful for. The shoes on your feet. The food on your plate. The flowers in your garden.
  • Be compassionate. Put yourself in other people’s shoes. Understanding leads to acceptance.
  • Be flexible. Understanding that things are not always going to go the way you would like and being comfortable changing course is a life skill worth practicing.
  • Have faith. Whether it be a belief in a force beyond yourself or the belief in the best possible outcome for a situation, maintaining faith in things beyond your control is crucial to a positive outlook.
  • Dream. Engage in “imagineering.” Set a goal. Aim high.
  • Learn from mistakes. If we approach life as an opportunity to learn and grow, even negative experiences provide a positive take-away.
  • Take joy in helping others. Helping others and touching lives can be a huge source of satisfaction in our lives. Knowing that you’ve made a difference in someone’s life can bring nothing but positive thoughts.
  • Cultivate acceptance. Work to accept adversity and disappointments—they are an inevitable part of our journey. If you can overcome and accept what you cannot change you will emerge the stronger for it.
  • Think “love” first. Develop a loving and forgiving attitude to everyone around you. It will come back to you ten-fold.
 — Written by Caren Parnes for The Senior’s Choice
Aspen Senior Care is a proud member of the Senior’s Choice Network

Aspen Senior Care was chosen as The Best of Utah Valley in the Home Health Care category. The Best in Utah Valley competition is held each spring by the Daily Herald. Readers choose and vote on their favorite local businesses, services, and products in Utah County.  The Daily Herald counts the votes to determine the top three in each category and the rest is history!

Aspen Senior Care has been serving seniors in Utah Valley for over 16 years. We are a personal care agency helping seniors with all their non-medical needs in the comfort and safety of their own homes. We work closely with several great home health and hospice agencies as well as other professionals serving the needs of seniors. 

Our mission statement is very simple:

“Our mission is to help seniors in Utah live comfortably and independently in their own homes for as long as possible.”

We accomplish this by providing Utah’s finest and most reliable and personalized in-home care. Our care and business practices are based on strong family values and the highest ethical standards. We perform all senior care services with professionalism and dignity and treat all seniors like family.

Our award-winning team specializes in assisting seniors in their homes by providing caregivers you can trust. Some seniors just need a few hours a week and others need a lot more. We do it all and tailor our services to meet the unique needs of each of our clients. We also provide peace of mind to their family members. We believe that there’s no better place to be than in the comfort and safety of your own home.

We help with:

  • Personal care
  • Dementia care
  • Companionship
  • Respite care for family 
  • Medication reminders
  • Transportation and errands
  • 24-hour care and holidays
  • Showering assistance and hygiene care
  • Light housekeeping and meal preparation
  • Senior Day Care through our sister company, Aspen Senior Day Center

Aspen Senior Care is a locally owned company with roots deep in Utah. With years of experience assisting seniors in our community, our staff provides quality care and enjoyable daily experiences. You can trust our staff to take great care of your loved one. 

To find out more about Aspen Senior Care’s commitment to excellence, please visit AspenSeniorCare.com or call 801-224-5910.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response – March 24, 2020

Aspen Senior Care is taking extra precautions to keep our clients, caregivers, and office staff safe. This is our top priority at this time. We want to do all we can to ensure the safety and well-being of all members of our Aspen family. Here are the most critical steps we are taking:

1. Frequently reminding all employees to follow the important CDC guidelines. These include washing hands often for 20 seconds with warm soapy water, cleaning objects and surfaces often which are frequently touched, covering up any coughing or sneezing, not touching their faces or shaking hands with others, staying away from all sick people and practicing social distancing at all times. 

2. Proactively enforcing our Stay home if you are sick policy. This goes for all employees who might be exhibiting any symptoms of respiratory illness, flu, or cold viruses.

3. Proactively screening all caregivers. We are calling and visiting with our caregivers often and screening them with the following questions:

  • Have your recently traveled out of state or country or to any infected communities?
  • Do you have any symptoms of respiratory infection such as fever, cough, or sore throat?
  • Have you been in contact with anyone who has or is being tested for COVID-19 or are ill with respiratory illness?
  • Are you aware of coronavirus spreading in the community where you live?

4. Asking all employees working with clients exhibiting any respiratory illness symptoms to call the office immediately and ask the client to contact their primary care physician ASAP. All caregivers will wear masks and gloves when working with any at risk clients.

5. Any employees who travel will first check with our office team before working. Those traveling to high risk communities, states, and nations must take 14 days off when returning home to monitor for symptoms of respiratory infection. 

At Aspen Senior Care, we encourage the highest standard of health safety practices to ensure the health of both our clients and employees. We have a great 15-year record of doing just that. Please feel free to reach out to our office with any questions at 801-224-5910

Covid-19 Update 2021

At the beginning of January, our caregivers had a window of opportunity to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. We are happy to report that about 30% of our caregivers were able to get vaccinated. We know that protecting them protects you as clients!

In an effort to help diminish the spread of this virus, we strongly encourage you and all our clients and staff to consider immunization. We suggest consulting with your personal physician to make this decision in regards to your personal needs and circumstances. The Utah County Health Department has now opened up immunization times for those who are 70+ and all previous groups. We have found that the slots usually come open after 7:00 p.m. most evenings and fill up very fast. You can check the Utah County Health Department website for further updates. Please reach out to us if you would like our assistance.

Dear Clients and Families,

Our top priority is the health and safety of our clients and employees. With the coronavirus  (COVID-19) in the news, we want to share with you our protocol to minimize the spread of viruses, bacteria, and other serious bugs. We’ve always been careful and now we’re taking even greater measures to ensure the safety and well-being of your loved ones. Here’s what we are doing:

  1. Reminding our employees to wash their hands often for at least 15 seconds with warm soapy water, especially before and after helping clients with any food or personal care. We help our clients keep their hands clean as well. 
  1. Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and objects which frequently get used by others. We like to use Clorox or Lysol wipes to wipe things down if you have any in stock. Otherwise, we’ll use warm soapy water to keep things bug-free.  
  1. Proactively enforcing our Stay at home if you are sick policy. This goes for all of our employees because we know that our clients already have enough challenges and they are more vulnerable to all viruses, bacteria, and any other serious bugs.  
  1. Asking employees and clients to always cover up any coughing or sneezing. And to stay away from sick people or others who have come in contact with people who might be sick.
  1. Strongly discouraging handshakes and the touching of mouth, eyes, and nose by employees and clients.

We remind our employees often of this protocol, especially during flu season and now even more with the coronavirus spreading. From what we’ve studied and been told, this virus is a lot like the respiratory flu virus (both in its symptoms and the way it spreads). We see no need to panic, but we want to stay alert, be smart, and keep our clients safe, healthy, and happy.

At Aspen Senior Care, we encourage the highest standard of health safety practices to ensure the health of both our employees and our clients. We have a great 15-year record of doing just that.

Please feel free to reach out to our office with any questions or additional suggestions at 801-224-5910.

Aspen Senior Care has started 2020 with a bang! We are proud to announce that Aspen has received both the 2020 Best of Home Care® – Provider of Choice Award from Home Care Pulse and a Caring Star of 2020 Award from Caring.com. These awards are granted only to the top-ranking home care providers, based on client and caregiver satisfaction scores gathered by both companies. Aspen Senior Care is now ranked among a small handful of home care providers across the country who have proven their ability to provide an exceptional working experience to employees and the highest quality care to clients.

We want to congratulate Aspen Senior Care on receiving both the Best of Home Care – Provider of Choice Award,” says Erik Madsen, CEO of Home Care Pulse. “Since these awards are based on real, unfiltered feedback from clients and caregivers, Aspen Senior Care has proven their dedication to providing a great work environment and solid training to employees, while maintaining their focus on client and caregiver satisfaction. We are pleased to recognize their dedication to quality professionalism and expertise in-home care.”

Best of Home Care providers have contracted with Home Care Pulse to gather feedback from their clients and caregivers via live phone interviews each month. Because Home Care Pulse is an independent company, it is able to collect honest and unbiased feedback.

“We would like to thank our clients and their families for providing ongoing positive and constructive feedback throughout each year! We are so grateful to be in your service. We appreciate Home Care Pulse for recognizing us as 2020 Best of Home Care® – Provider of Choice and Caring.com for awarding Aspen with a Caring Star of 2020. We owe this to an outstanding team of caregivers and staff who continuously provide the highest quality of care to our clients and their families.”

-Gary Staples Owner and Administrator of Aspen Senior Care

About Aspen Senior Care

It all started in 2004 when Gary finally figured out what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. He’d been searching for two years looking to start his own business–something that would do good in the community, be fulfilling, and provide a service he could be passionate about every day. Senior care fit the bill! Our mission at Aspen is to help seniors live comfortably in their own homes for as long as they desire. We are caregivers you can trust.  We provide a no-cost, no-obligation assessment to see whether we’re a good fit for each other. During the assessment we answer questions, go over care options, and put together a personalized care plan to fit the client and family’s unique needs.

About Home Care Pulse

Home Care Pulse is the home care industry’s leading firm in satisfaction research and quality assurance. On behalf of home care businesses across North America, Home Care Pulse gathers unbiased satisfaction ratings from clients and caregivers and detailed feedback to ensure the best in-home care possible can be provided. Powerful online reports allow businesses to identify needs and take action to reduce increase satisfaction, reduce caregiver turnover, and address client needs. For more information, please call Home Care Pulse at (877) 307-8573 or visit homecarepulse.com.

About Caring.com

Caring.com exists to help family caregivers make better decisions, save time and money and feel less alone.

To find out more about Aspen Senior Care’s commitment to excellence, please visit AspenSeniorCare.com or call 801-224-5910.

So the “Aha” moment arrives. Circumstances make you realize two things. 1) I’m not as young as I used to be, and 2.) “Old age ain’t for sissies” as the great Bette Davis once said.

Gradually, or sometimes suddenly, it happens… we can’t keep up with household chores, we can’t see the street signs to drive safely, we give up cooking or we can’t walk without holding on to the furniture. And it begins, a nagging fear that we’re losing our independence. In fact, loss of independence is the biggest fear among seniors. So what is the typical senior response? Pull ourselves up by the bootstraps and keep on going, of course! Call in the kids to help out! Unfortunately, the kids have spouses and children of their own. And they have full-time jobs, not to mention they live out of town. It’s time for a new strategy.

Many seniors are finding the solution to remaining independent at home lies outside the family circle with paid caregivers. Steve Everhart, President of The Senior’s Choice explains, “Most seniors find caregivers in two ways. The old way is to run a classified ad or hire through a temporary service. The senior bear all the “employer” responsibility for this kind of caregiver. These folks are usually less expensive but there’s a lot of risks involved in hiring them,” Everhart says. The downside is:

  • It‘s difficult to find the right person.
  • You are responsible for performing a criminal background check
  • You are responsible for finding a replacement if the caregiver is absent
  • You bear the burden for withholding payroll taxes and providing state-mandated worker’s compensation coverage.
  • You bear the burden for liability problems like theft from or damage to your property.

The new way is to contract with a Companion Care Agency. These private agencies like Aspen Senior Care provide “in-home, non-medical care.” The number of agencies is growing quickly to meet the demands of a fast-growing senior population. They provide a wide range of services including light housekeeping, meal preparation, laundry, transportation, shopping & errands, and in many states including Utah, assistance with personal care. These one-on-one services can continue should the senior move into assisted living or even a nursing facility or hospital.”

Companion Care is usually available anywhere from a few hours up to 24 hours a day. Payment is private pay and may be covered by long-term-care insurance policies.

Some questions Everhart suggests you ask a Companion Care agency:

    1. Do they have references from other clients?
    2. What services do they provide?
    3. What training/experience do the caregivers have?
    4. How do they supervise their caregivers?
    5. Are the caregivers bonded and covered by workers’ compensation insurance?
    6. What is the schedule for service?
    7. What if I have a problem with a caregiver?
    8. Does the agency have an emergency or after-hours phone number?
    9. What are the financial arrangments?
    10. Who owns the company? Is it part of a larger organization?
    11.  Are the caregivers employees held accountable by the agency or are they independent contractors accountable to no one?
    12. Does the agency carry Professional Liability Insurance?

The Pros:

  • Service is easily customized for each client’s needs.
  • Extensive hours available.
  • The staff is screened and supervised.
  • Agency is responsible for all employer tasks like payroll, taxes, liability insurance, workers’ compensation, bonding.
  • Agency is responsible for providing a replacement should the assigned caregiver fail to arrive or need a day off.

Everhart says, “This service is more expensive than independent caregivers but the right agency will provide the most customizable, reliable, worry-free, in-home service available.”

For more information on in-home care through Aspen Senior Care call 801-224-5910.


by AnNita Klimecka

The Senior’s Choice, Inc.

Has your loved one recently transitioned into the care of a hospice agency? While a hospice agency may alleviate some of your caregiving duties, you may notice that additional support in the home would be beneficial. This is where enlisting the help of a personal care agency may be the perfect solution.

Personal care agencies like Aspen Senior Care often get confused with hospice care, but they aren’t the same. It’s important for families caring for elderly loved ones to know the difference and how both agencies complement each other.

What is the difference?

Personal care services provide one-on-one non-medical support in a person’s home which allows them to stay safely at home while under the care of a professional caregiver. Professional caregivers provide assistance 24/7 with activities of daily living, personal care, companionship, night care, and respite care for family caregivers. It is customized care to fit the needs and desires of the person and their family. This type of care is usually paid privately and/or by long-term-care insurance.

The purpose of hospice is to provide the highest quality of medical care and comfort to those who are chronically ill, terminally ill, or seriously ill and to relieve or lessen the discomfort they may experience. This may include medical care to alleviate pain, counseling and grief support for the patient and their family. In most cases, hospice care for seniors is covered by Medicare and includes several 1-hour visits per week by CNA’s, nurses, and other professionals.

How do they work hand-in-hand?

Personal care companies like Aspen Senior Care provide a few of the same services that hospice agencies provide, plus a lot of services they do not provide. When hospice care sends a CNA 2 to 3 times a week for an hour to help with bathing, personal care agencies like Aspen Senior Care can fill in the gaps and provide consistent care and peace of mind 24/7. Hospice care provides a nurse to visit each week to answer medical questions and help stay on top of pain. Personal care agencies provide trained caregivers who can be there day and night to provide encouragement, reduce loneliness, and give extra assistance as needed. Both agencies usually work together to ensure their patients’ needs are met.

Personal care agencies 24/7 services include:

  • Shower assistance
  • Hygiene care
  • Medication reminders
  • Homemaking
  • Meal planning and preparation
  • Light housekeeping
  • Errands and transportation
  • Alzheimer’s and dementia care
  • Peace of mind for all involved

The most important thing to remember is that both of these agencies are on your side. They want to provide the best care for your loved one, and working hand-in-hand with one another provides the best support across the board. If your loved one is in need of hospice care services and you feel they would benefit from additional care and assistance, don’t hesitate to call on a good personal in-home care agency in your area.  

Learn more about Aspen Senior Care by calling 801-224-5910.