Frequently Asked Questions

envoyatHome is a remote elderly monitoring system that finds unseen behaviors that might put a person at safety or wellness risk while they’re home alone. As the risk behavior is happening, the system sends a text or voice notification to a team of caregivers, so they can intervene before an emergency occurs.

envoyatHome answers the question “Is my loved one ok RIGHT NOW?” with 24 hour, 7 day a week full time remote monitoring that finds risky behavior while it’s happening, and notifies a caregiver team immediately.

We also answer the question “How can I keep my older adult living independently longer?” by reporting subtle changes in behavior that may be indicative of safety, wellness, or cognitive issues that can be addressed if you know about them!

We help caregivers overcome the “assume everything is ok until it isn’t” caregiving strategy so caregivers and their supporters can intervene as early as possible to introduce safety measures, new treatments, or more help to keep the care recipient living independently for as long as possible.

First and foremost, we built envoyatHome for caregivers of at-risk people who live independently, in assisted living with little supervision, or live with others but spend periods of time alone when the rest of the family is at work or school.

Responsibility for a loved one aging in place can be a rewarding, yet at the same time a stressful, expensive, and frustrating experience. There’s only so much yoga class, self-care, and outside help that we can afford or have the time to do.

envoyatHome was designed from scratch for caregivers. Everything from the user experience, operation, product support, and product features is caregiver-centric.

We know one of the highest barriers to caregiver peace of mind is objections to solutions by the care recipient. The health care industry calls this “the reluctant older adult.”

This reluctance can come from many places. It can be a result of dementias or cognitive issues, pride, not wanting to appear needy, or even the fear of losing one’s independence if impairments are discovered.

We took this phenomenon into account too, making it easier for a caregiver to achieve peace of mind with respect for a care recipient’s privacy, dignity, independence, and autonomy.

We can help with strategies for overcoming the objections of reluctant older adults – just give us a call. Your peace of mind and their well-being is worth it.

Our software transforms simple motion sensor output into clinically relevant human behavior. 

Here’s how it works. Motion sensors placed in the home send us data – on, off, on, off. We transform that simple on / off data into clinically important  human behavior, then compare it to your customized care plan to determine whether that behavior is a risk. We call this output Behavior Data.

Why do we use the term “clinically important?” Because the behavior we discover, report, and analyze is not only important to you, it could be important to your loved one’s doctor too.

When envoyatHome recognizes a behavior that your care plan determined to be a risk, our app notifies you immediately – as it’s happening.

Additionally, envoyatHome is constantly analyzing the behavior data, so that you can tap a button in the app to generate a behavior report. These insights give you the full landscape of behavior against your care concerns, including any changes in behavior you might want to address. You’ll see even the most subtle changes over time, helping you to make better care decisions.

We like to say “caregiving made smarter” for a reason. While we use smart home sensors in our solution, we use them to make YOU smarter, not the house. Your care decisions matter.

From the caregiver point of view, envoyatHome is personalized for your specific care concerns – an older adult’s risky behaviors that concern you or desirable behaviors that give you peace of mind – each is equally important!

• Toileting and bathroom concerns
• Morning wake and evening retire concerns
• Safety and risks around hazards like stairs, thresholds, basements, attics, garages
• Nutrition and hydration concerns via access to fridge, freezer, cabinets, drawers
• Social isolation concerns
• Sleep concerns
• Physical inactivity, physical overactivity, sedentary behavior concerns
• Exercise and activity concerns
• Wandering, pacing, and elopement concerns (clinical criteria as determined by your clinician)
• Day/Night confusion
• Leaving home and returning home routines
• Home temperature extremes with optional sensors
• Window or door open with optional sensors
• Water leak with optional sensors
• Remote control of door locks with optional, compatible locks. (Remotely unlock a door for a neighbor or first responder, or unlock a door for a senior who’s forgotten their keys!)
• Remote control of garage door with optional, compatible automation
• Eating (via cabinet or fridge access)
• Hydration (via access to cabinets or fridge)

Unlike some other remote senior monitoring solutions, envoyatHome is delivered to you with the full capability to monitor and report for over 35 care concerns. You can personalize the care plan for as many or as few care concerns as you like, and change your care plan at any time.

According to research by the New England Journal of Medicine and others, at 40% behavior is the most significant determinant of health – medicine is only 10%! Understanding an individual’s behavior, especially while they’re home alone, is a powerful indicator of risks to safety, wellness, cognitive wellness, and gaps in their capability to live independently.

Caregivers and clinicians have the tools to intervene when a behavior puts an individual at risk. But we can only intervene when we know the behavior exists! And especially for older adults just beginning a cognitive journey, behavior in the presence of loved ones can be very different from when they’re alone. 

Here are some real envoyatHome client examples:

• If an individual is wandering at night, a clinician may be able to treat insomnia
• If we see increased frequency of bathroom visits, a clinician can test for a UTI
• An individual who typically starts their day around 8AM but hasn’t arisen by 8:45AM may be in distress
• A resident who hovers by the front door for hours after his caregiver leaves for the day may benefit from a clinical check and treatment for anxiety

Passive Behavior Discovery is why envoyatHome is so much more powerful than location trackers (Mom is in the kitchen, Mom is in the bathroom) or panic buttons that rely on an older adult in distress to exercise sound judgment, or even fall detectors that can’t see behind walls or furniture.

The bottom line – behavior gives caregivers and clinicians the power to take action – action to help to keep people living independently longer.

We know you worry about elderly falls. We do too. Nothing makes a family caregiver feel more helpless than the thought of a loved one in the fog of an emergency – overwhelmed, injured, or worse yet, incapacitated. Alone.

As of today there are 3 technologies on the market that claim to address the concerns of caregivers – wearable devices, fixed devices attached to walls, and passive monitors like envoyatHome.

Here’s how envoyatHome is different:

• When you give your loved one an emergency button, you’re transferring responsibility for recognizing, identifying, and judging what constitutes an emergency to them. Where cognitive or memory issues are a factor, this may not be a good bet. We don’t rely on the elderly adult to make these judgements. Our software is on the job 24×7.
• We eliminate older adult compliance challenges with wearables. Unlike a pendant or bracelet, there’s nothing to wear, charge, misplace, forget, or engage. To your loved one, we’re utterly forgettable in all the right ways! Wearables only work when they’re worn – especially for people on a cognitive or memory journey, or for proud older adults who don’t want to appear needy, or for those who find it inconvenient to wear it without exception, wearables present compliance challenges. 
• Expensive devices affixed to walls, single use fall detectors offer peace of mind for the spaces they can reach. Many require AC power (so forget about that staircase) and cannot see around corners or through large pieces of furniture. In many cases it is financially impractical or physically impossible to eliminate dangerous blind spots in a living space, for example, between the bed and a wall or in a bathroom.

Passive monitoring overcomes all these disadvantages while offering benefits that other technologies cannot.

• envoyatHome’s software monitor works with motion sensors. Motion sensors are inexpensive and don’t require electricity, so they can be placed almost anywhere, even in garages, on staircases, and in the nooks and crannies of bathrooms. Unlike expensive AC powered, wall mounted devices, danger has fewer places to hide with envoyatHome. While its not the sensors that make the envoyatHome magic (its our patented software) their flexibility means fewer compromises or risks.
• envoyatHome’s goal, in addition to immediate notification of an older adult in distress, is to help caregivers avoid risk, danger, and distress proactively. We immediately alert caregivers to behaviors, activities, and routines – wandering aimlessly in the middle of the night, staying too long in the bathroom, picking up the newspaper on the front steps but not coming back inside – situations that may indicate your loved one needs help. So you can address the conditions that lead to falls before an emergency.
• And if your loved one is the victim of a fall or any situation that causes unexpected immobility at home, our technology can immediately recognize this situation as abnormal and alert you in minutes based on criteria that YOU define. This means fewer false alarms that compromise both confidence and compliance. 
• Best of all, we let you know when everything is normal too. So you don’t have to just assume they’re ok until they’re not.

Elderly falls aren’t the only safety concern for family caregivers. envoyatHome monitors for over 35 different risky behaviors, unexpected activities, and abnormal routines when they’re home alone.

envoyatHome is delivered with everything you need for full, comprehensive digital caregiving. You’ll receive 8 sensors, an internet hub, and the envoyatHome app to download for as many caregivers as you like.

We include all the services you need for installation, personalization, and ongoing support for the life of your subscription. 

Our standard equipment package is ideal for an average sized home or apartment. All you need is internet service, an empty port on your loved one’s home router, and power for the hub.

Also included is all the service and support you’ll need to get the system up and running. We include virtual installation services, an expert by your side to build your care plan, and access to support via email or phone for the life of your subscription to envoyatHome.

Service is delivered by a human, not by an AI bot. Answering your questions personally is important to us.

envoyatHome uses small, white, smart home motion sensors that are inconspicuous, discreet, and easily blend with any decor. They securely affix to surfaces with residential grade “no damage when removed” double sided tape product, much like you would affix holiday decorations.

We work closely with every envoyatHome family to understand their individual needs. Our standard equipment package provides enough sensors for a typical home. Extra sensors may be required for larger homes or unusual layouts. 

Our mission is to make full time care affordable and accessible for almost everyone. You’ll pay a fee for envoyatHome equipment only once, then a monthly subscription fee for the service.

In some cases we find that, after the initial installation, additional sensors or an internet range extender would be beneficial. In this situation, there are equipment charges after the initiation purchase.

Our transparent pricing is outlined on the How it Works tab. Use the navigation buttons at the top of this page.

Or give us a call any time. 

Contact us! We’ll help you find a local distributor or if prefer, you can subscribe directly from envoyatHome.

Our top priority is caregiver peace of mind. Call us, email us, or use any of the “Click to Get Started” buttons to schedule a time to briefly speak. We’ll ask you a few questions about your caregiving priorities and your loved one’s residence. We’ll confirm internet access, ask you about their pets, and answer all of your questions about our service.

Then we’ll email you a link to complete the purchase online. It’s that simple!

For consumers who purchase a subscription from envoyatHome directly, there is no long term obligation. If you no longer need the service, just call us to cancel.

Lucky you! You can include as many caregivers as you like on your team for the same low monthly subscription fee.

We love our pets too!

Pets are usually not an issue. 

However, some pets may interfere with the motion sensors, meaning they could affect some monitoring features.

Please give us a call so we can talk about your loved one’s fur babies and monitoring.

envoyatHome can be effective in almost any home with internet service – we haven’t found an incompatible one yet! It is theoretically possible, however, that some very unusual floor plans may require extra sensors or a “range extender” to be sure the internet reaches all the sensors. Please give us a call so we can help.

envoyatHome uses no cameras, no microphones, no listening devices, and no wearables that can be misplaced, lose a charge, or consciously left behind. There’s no video surveillance, no eavesdropping, and no GPS tracking in envoyatHome’s patented technology.

No personally identifiable information is transmitted over the internet when envoyatHome is operating.

envoyatHome is virtually maintenance free. The sensors are powered by long lasting batteries. While the batteries are rated for multiple years, we remind you to replace them yearly. If a battery is low before then, you’ll receive a notification through the app.

Caregiver notification of a power or internet outage is built in to envoyatHome. You’ll receive a notification if the power goes out – a real benefit in extreme weather.

During the outage, monitoring will be unavailable, but when the power or internet is restored, envoyatHome will automatically restart and monitoring service will resume. There is nothing for your loved one (or you) to do!

This is a very common arrangement for envoyatHome families.

envoyatHome has many clients who supplement part time, in-home care with envoyatHome to provide a 24 hour, 7 day a week blanket of protection.

We have many clients who are fortunate enough to share a home with a partner. Please give us a call to discuss your specific care concerns and your loved one’s living situation.

Absolutely! Many families put emergency response in the hands of their loved one.

However, this approach has some limitations. envoyatHome can overcome some of the limitations of PERS buttons.

envoyatHome is entirely passive, meaning your senior doesn’t purposefully engage envoyatHome. There’s no charging or devices to misplace or conspicuous lanyards or buttons to push. There isn’t even a power switch.

Most importantly, your loved one doesn’t have to recognize a risky situation and make a decision under duress to engage envoyatHome. It’s always on.

With a tap on our app, envoyatHome shows you all the behavioral data collected via your care plan over time. It’s presented to you in easily understandable charts, graphs, and narratives that makes it easy to see subtle changes in your loved one’s behaviors, routines, or risk factors.

While envoyatHome is never a substitute for medical advice, caregivers have recognized subtle symptoms of cognitive decline and memory concerns, UTIs, or the need for more supervision.

Sharing envoyatHome data at a doctor’s visit overcomes the limitations of reluctant senior self-reporting, casual observation by non-clinicians, or a senior’s inability to self-recognize concerning issues. envoyatHome data is objective, consistent, and contextual, giving your clinician better insight.

Check out the envoyatHome blog pages for stories and examples.

Many symptoms of cognitive decline, dementia, memory loss etc can be identified through behaviors at home. For example, envoyatHome has alerted caregivers to signs of day/night confusion, night wandering, sundowners syndrome, door confusion, pacing, insomnia, anxiety, and even lack of eating and drinking.

One client was alerted to her father leaving his apartment at 4AM during a blizzard – he was quickly and safely intercepted thanks to a real time notification from envoyatHome.

Another family was notified when their mother’s overnight bathroom frequency increased. She was diagnosed with a UTI by a physician.

Families have brought envoyatHome data to doctor’s appointments, resulting in changes to medications and new diagnoses.

It might surprise you that yes, we have many clients who live in senior living or assisted living. Why? Because senior living isn’t senior care.

We have families who use envoyatHome to validate loved ones receive contracted services like bed checks, nurse visits, meal deliveries, toileting assistance, etc.

A family with a senior living alone in any arrangement is a candidate for envoyatHome.