Independa’s services work to help aging people cope at home

Dorothy was right. There's no place like home. And home is exactly where many aging parents would like to stay.

Sometimes care needs dictate a move to a nursing home or assisted living center, but that's not always so. Some people who are facing the challenges of aging can stay in their own homes longer with help. The help may be visits from a drop-in health professional or reminders to take medications or get to appointments.

That's where new technology meets old technology to help, and perhaps keep moms or dads in their homes longer. Independa (www.independa.com) provides a first line of defense for caregivers and family members.

"We're transforming how family caregivers support their elderly loved ones," Independa founder Kian Saneii said, "providing a cost-effective and real-time answer to the question, 'How is my loved one doing?' "

Saneii said he got the idea for his service from watching his parents care for his grandmother.

"I saw firsthand," he said. "They were always reminding her to take her meds and it's always something they lovingly did."

San Diego-based Independa brings three services to families:

■ Smart calendar: A free, automated reminder service for medical appointments, birthdays, anniversaries or other events. This is where old technology comes in, as a phone call is placed to the family member to remind him or her of the scheduled event.

■ Life stories: A guided phone conservation between a parent and another family member. Independa has a series of questions and prompts to help the parent tell a story.

"The questions to mom might be about memories of favorite family or historical events," Saneii said. "Whenever you want to record one, we call you, then connect with the parent. Children are learning things about their parents as the conversation is being recorded."

■ Medication reminders: Medications are entered into a schedule and reminder calls are placed to patients. Histories of medications and dosages are also kept.

A Google Android-based tablet computer named "Angela" will soon be part of Independa's offerings, Saneii said.

"The care receiver will have single-touch access to e-mail, Facebook, the Web and videoconferencing," he said. "This opens the world to them. It's also a tool to have fun."

Pricing for Angela hasn't been set. It will be ready sometime during the second quarter, Saneii said.

Pricing for smart reminders is $19.95 per month, based on an annual contract. Life stories is $19.95 for 20 minutes of recordings which can be as short as one minute and as long as 20 minutes.

"Independa delays tough decisions and improves the quality of life all around," Saneii said. "It's a shoo-in."

Dorothy would approve.

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