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St. John’s Lutheran Community has installed a new remote patient monitoring system with their tenants’ approval that they hope will help increase the care for those who live in their memory care unit, The Meadows.

CEO and Administrator Shanna Eckberg said remote patient monitoring has been around for 30 to 40 years when doctors called patients to check in on how they are doing and has advanced as time has gone on.

The Zemplee system uses artificial intelligence to track data, such as temperature, blood pressure and heart rate, while also tracking movements captured through sensors in the individual’s apartment.

Eckberg said they liked all of the components of the system. There are no cameras, and it is all sensor-based..

She said she knew St. John’s found the right partner with Zemplee because its CEO and founder, who lives in California, created it to be a remote caregiver for her parents, who live in India.

St. John’s wanted to start the technology out with their assisted living in The Meadows, where there is a manageable number of people, to look at things like how residents are sleeping and how they can best provide care for them, she said.

“It does not replace staff,” she said. “It’s just a tool to support them and to avoid them maybe needing to go to the doctor as frequently.”

Brandy Boettcher, assisted living director for St. John’s, said there is a hub in each apartment, and small movement sensors on the wall as well as the front door, the bathroom door and the medicine cabinet. The sensors collect data such as how often someone leaves their door open, how often someone goes to the restroom and how long someone is sitting in their chair versus being up and about.

Boettcher said the system creates a baseline for each resident so when there is an abnormality, it shows up right away.

The program is one that residents have to opt-in to participate in, and currently there are 17 residents utilizing it. Residents already were having regular vitals taken, so those things were not new to them, and the sensors are so small that most don’t notice.

The residents are under the care of Twin Cities Physicians for the technology, who work hand-in-hand with the staff at the senior care facility and who make regular visits to the campus.

Eckberg and Boettcher said St. John’s is still in its beta phase after installation in September and the system started running in October and November. Eckberg said the artificial intelligence has to learn for six to eight weeks about the individual, and after that point it will be able to figure out variances to that person’s typical vitals and behaviors.

“The patterns will help us know our people better,” Boettcher said.

The women said the families of the participating residents are excited to see more about it as the technology continues to unfold. If a family member comes to them and says that their loved one seems to be acting different, they can dig into the data more and try to provide a more holistic approach to their care.

“I’m a firm believer that it is going to continue to help reduce the amount of visits to the ER,” Eckberg said. “When we notice things about people, we’ll be able to address them quicker.

When they’re getting sick, we’re going to know — heart rate is up and all those things. It’s really to do a better job of caring for our residents.”

Registered nurse Kathlene Tiegs said it is great to be able to monitor someone without watching them over their shoulder all the time, especially for memory care residents who may get more anxious or confused with people disrupting their day.

Eckberg said she is also excited about the potential the technology could have in the broader community as part of the St. John’s recent Connected Communities grant.

“We’d like to see if there’s potential in the community to utilize this same product and support seniors in their home,” she said.