Telehealth tools give seniors ways to stay home for the holidays
ZELIENOPLE — Pneumonia, congestive heart failure, an irregular heartbeat and high blood pressure sent 94-year-old Geraldine Kaylor to a hospital in October, said daughter-in-law Deb Kaylor.
It might have kept here there, too, because her blood pressure remained elevated to levels doctors found concerning, long after she was discharged.
But instead, she can spend the holidays at home, in the company of her son and daughter-in-law. These comforts attest to the ways in which telehealth has transformed quality of life for seniors.
“It is now time to check your vital signs,” a voice on Geraldine’s tablet tells her each morning, following her breakfast and daily devotional.
Geraldine takes her blood pressure, weighs herself and records her oxygen levels using a pulse oximeter. Each device, which is Bluetooth-enabled, transmits results from these tests to the Visiting Nurses Association of Western Pennsylvania.
“If there’s any abnormal readings, we have a nurse that’s monitoring all of that,” said Karla Pagan, clinical admissions manager for the VNA.
That nurse then follows up with a phone call to learn if the patient is experiencing any unusual symptoms, Pagan said. The nurse reminds the patient to monitor their vital signs and take their medication.
The nurse can then send a nurse or therapist into the home. They may also reach out to the patient’s doctor.
Geraldine’s blood pressure once spiked to over 200 on systolic measurements while she was receiving telehealth care at home, Pagan said. This condition, called a “hypertensive crisis,” placed her at risk of a stroke, Pagan said.
But Geraldine felt fine, and would otherwise have had no idea anything was gravely wrong, Pagan said.
“We were able to manage with her doctor and get her medications under control and get her blood pressure down, and it resulted in no hospital stay, no ER visit,” Pagan said. “So it makes a big difference.”
“I think it’s really wonderful, because it’s really doing a good job,” said Geraldine.
Deb Kaylor asked Geraldine whether the monitor had become easier for her to use.
“Oh, yeah,” said Geraldine. “Now I can do it.”
“It makes a big difference,” she said. “I like it better here at the home than at the hospital.”
“Our system is really self-explanatory, very easy to use,” Pagan said. “And so we do make sure that they have a good understanding of that before we leave them in the home. It’s a matter of pushing a button.”
Pagan said care providers remind seniors to take their time when testing themselves. Sometimes seniors want to hurry these routines and get them over with, she said.
“We have some family that really appreciate that peace of mind, that they know that a nurse is seeing what’s going on with their mom or dad because they’re not in the area,” Pagan said.
Knowing someone sees their parent moving around and is where they’re supposed to be means a lot to them, Pagan said.
The technology also offers other care providers the chance to interpret doctor’s recommendations into terms that are more friendly toward the layman, she said.
“So we try to interpret that and can identify if they’re having problems to get somebody into the home, instead of waiting until they end up in the emergency room,” she said.
Pagan estimates the VNA has used telehealth to improve care for more than 20 years. Video visits became a part of its outreach during the last five years.
This positioned the VNA well to provide support when the COVID-19 pandemic drove a surge in demand for telehealth care, Pagan said. For seniors locked down at home and afraid, that event offered a chance for the VNA to help them feel less isolated.
“We could talk to them on the phone,” she said. “We could talk to them on video face-to-face. And they had better comfort with that. … Some of these people that we see are home alone and don’t see anybody or talk to anybody, and so we come in. So it gives them that outside contact.”
