AI technology at AZ assisted living facilities help protect residents

MESA, Ariz. - Artificial intelligence has touched so many facets of people's lives in the last year, and now, that includes assisted living facilities in Arizona.

"Our bones are fragile and falling and breaking. Someone is just one step away from not coming back to where you were comfortable living in," said Foster Vance, who lives in an assisted living facility.

AI helping to keep assisted living residents safe

The technology, which people at Fellowship Square in Mesa refer to as Paul, is not found outside of Arizona currently.

To those who don't know about it, ‘Paul’ looks like a smoke detector. The device is in every room of the building, and in just a few months, it has changed hundreds of lives.

For his part, Vance said ‘Paul’ gives him peace of mind.

"I recently lost my wife in February, so my balance of having somebody in the apartment disappeared," said Vance. "I haven’t fallen in a year and a half, and I do not want to fall."

How It Works:

Using AI, ‘Paul' collects data on out-of-the-ordinary resident movements, and alerts the staff of any potential issues.

"Anytime that person starts to move, it will vibrate to the caregiver app, telling the caregiver that person is moving," said Tawnya Williams-Christensen with Fellowship Square Mesa.

What The Creator Said:

Sandro Cilurzo is the founder of Helpany, which created Paul. He said within the U.S., the device is used in only a handful of Arizona facilities. He stressed the tech uses radar to detect movement, as a way to protect privacy.

"Speed of walking, the gait, all those indicators are leverage to have," said Cilurzo.

Eventually, the company wants to bring the technology into houses, but that will take some time.

‘Paul’ is having a positive impact

What we know:

The technology is already having an effect on the facility.

Before ‘Paul’ was installed, Fellowship Square Mesa averaged 20 falls a month. In the first month after it was installed, the falls began to drop substantially.

"We reduced our falls to 12," said Williams-Christensen. "In August, we reduced our falls to six, and we had zero overnight falls for the first time in ever."

It’s averaged out to a 70% decrease in falls overall.

Williams-Christensen said preventing falls not only changes lives, but also helps free up resources.

"If we can reduce the fall, then all those people can do other jobs that day," said Williams-Christensen.