Caregiving is tough. Even though you live miles away, you do the best you can to provide support for your ageing parent. Ohmni understands that you may undergo the emotional and physical strain of this labour of love. You feel guilty because you think you should be able to provide better care. Frustrated with the financial strain of supporting multiple family members. Overwhelmed with work/family conflicts. And exhausted when you go to bed at night.

Then your worst nightmare happens. You learn that mom or dad has fallen and there was no one there to help. Eventually, you get a call — they’ve been taken to the emergency room. 

This is the situation both Richard and Elaine would have found themselves in without the Ohmni telepresence robot. Luckily, Ohmni was there to help both of their moms when it really mattered.

Ageing in Place

One morning, Richard called his 81-year old mother a couple of times but she did not respond. This was strange since she always woke up around 6:30 am. Richard then logged into Ohmni to speak with her. As he looked around her home, Richard couldn’t find his mum. So he drove Ohmni into her room and to his shock, found her on the floor. She had fallen, hit her head and could not get back up. His mum had been calling for help, but Richard’s brother — fresh off his night shift and asleep in another room — could not hear her. 

Ohmni to the Rescue

Richard was easily able to drive Ohmni into his brother’s room to wake him up. “It was like me coming into the house.” He then navigated back to his mum’s room and called 911. At the same time, Richard’s wife recorded Ohmni’s video feed on her cell phone, which they later shared with the doctor to help assess the extent of the injury. And the incident triggered a conversation with Richard and his mum about relocating her to an assisted living facility with a higher level of care.

Augmenting Care

Elaine, another Ohmni for senior care user, feels the same way. She and her 5 sisters living in three cities across Canada purchased Ohmni for their 97-year old mum who resides in a retirement home. Even though Elaine lives only 20 minutes away from her mum, Ohmni has become invaluable, especially since FaceTime wasn’t an option for her tech-challenged parent. “With Ohmni, mum doesn’t have to touch anything.”

As her mum ages, Elaine has become more hands-on with care, but she still uses Ohmni throughout the day. 

At home, Elaine keeps her screen on for easy monitoring. Several times, Ohmni has enabled Elaine to see her mom falling. Last time it happened, her mum slipped when reaching to shut the blinds. Like Richard, Ohmni has been critical in keeping Elaine’s mum safe. 

It’s also been a tremendous help in communicating with her mum’s care staff. Elaine can attend doctors’ house visits remotely and correct any inconsistent information her mom provides. “Mum’s short-term memory isn’t very good. If I’m on the robot, I can wave my arms to signal that’s not the case.” 

The Perfect Resource Now

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, Elaine has observed the facility scrambling to figure out how to connect family members with residents. Thanks to Ohmni for senior care, Elaine and her family are way ahead of the game. 

Ready to explore Ohmni for senior care? Click here to learn more and download the guide entitled Telepresence for Seniors: 9 Tips to Get Started.

About Robots4Good

A leading provider of robots as a service, Robots4Good is the exclusive supplier of OhmniLabs robots and services in Australia and New Zealand for business, manufacturing, schools, hospitals, disability and aged care settings.