FineThanx Community Blog

2010-07-02T15:44:00.002-04:00

Founding Member of Aging Technology Alliance

2010-06-25T11:36:00.006-04:00

FineThanx is proud to be founding members of the Aging Technology Alliance.

Vision:
We promote the awareness, benefits and value of products and services for our aging society while directly benefiting our members by evolving into the world’s leading aging-focused technology consortium.

How Does FineThanx Work- The Details

2010-04-30T12:59:00.002-04:00

All listed calls below will be a pair of calls if 2 numbers have been provided.

A call goes out to a Loved One at scheduled time:

If #1 is pressed that means all is well, and an email is sent to each member of the Care Circle informing them their Loved One is OK.

If the Loved One does not answer the call, then 30 minutes later the Loved One is called a second time. If there is still no response we wait another 30 minutes, and try one last time.

If your Loved One presses #2 or has been unreachable after the 3 attempts (over the course of one hour) then FineThanx will alert the Care Circle by calling the first person in the Care Circle.

If first person in Care Circle is unreachable or presses #2 we will contact the 2nd person right away, if they are unreachable or presses #2 we will contact the 3rd person in the Care Circle. If no one is reachable or agrees to follow-up by pressing #1 then FineThanx waits 10 minutes, and then repeats the process again. We do this a total of 3 times.

At any point a Care Circle member agrees to follow-up, an email, and text message (if enabled) goes out to everyone in the Care Circle letting them know the status. If no one has agreed to follow-up we also email, and text the Care Circle letting everyone know that there is a problem.

PRESS RELEASE

2010-04-30T12:47:00.004-04:00

June 10, 2010

SARASOTA FL - A unique new service is being launched to help   elder care professionals stay close to their clients, provide a new   service unlike their competitors,' earn extra income, and know when a client is in trouble.

It's called FineThanx, and it's available to home health care   agencies, care managers, medical professionals, and independent living   facilities. Besides helping them market their own services, it provides a  fresh flow of income to the sponsoring agency.    

Here's how it works: FineThanx makes twice daily phone calls to  check on the well-being of the aging person or other client. The  automated system says, "If you are OK, press 1. If you need assistance, press 2."  If the client requests assistance, or doesn't answer, after repeated calls  within 60 minutes, the service notifies its sponsoring home health   agency, care manager, medical professional, or independent living facility.   Additionally, the sponsor can be kept informed of clients' status via   email. So the sponsor can be constantly in touch with each client. "It's  important to note," says FineThanx, "that the system gets help for a client  even if  they do nothing, even if they don't press '1' or '2.'"    

It's totally flexible. When numbers and call times need to be  changed, FineThanx makes the changes. The new service - which requires no   machines, no pendants, no bracelets - can work alone or with a panic   button installation.    

"The sponsoring agency gets multiple benefits," comments Peter  Scharff, CEO. "It's providing a valuable service to clients, keeping   connected with the clients, adding income, and extending its penetration   further into the community while differentiating itself from the   competition. For all potential sponsors, the new service "is a wonderful  way to get and keep clients," Mr. Scharff commented.    

The FineThanx system is flexible enough to fit situations where   clients live in an independent living facility or at home. In either   case, the system keeps caregivers connected to their clients.   

It requires no equipment and no installation and is quick and easy to start and stop.  

PRESS RELEASE

2010-04-30T12:46:00.002-04:00

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

In a new system, telephone calls twice a day find out how an aging loved one is doing. Then the system reports back the good news or bad.

   It’s called “FineThanx,” which is the answer everyone hopes to get to the check-in calls (www.finethanx.com)

   The system makes it possible to get help by doing nothing.

   Its developers are rolling the system out throughout the U.S. beginning this month from their headquarters in Sarasota, FL.

   Peace of mind is what the father-and-daughter team who created FineThanx are offering clients. The idea for the business stemmed from a personal experience they wish others won’t have to go through. “My grandmother fell when she was 99, on a Wednesday, and lay on the floor until Friday morning when the housekeeper came and found her,” said Peter Scharff, one of the developers of FineThanx.

   To avoid situations such as these, Scharff and his daughter, Rachel, came up with an automated phone service that checks in on clients once or twice daily.

   If no one answers, or if a client needs assistance, the system immediately calls a “care circle” of people who can seek care for the client.

   If the client is fine, the system sends reassuring e-mail messages to the client’s families, friends or health care professionals.

   “I looked around realized there were very few systems like this, that are quite low-tech,” Scharff said. “It’s a way for a non-threatening, friendly, reaching out to say hello. And if they are OK, then we move on, and if they are not we alert the family and let them know that there might be a problem.”


   FineThanx charges $34.95 a month for the service. There is a seven-day free trial period.

   It’s an affordable and non-technical way to check on an aging relative, minus complicated devices, Rachel Scharff said. This is what sets the FineThanx service apart from other emergency care response services such as alarm buttons which people often don’t wear or can’t press in case of a fall or other accident. So the new system can work by itself or as a supplement to a panic button.

   To sign up, go to www.finethanx.com. After that, all one needs for the service is a phone, Peter Scharff added. That means a lot to the elderly who may not want to learn how to work new devices.

   “Many people don’t want technology in their homes. They are scared of it,” Peter Scharff said. “And there’s a dollar issue. People who may be living on a small fixed income don’t want to spend a lot of money.”

   The Scharffs may be on to something. A 2006 study of telephone surveillance of elderly patients living alone in Canada saw that regular phone contact reduced use of home care services, and led to an overall decrease of health and public services costs, according to the journal Health and Quality of Life Outcomes. The study also cited a high satisfaction rate among the users of a telephone contact service and a decreased psychological burden on caregivers.

   After reviewing other types of emergency care response systems, Rachel Scharff said FineThanx’s phone system makes sense.

   “There is no equipment. It supplements panic buttons. You can get help by doing nothing.”

   FineThanx is headquartered at 1990 Main St., Suite 750, Sarasota FL 34236. Telephone 941-306-4848. Email info@finethanx.com.


MEDIA CONTACT: Ronald Smith, JournalistPR LLC, journalistpr@gmail.com. Telephone 888-730-6630.

2010-04-22T11:26:00.008-04:00