CallGenie is a video telephone designed specifically for the elderly and disabled. It is regularly installed in private homes and care facilities by families to help reduce the social isolation of loved ones who are challenged by technology. It is particularly useful for people who have family members that can’t visit them regularly and who may be living a long distance away, possibly in another country or even on another continent.
Benefits of Installing CallGenie in a Care Facility
There are many benefits of installing CallGenie for an elderly or disabled person in a care facility. Here are a few:
- Keeping in contact with family members and sharing experiences with them
- Inclusion in family events (e.g. religious festivals, birthday celebrations, weddings etc.)
- Communication between family members and the carers and practitioners looking after their loved on.
However, there is a reluctance in some care facilities to allow CallGenie systems to be installed in residents’ rooms due to the webcam that is attached to the CallGenie system.
We understand that is not nice for a care professional to feel that they are being watched by someone remotely, while they are working. This was never, and never will be, a use case intended for CallGenie. In fact, we will do what ever we can to protect the privacy of carers, as they provide an extremely valuable service to the families, looking after their loved ones. At the same time, we hope that carers will come to appreciate the benefits of their residents using CallGenie, a vital communication tool to keep them connected with their families and friends.
Therefore, we would like to explain what CallGenie does and what it doesn’t do, so we can put their minds at rest.
What CallGenie does
- CallGenie automatically answers Skype video calls, on behalf of the resident, without the need for any interaction on their part. The calls are displayed on the resident’s television.
- When CallGenie detects an incoming Skype call it turns the television on (if it’s not already on), and then switches the input to itself, for the duration of the call. At the end of the call, it returns the television to its original state.
- Skype is configured to only answer calls from authorised family and friends.
- Skype is the only application on the CallGenie system that has access to the webcam.
- The webcam will only ever be enabled by an incoming Skype call. As long as the television is never completed powered off, you’ll be able to tell if the webcam is enabled by:
- a Skype call being displayed on the the television, and
- a light illuminated on the front of the webcam.
What CallGenie doesn’t do
- It won’t answer calls from anyone that is not in the user’s contact list.
- There is no way for family members to access the webcam, other than by making a Skype video call.
Recommendations
For the family:
- Ask the care home for permission to install CallGenie in your loved one’s room. You will need their permission to connect it to their WiFi network, anyway.
- Send the care facility manager a link to this page so they can educate their staff on how CallGenie works and how to work in harmony with it.
- Make sure all your family are aware of what times of day not to make a video call (e.g. meal times and when your loved one is usually receiving personal care).
- Educate everyone to hang up immediately if a carer asks them to do so.
For the care facility:
- Educate your staff on how CallGenie works so they aren’t suspicious of the webcam
- Educate your staff of the benefits to the resident’s wellbeing by having regular video calls with family and friends
- Help them understand the benefits for them to have video calls with the family when health and care issues need to be discussed in front of the resident.
- Tell your staff to politely ask any caller to hang up if they call at inappropriate time.
For Smart Life Solutions:
- Develop solutions to make it easier for carers to disable incoming calls when they are providing care to the resident
- Develop solutions to enable family members to enter the ‘Do Not Disturb’ times when CallGenie shouldn’t accept incoming calls.
- Be receptive to feature requests from both the care facility and the family to make callGenie work well for both parties.
