Vison Hall Retirement Community and Homes in McLean, Virginia Outside Washington D.C.

Over the past few months, Apartment 238 at Vinson Hall Retirement Community (VHRC) has been transformed into an “Innovative Model of Living,” an apartment that looks and behaves more like an upscale hotel room than your typical retirement unit. It is the tangible result of an idea that senior living spaces – given the right form, bold design, aesthetics and new technology -- can continue to be highly functional and safe, but provide a major improvement over traditional spaces.

The Innovative Model of Living (IML) is a collaborative effort between VHRC and design expert Moira Leite of M. Quinn Designs. Leite, with her “Beautiful Accessibility” concepts, brought to the project many years of professional experience in planning, designing and retrofitting homes to meet the functional needs of her clients while applying elegant decorating techniques.

Facts About the Innovative Model of Living

• All features of the IML are designed to be as cost effective as possible. Almost nothing is custom made; rather its components are available through retail channels that anyone can access. Leite bought some of the materials at local discount stores and even one or two items on Craigslist.
• The space features nine different colors of lighting – both fluorescent and incandescent - each one specially chosen for its location and its ability to illuminate areas that might be difficult for people with vision impairments to discern.
• The IML features a “channeling kitchen,” that enables a resident to move food – such as a heavy pot -- to all areas without having to lift it.
• Colors were chosen to ensure that transitions from one part of the unit to another were easily distinguished by someone with visual impairment.
• All window shades can be raised and lowered with a remote control device
• All refrigerator controls are in the front of the unit.   Only four models of refrigerators are sold in that configuration. It also features a larger interior space than normal.
• A Murphy Bed that raises out of the way to provide more space
• The room features two power-lift easy chairs that can be raised electronically to enable a person with disabilities to get up from the chair easily.
• A remote-control garbage can opens with a wave of the hand. 

For more information about M. Quinn Designs, you can contact Ms. Leite by telephone at (703) 354-6359 or by email at LeiteMAQ@mindspring.com.

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Assistive Technology in Healthcare

AFrame Digital, Inc., a company that develops unique wireless healthcare monitoring products and services, has partnered with Vinson Hall Retirement Community to give our residents access to technology that will help protect their health and safety twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, as they enjoy the freedom of movement throughout our community.

AFrame Digital’s device, an attractive wristwatch, provides continuing care communities with a wireless sensor network that communicates with staff members. The wristwatch includes a button that discreetly alerts caregivers to provide assistance if needed, while reporting the resident’s location to optimize response time. The wristwatch also detects impacts that could be an indicator of falls, which alerts staff to check on the status of a resident. Other personalized models of the wristwatch can also monitor physiological vital signs, such as a resident’s temperature, heart rate and blood oxygen levels—while they are engaged in their daily activities. The system maintains a silent vigil and automatically and continuously charts a resident’s status.

 AFrame’s technology, in monitoring the health and safety of residents, acts as a preventative care program as it can potentially alert staff to more serious problems and allow them to respond faster. An appealing outcome of  AFrame’s  technology is the extension of one's independence, allowing individuals to remain in independent living environments for longer periods of time.

AFrame believes that their new technology will be the new standard of care in long term care facilities. And Vinson Hall Retirement Community continues its tradition of leadership in adopting and embracing new capabilities that benefit the health and wellness of its residents and the peace of mind of their families.

Vinson Hall is also collaborating with AFrame Digital, Inc. in leading edge research in gait stability and fall prevention—a field for which AFrame has been recognized and awarded contracts by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

For more information on AFrame Digital, Inc. and their work with assistive technology and remote monitoring, log onto www.aframedigital.com.

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The World In Your Ear

Though they come from different backgrounds, the two co-founders of Linked Senior have a similar mission: to enhance the lives of senior citizens in retirement communities and senior centers by providing them with a better access to entertainment.

Inspired by the fact that today’s technologies can be used as a means to facilitate and improve access to one’s hobbies or passions, the Linked Senior team has developed a new type of entertainment for seniors. The service offers an ergonomic and user-friendly personal entertainment device loaded with personalized and renewable content. It is composed of an automated kiosk that distributes audio content into a hand-held player. The available content ranges from audio books, talk shows, music, news, cooking lessons, games and much more—all of which can be enjoyed anytime, anywhere and can be played, paused and started again at the user’s convenience.

In September of 2007, the founders of Linked Senior collaborated with Vinson Hall Retirement Community in the development of a pilot program to provide their product to our residents. Several residents have used the Linked Senior kiosk to load content to their personalized devices, and are enjoying listening to their favorite books in their apartments, learning Spanish while walking on the treadmill in our fitness center and listening to music while walking or waiting in lines at stores.

Given the characteristics of their targeted population, the Linked Senior team has focused a lot of attention on developing a product that assists individuals with low vision, hearing problems and muscular restrictions. For example, the screen of the kiosk shows high contrasts with black characters on a yellow background. The size of the font is adjustable and sound assistance can be heard while the user browses from one page to another. Linked Senior has collaborated with leaders in the assistive technology field to provide easy to use and elder-friendly tools that are accessible to all.

Linked Senior was founded in Washington, DC, in May of 2007. Both owners have unique backgrounds and experience in IT, management, content management and knowledge of the Senior Facility industry.

To learn more about this wonderful program, please visit www.LinkedSenior.com.

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Himmelfarb Mobile University

As part of our lifelong learning initiative, Vinson Hall has collaborated with Himmelfarb Mobile University to provide our residents with opportunities to participate in college-like classes right here on our campus. All classes are taught by volunteers—retired professors and professionals from a variety of fields.

Rosa Weinstein, founder and director of Himmelfarb Mobile University, first came to Vinson Hall in September of 2007. Her initial presentation was on ‘The History of the Wife’, which was well attended and well received by many Vinson Hall residents. Since that time, she has facilitated 3 more classes, with increased attendance at each presentation. Other residents in our community attended a music appreciation class, and several more classes will be scheduled throughout 2008.

Created in 1989, under the sponsorship of the Paul and Annetta Himmelfarb Foundation, the program has brought learning opportunities to thousands of ‘students’ at retirement homes and to participants in senior activity programs. In 2002, Mrs. Weinstein was named “Washingtonian of the Year” by the Washingtonian Magazine, and was honored by WETA-TV as a “Hometown Hero” for bringing classes to elders at nursing and retirement homes.

Subject matter for the classes is wide-ranging, from the history of man to the history of candy. Some classes are serious, some light-hearted—but they are all educational, entertaining and interactive. Students are encouraged to participate and to incorporated their experiences into class discussions.

To learn more about the Himmelfarb Mobile University, or if you are interested in volunteering, contact the Jewish Social Service Agency of Metropolitan Washington at (301) 816-2630 or log onto www.jssa.org.

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