What Others are Saying

My 84 year old mother has Alzheimer’s disease. Mum lives independently in an over 55’s retirement village interstate. She wears an Emergency Assist button “just in case”.

In September I visited Mum and found her ill with an acute bowel problem. Mum hadn’t told anyone she was unwell, or that she hadn’t eaten or drunk fluids for several days. This illness really hit home how fragile Mum was becoming.

I was due to travel overseas a few weeks later so I implemented some measures to assist Mum. One measure was a video phone from Konnekt which would allow me to use Skype with her and was also simple for Mum to use. I wanted to be able to see Mum when I was away as she had become very labile in her ability to inform family, friends and her GP when she had pain, or was feeling unwell.

When I left Australia, Mum was feeling okay. Three weeks later we spoke on the video phone and she said her abdominal pains had returned. Thankfully she had taken herself to see her GP that afternoon. Unfortunately, the x-ray procedure he ordered was not available for a week or so later and Mum was not able to inform him as he had gone home for the weekend. Subsequent Skype sessions over the weekend enabled me to visually check on Mum’s condition: she appeared stable.

I decided to call her via Skype early Monday morning Australian time to find out her exact x-ray appointment date so that I could ask her GP to push for it to be performed earlier. I have Mum’s video phone configured so if she doesn’t answer it opens up anyway, allowing me to see what is happening. On this occasion Mum didn’t answer and the video phone went to automatic opening just as she was coming into view. I could see she looked very unwell and was in obvious need of an ambulance. To cut a long story short, the video phone allowed me use my nursing skills to assess my Mum and determine that her bowel was possibly obstructed and that she was dehydrated. Due to her age and heart problems Mum was heading towards a potentially catastrophic event i.e. a cardiac arrest.

The video phone allowed me to observe my Mum and comfort her whilst waiting for the paramedics to arrive. It also allowed me to tell the paramedics what had happened as they assessed her before taking her to the Emergency Department. Mum was diagnosed with a bowel obstruction and was operated on that day.

If it was not for the Konnekt video phone assisting me to visualize my Mum, I am pretty certain my Mum would have died a very horrible death in her unit within 24-48 hours as her recent behaviour suggests she would not have told anyone how she felt.

— Cheryl Kolff, Judy’s Daughter / Retired Nurse

The Community Living Society (CLS) supports individuals with developmental disabilities or acquired brain injuries to live meaningful lives as full citizens. CLS manages multiple units and apartment blocks in Canada that house residents who live independently. Some residents also have other disabilities such as a mobility impairment, a hearing or speech impairment, or total deafness.

Residents were using an ancient pager system to request assistance from overnight support staff. The system only communicated who called. There was no effective way to assess the need quickly, prioritize when there were multiple callers, or avoid unnecessary visits.

Konnekt Videophones replaced the system, enabling a 2-way video connection between staff and supported individuals. Those with poor mobility can also make or answer calls using access switches. For those with a hearing disability, Videophone turns on lamps in other rooms when there’s an incoming call.

Now, the supported individuals can immediately see and talk to their overnight staff, they can communicate their need, and sometimes resolve the issue without a home visit. Supported individuals also hear from staff that they’re on their way or, if staff are busy with another task, that they’ll be on their way as soon as they can.

Individuals with hearing loss can use sign language or visual cards to communicate over the videophones, both with staff and with other people in their network such as parents, friends and neighbours.

Unlike the old pager system, staff can see that all the devices are online without needing to enter the supported individuals’ rooms. The best thing is that when someone calls, the staff can immediately see whether assistance is required and are able to prioritize care.

— Jody D., Assistive Technology Developer, CLS, Vancouver, Canada

Chris is a young man who recently moved out on his own for the first time. In his Community Living Society (CLS) apartment in Vancouver, Chris uses a Videophone to stay connected to his family and to talk with friends who are moving with him into neighboring apartments. The group shares the same excitement and worries, and are a great support to each other. The videophones, with their easy connection, enable these friends to chat easily between their apartments and help each other using their individual abilities and skills, while they learn to be more independent.

With his videophone, Chris can call Mum to ask how to make his favorite breakfast, or call his staff to ask what to do about a leaking pipe in the bathroom before it turns into an emergency. At night he has a button in bed that connects him to his Mum who lives a few blocks away. They can see and hear each other and, if Mum is unavailable, videophone can automatically call Chris’s support staff for assistance.

When I recently saw an advertisement in the November 2016 issue of RACV Royal Auto for Konnekt I made contact and after an informative and friendly  introduction by Natalie then got to meet the directors John and Karl.

Following discussions around getting my 90 year old mother June who is a resident at Uniting AgeWell Box Hill in touch with family and friends, we arranged the installation of a Konnekt Videophone in December 2016.

Konnekt did a wonderful job of managing the installation. They overcame some initial hurdles using their skills and communicating with UAW IT department. This ensured the smooth set up without my involvement.

June has been resident for 4 years and unable to make outgoing calls for over 3 years as she cannot press the buttons on her phone.

Now June just touches a 15 inch Videophone screen on the name of the person with whom she wishes to speak. This now puts her in control to communicate on a Face to Face meeting via simple and easy to use technology.

June now calls me most days and her overall wellbeing has improved out of sight in the past 3 months, as she can readily communicate with friends and family when she chooses. June has always been a fiercely independent person and this has given her back that independence.

This fantastic use of technology has given June the ability to regain her control over communication and not feel isolated or lonely. June has become a pioneer amongst her 120 strong community and we have introduced Konnekt to UAW to bring this technology within the reach of the rest of her community.

Thanks to the team at Konnekt for giving June her independence.

— Derek Clapton, Aged Care Volunteer and Son

It works really well. I talk to Mum nearly every day now. Sometimes while watching TV on iPad, I say Hi during an ad.

Below is an email trail to a few people including Andrew, the boss of my mother’s aged care facility, who loved it:

Good to catch up with you in Perth and again I must say I am very pleased with the care you and your staff are providing to my Mum June. Thank you.

I am sending you the link to the videophone website. As mentioned, I am very happy with it and I now call Mum almost daily, as do other family members.

https://www.konnekt.com.au

It auto answers and you can have names in very big letters for them to press. There is a buy or rent option.

I have been using it now for four months and it has worked very well. As you know my Mum, June would not be able to use a mobile phone or iPad. I use a dedicated Optus modem, but it would work well with existing Wi-Fi. You are welcome to use Mum’s to further test.

Dr Adeoye was also very interested in it and I mentioned I would be sending the details to you to pass on to him.

— Don Jones

I am delighted with your innovative product and very grateful for the improvements that I am already seeing in Norma (she has significant cognitive decline).

Our interactions are so much more enjoyable as I am able to distract her with interesting visuals, such as: “Look at this beautiful flower, what colour is it?”  She is able to answer simple questions such as this and I can see it giving her more confidence.

Or often I will commence the call with the cat on my lap so we immediately talk about the cat, and this really brings a smile to her face. These sound like small things but it also makes my interactions so much more meaningful and less frustrating.  I used to dread the phone calls to Norma but now I actually look forward to them. If she is in an agitated state, I will always have her favourite song ready to play as another distraction.

I believe my success lies in the efforts that I have put in to make these regular calls at the same time daily and to be creative with distractions.

Thanks again John for supplying the product that I thought I would have to invent!!

— Amanda Hill, daughter

I just wanted you to know how much I am enjoying using the Konnekt system to communicate with my mother. It has performed flawlessly. Although I am able to physically visit her four days a week, I no longer need to worry about seemingly simple things (is she drinking enough water or flossing her teeth) on the days that I cannot see her. Adequate water consumption has been a huge challenge for her and, understandably, the staff at her memory care facility is not able to monitor this as closely as I would like. Now, I can check on her progress and even prompt her to get another bottle out of the closet.

Her face just lights up when she gets a call. Seeing that brings a smile to my face as well. She enjoys reading to me and the Konnekt video calls provide her with social interaction that she would otherwise be lacking. It has brought me such peace of mind and has been an absolute blessing to us both. Thank you for developing this product AND for your amazing customer support while we setup the system!

Like many dementia patients, my mom’s mind is stuck in the past. She grew up in a very small rural town in Minnesota. I was fortunate to find some historical documentation and photos about the community as well as her family. They were immigrants from Sweden who settled there and established businesses in the 19th and 20th centuries. We also have family-written documentation to provide her with interesting and amusing anecdotal records. It is difficult to have casual conversations so I have her read this material to me then I can comment or ask questions which engages her.

One thing that I would like to make more clear for others that are considering your product is this: Mom’s dementia limits her comprehension to the point that she is not able to pick up a receiver or even push a button without someone telling her to do so. Konnekt has solved that problem with it’s auto-answer capability for selected contacts.

— Sandy Flohrs, MN USA