Imagine! launching plans for new SmartHome

LAFAYETTE – Imagine!, a Lafayette-based nonprofit that offers support to people with physical, developmental and health-related challenges, is launching plans to build a new group home fitted with SmartHome technology, designed to enable independent living for those with disabilities.

If fundraising efforts are successful, the home is expected to be complete by March 2008.

SmartHome technology integrates technology to perform a variety of tasks, which reduces or eliminates environmental barriers that hinder independent living. Through the use of tools such as autosensors, temperature controls, motion sensors, switches, simple speech devices and medication-delivering software, residents and their caregivers can enjoy a new sense of freedom and security.

“Our house will increase an individual’s health and safety and increase their level of independence,´ said Greg Wellems, director of the innovations department at Imagine!. “The technology allows them to perform tasks that we take for granted.”

For those with limited mobility, such as the wheelchair-bound, SmartHome technology can bring control over their environment. In the kitchen, the technology could allow them to adjust the countertop to an appropriate level to perform specific tasks, or to turn on water through motion controls. In the bedroom, they could turn down the lights, adjust the temperature and turn on the stereo and television with switches on their wheelchair.

The technology also provides a way to talk to family and friends.

From a health and safety standpoint, the technology can offer improvements in a way that is sensitive to a person’s needs and sense of privacy. A nurse who might not be at the same location as the patient still could monitor vital signs. For people who cannot easily communicate how they are feeling, this technology could help caregivers to detect changes in the patient’s physical status, Wellems said. It also makes it easier for residents to call a caregiver when needed.

Imagine! plans to replace its group home located at 1806 Iris Ave. with a new home that incorporates the SmartHome technology. The current home is 50 years old and does not meet the nonprofit’s standards of care, Wellems said. The new home will house eight residents.

“The cost-effectiveness of the technology and the homes means that it just makes sense economically – we can serve more people more efficiently,´ said Fred Hobbs, director of communications and marketing for Imagine! In an era where funding for many social services continues to be in jeopardy, it is in everyone’s best interest to find out the most cost-effective way to provide services, and we think the SmartHome is a model for that approach.”

Imagine! has partnered with the Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities, whose mission is to catalyze and integrate advances in science, engineering and technology to promote the quality of life and independent living of people with cognitive disabilities. The Coleman Institute will help Imagine! access the technical talent from the University of Colorado, nationally and internationally to help with the development and operation of the home.

“There is a tremendous demand for residential services for people with developmental disabilities in Boulder County and Colorado, in fact throughout the U.S.,´ said David Braddock, executive director of the Coleman Institute.

The challenge now and in the future is to recruit and retain competent and caring support staff personnel, Braddock said.

“The wages have been so low for so long that turnover is high,” he said. “Technology is a partial contribution to solving this problem. There are some things that only human beings can do, but many other things can utilize technology to provide the appropriate monitoring and support.”

The Imagine! Foundation is the fundraising arm of Imagine! and will have the primary responsibility of raising funds for the new home.

According to Susan LaHoda, executive director of the foundation, it will be seeking funds from several different avenues. It has applied to the city of Boulder Housing Fund Program for a $400,000 grant and hopes to know the outcome of the application in September. Imagine! also will be doing local fundraising with corporations, individuals and grants.

“Because we live in such a technology-rich area, we believe there will be a lot of interest in the SmartHome from our corporate neighbors,” LaHoda said.

According to LaHoda, the SmartHome will be the focus of the foundation’s fundraising efforts for the next year or two.

Wellems estimates the cost of the home to be between $1 and $1.5 million, depending on the technology they end up using. “When you are designing this kind of house, you shoot for the moon in terms of technology,” he said. “Once we have our budget, we can scale back.”

The organization hopes to break ground on the house in 12 to 18 months, and have it completed in March 2008. The staff at Imagine! hopes the work on the new SmartHome could be a model for similar homes in Colorado and nationwide.

How SmartHome Techology Works

_ Sensing, storing and transmitting health and activity information using digital technologies. Examples: Track medicine administration; weigh non-ambulatory individuals in bed to determine healthy weight.

_ Detect behavioral cues for changes in individual’s cognitive and physical condition. Examples: Devices to monitor individual’s balance, mobility; sensor devices to alert caregiver if individual leaves home without assistance.

_ Enhance residents’ social networks and independence. Examples: Residents communicate with friends, family, staff through video conference equipment.

_ Support development of new personal skills. Examples: Kitchen countertops to adjust to wheelchair height; appliances like a cooktop that only turns on for those wearing specific electronic device so they operate it safely; prompting screens in home to help individuals learn daily living skills.

_ Regulate ambient conditions in environment. Examples: Wheelchair-bound residents can control lighting, telephone, security, heating/cooling without relying on staff.
Source: Imagine!

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