Roberta and Amy are a dynamic and delightful mother-daughter duo. Roberta is 87 years young and, though she is in good physical health, she is experiencing difficulties with her memory. After 50 years in a single-family home, Roberta moved into an independent living facility two years ago. The transition into the community was smooth for Roberta and she quickly grew to love her new surroundings.

However, as Roberta faced a new set of daily routines, Amy found herself making frequent and repetitive phone calls to remind her mother of everyday health and wellness tasks as well as social activities.

Roberta’s memory loss made it difficult for her to recall and act on important dates, upcoming community events and healthy living habits. In addition to phone calls, Amy posted notes throughout Roberta’s residence to provide a visual cue for important reminders, but found that each note had less and less impact with time.
After learning about LifePod through Roberta’s independent living facility, Amy quickly signed on with the goal of providing her mother with as much independence as possible.

Getting Started with LifePod

LifePod’s intuitive design and minimal learning curve resulted in a swift path to success for both Roberta and Amy. After an introduction to LifePod’s Caregiver Portal, Amy customized multiple routines to meet her mother’s daily needs.

“The Portal is super easy! It’s very easy to put in routines.”

Now, each morning, LifePod greets Roberta with the date and time to help her get started before asking her how she slept that night. Later, reminders to hydrate and take time to breathe contribute to Roberta’s overall wellness while a prompt to listen to today’s weather keeps her informed.

Amy has also leveraged LifePod to maintain Roberta’s connection with old friends and family. She puts in reminders for birthdays, anniversaries and big life events – anything she knows her mom would prioritize and hold dear. In addition, Amy includes a weekly prompt to encourage Roberta to call her loved ones.

Roberta’s routines also keep her informed of and participating in the goings-on within her independent living community. Reminders of upcoming events, such as lectures, enriching entertainment and hair appointments, are scheduled into Roberta’s daily routines, empowering her to lead her day-to-day life independently.

Personalizing LifePod

LifePod takes the physical form of a smart speaker device; however, for many users, it seems to transcend this by becoming an extension of a caregiver’s support. Through the customization of routines, LifePod’s prompts can be phrased to convey warmth and familiarity.

Amy has achieved this by personalizing Roberta’s routines to include familiar and encouraging names and phrases.

LifePod reminder: “Amy thinks it would be so nice if you called one of your friends who doesn’t live [with you] just to say hello.”

Including her own name in the routine gives Amy the ability to care for her mother without having to be there in person while motivating Roberta to take action knowing that it is her loved one, not a smart speaker, asking her to do so.

LifePod’s Impact on Quality of Life

Amy aim is to provide her mother with the highest quality of life possible through a multitude of steps, including her decision to use LifePod. In addition to the positive impact Amy believes LifePod is having on Roberta’s life, she is sure that LifePod has reduced the number of phone calls Amy has to make to remind her mother of tasks and events. Moreover, since installing LifePod, Amy has removed the Post-It notes from her mom’s residence. In effect, having LifePod has relieved Amy of the burden of feeling like a “nag” to her mom.

LifePod has also helped Amy. Thanks to the daily email reports, Amy has greater peace of mind knowing that she has more information about her mother’s overall wellbeing that would otherwise require multiple, daily contact points. Roberta’s responses to LifePod routines are noted in the report, which provides invaluable insight into her wellness, whereabouts and engagement.

“I get peace of mind through the daily email reports.”

Though LifePod does not replace Amy’s invaluable role in Roberta’s life, it does provide both mother and daughter with a sense of connection and confidence as Roberta maintains her independent lifestyle.