Alarm.com, SafetyCare offer high-tech PERS

MCLEAN, Va. and READING, Pa.--Alarm.com and SafetyCare on Aug. 12 announced a partnership to offer a Web-based PERS monitoring system that allows family members and/or caregivers to stay “virtually connected” with patients or family members. The system, called EMT Link Plus, uses Alarm.com’s wireless and Web-based monitoring technology to allow caregivers to remotely log-in via the Web using a computer or PDA device to check in on the monitored home. The system can send caregivers email or cell phone alerts when predetermined activities occur or do not occur. “This partnership with Alarm.com allows our dealers and partners the ability to tie in family members through the Web-portal, so now we can both answer the emergency call for the user as well as provide a vehicle for the connected caregiver,” said Mike Bodnar, general manager for SafetyCare. The system is monitored by SafetyCare’s EMT-trained operators and distributed through SafetyCare’s dealer network. In addition to alerts, caregivers can also install an optional video monitoring system that enables authorized individuals to monitor the home in real time via live camera feeds as well as receive video clips of triggered activities. “This is really a tool for a loved one to look in on mom or dad and a way to stay connected in terms of their activities,” said Bodnar. “It also gives them the ability, if there is a desire, to look in with a camera and be reassured that everything is okay.” While many PERS companies market to users of PERS services, Alarm.com and SafetyCare instead are directly targeting caregivers. “Our [marketing] approach is different,” said Pete Celano, vice president of assistive technology for Alarm.com. “We’re aiming at the Sandwich generation. We believe there’s an army of people out there who demand that we meet them where they are, which is on the Web. That’s the biggest difference.”