Are eight definite. Definites. And there are others out there. But there are some republicans who are opposed, even though some republicans have said they would vote to proceed with the bill, at least move to an open debate on it. But it has they have two weeks coming up to get it done. Host some of those republicans up in 2016. What happens then . The senate, if they are able to get it done, what happens in the house deco house . Emma dumain i was going to say, the numbers in the house tricky. There are more members obviously. If you are not the whip, it is harder for vicki and i to even put the numbers on the table about where people are. A few of the House Democrats i was speaking to lessig who are either for or against tpa and are being very vocal about it said, you know, very few democrats have very few democrats are get to make up their minds. That is to say, there are a very few number of democrats who are for it or against it. And no those are the members that president obama and joe biden need to lobby one way or the other, the pending on with it are. Host in the pool of House Democrats who have said yes . Vicki needham 10 that are for sure yes. And about 26 have decided for sure. But there is another huge pot of undecided, and we figured that they are in several different batches. The ones that are going to say yes now, the ones who are going to say no now, and the ones who are going to stand on the floor and wait to see if the vote is needed. Emma dumain and i think republicans fall into that category as well. 2 yes Vicki Needham yes. Host thank you very much for explaining it. Appreciate it. Up next, a Senate Hearing looks at how technology is helping senior live longer Senior Citizens live longer and remain independent. Then a cspan mothers day special presentation remembering life in the white house. And later, attorney general more adamant makes her first appearance on capitol hill to defense to discuss her department path departments budget. With color photos of every senator and house member, plus bio and Contact Information. Also, district maps. A foldout map of capitol hill. At a look at congressional committees, federal agencies and the governors. Order your copy today. It is 13. 95 plus shipping and handling at cspan. Org. On wednesday, the Senate Aging Committee held a hearing on how technology is helping seniors live independently longer. The committee examined advancements in Technology Like electronic sensors and medical alerts, and how they allow seniors tuesday at home as opposed to living in Nursing Homes. This is one hour and 25 minutes. [indistinct chatter] this hearing will come to order. Good afternoon. This afternoons hearing will explore the potential of new technologies to help seniors safely and to retain their independence. The u. S. Population is aging. According to Census Bureau projections, 21 of our population will be 65 and older by the year 2040. That is up from just under 14 in 2012. Every day 12,000 10,000 baby boomers turn 65. As many as 90 of them have one or more Chronic Health conditions. Americans age 85 and older our oldest old, are the fastestgrowing segment of our population. And this is the very population that is most at risk of multiple and interacting Health Problems that could lead to disability and the need for longterm care. At the very time our population is growing older, the need for care and support is increasing. The population of professional and Informal Caregivers is however, declining. Today, there are seven potential caregivers for each person over age 80 and at the highest risk of reclaiming longterm care. Requiring longterm care. By the year 2030, there will be four. And by the year 2050, the numbers drop to fewer than three. As a consequence in the future more and more people will have to rely on fewer and fewer caregivers. As people age, they naturally want to remain active and independent for a long as as long as possible. Aging in place is the ability to live in ones own home and community safely, independently, and comfortably, regardless of age or ability level. Surveys taken by aarp consistently reflect the fact that aging in place is the preferred option for seniors who want to continue living independently and avoiding Nursing Homes and other institutionalized care for as long as possible. Todays hearing will examine some of the recent advances in technology that are providing new options to allow seniors to remain in their homes longer by monitoring their Health Status detecting emergency situations such as debilitating falls, and notifying families and Health Care Providers of potential changes in Health Status form or urgencies. While it is not a replacement for professional care or personal attention from family members, technology can help to bridge the care gap and extend the amount and length of time a person is able to live independently. Technology can also help to reduce isolation and enrich the lives of seniors by keeping them engaged and connected to their families and their communities. We will also hear this afternoon about technologies that can make the lives of Family Caregivers easier by giving them the tools they need to support their loved ones as they age in place. Finally, we will hear from the veterans administration, a real pioneer in health, which has used technologies such as videoconferencing and smart monitors to reduce hospital admissions and to shorten hospital stays. This has resulted in lower costs and has also allowed some of our older veterans with Chronic Health conditions to live independently at home, right where they want to be. Many of us are familiar with the decades old and wellknown phrase, i have fallen and i cannot get up. That phrase was an advertisement for a medical alert system. While many seniors still rely on this device, breakthroughs in modern technology have brought us a long way. Providing many new options for seniors and their families. Technological solutions can be costeffective and tailored to meet specific needs of a senior and his or her living situation. Companies that develop these technologies are starting to realize that not only is there a growing need to design products that meet seniors needs, but also that there are many seniors who want technology and devices that look just like those used by younger generations. For example, this phone is an over older generation device that is specifically designed for seniors to be easy to use. It has large numbers, for example. This new generation version of the phone is the smart phone that still has the same easeofuse as the old version of the jitterbug phone, but looks like the smart phone that peoples children and grandchildren use. Much more important than its appearance, however, this new generation device also includes technologies that help seniors maintain their independence. For example, it has features to help with medication adherence provide 24 7 access to medical emergency operators, as well as an app the Family Caregiver can download to keep them up to date on their loved ones wellbeing. We will also explore the challenges posed by these technological advances, such as privacy concerns and the unequal access to the internet that exists across the country. Before i turn to senator mccaskill for her opening statement, i want to give a special welcome today to dr. Carol kim, the Vice President for research at the university of maine. Dr. Kim overseas oversees the sail program. Aging and thriving, in Place Movement that will benefit significantly from the development of new technologies and devices. I look forward to hearing not only from her, but all of our witnesses this afternoon. Senator mccaskill. Senator mccaskill thank you. Helping our seniors remain in their communities and age with dignity is an important issue and a top priority of this committee. You have assembled a great panel today and i am look forward to looking forward to hearing about exciting innovations that could help seniors and their families. There is a disconnect between the number of seniors who say they want to stay in their homes and communities and the number of seniors who end up having to move into nursing facilities. A recent aarp study found that 87 of older adults would prefer to remain in their own communities as they age. While it may not be possible for every person depending on risk factors to remain in their homes, for many of us, it is possible. And it is preferable in terms of quality of life and financial reasons. Advances in technology are providing these new options for these seniors and their families that allow them to remain home for longer by monitoring home status, and notifying Health Care Providers about changes in in Health Status. This can make the caregiver life easier by providing tools to support left once loved ones and giving them peace of mind. This really is a winwin situation. Seniors are much happier keeping their routines, families can make sure their loved are safe ones and society as a whole benefits from significantly reduced health care and longterm costs. Many of these technologies are already on the market. Even Health Communications companies also versions of connected home systems that can keep seniors secure in their home. Developers are creating senior specific monitoring devices such such as bed, toilet, and pillbox sensors that can monitor activity in the home. Pillbox sensors are so simple in nature and can prevent tragic accidents by making sure seniors are not mixing medications or taking too many pills. Wearable devices are also popular for tracking physical activity and helping to prevent falls. Falls are the leading cause of injuries in older adults, with one out of every three senior seniors falling each year. Some of the newer monitoring devices do not even require the push of a button. They detect when a person has fallen. Technology has been critical to the growth of health and helpful to seniors in particular who, by using the services, can have their health monitored from the comfort of their home rather than the doctors office. These technologies are being developed by researchers across the country, one of whom is with us here today. I am so pleased and proud to introduce dr. Marjorie, the director of the center at my university, the university of missouri. The center has created a Living Environment that utilizes a number of advanced technologies in senior apartments. The doctor and her team have found a way to use radar and 3d sensors to monitor seniors risk level for fall. I look forward to learning more about this. I know there are some concerns about preserving the privacy of seniors, and that using webcams and video monitoring my present some challenges. We also want to make sure we are looking out for their safety. I know the university has used privacy techniques, such as using only silhouettes on video monitors that could help ease privacy concerns of older adults. The challenge for those who develop these technologies is to find ways to maximize safety with minimal invasion of privacy. Thank you to chairman collins and for our witnesses for taking the time to be here today and i look forward to listening and learning from your testimony. Chair collins thank you very much for that excellent the meant. I want to note we have been joined by senator purdue senator kaine, and i am very pleased you could join us this afternoon. We are now going to turn to our panel. We will first hear from lori, a Tech Industry veteran and the founder of aging in Place Technology watch. I understand she also has the wisdom to have a summer home in the state of maine. That is, for me, i enough to invite you to testify today. I have already introduced dr. Carol kim, the Vice President for research at the university of maine. Our next witness is dr. Mccarthy at the department of veterans affairs, the active chief consultant for Health Services. And will discuss the v. A. s health program, which, by many measures, has been a success and has helped to reduce costs. And has already been introduced from missouri by the committings ranking member, and finally, i would like to welcome mr. Strickler knows well the challenges for caring and he will share his personal story with us and how he has used technology to assist in the care of his mother and motherinlaw. Thank you. I want to thank you for the opportunity to testify today for the requirement for Technology Innovation to help older adults age in place. As you have noted, demographics make this Technology Market essential. These categories will help make it feasible for older adults meet their needs as they age. As we have already noted, nearly 90 of adults aged 65 want to remain in their own homes. In fact today, they actually are remaining in their own homes. Successful aging has been described as the ability to do things for myself, feel safe and have good health. Aging in place, therefore, is the ability to successfully age in your home of choice. Aging in place products and services, including technology provide a useful underpinning and enhancement of the quality of life for seniors as they age in place. We have talked about demographics. I want to add a couple of refinements to things we already heard. We know 46 million adults 65 or older today, 24 million of those are 75 or older. 46 of women aged 75 plus today are living alone. The society of actuaries recently updated Life Expectancy at age 65 to reflect a new reality that women aged 65 can now expect to live on average to be 88. 8. With 25 of them living to 90 or more. Men at 65 are going to live on average to 86. 6. The average oneyear cost will be 61,000 per year by 2020 and in northeast chicago, and most memory care units, that number has already been reached and exceeded. Seniors know this and are deferring movein to assistedliving facilities until they reach mid 80s p or most of but most of them still remain at home. So lets talk about categories of technologies for aging in place. If you could bring up that slide. Thank you. They are best represented by what i describe as interlocking pieces of a puzzle. The puzzle paradigm is used to show if you leave out any one undetected illnesses, and all types of complications in their lives. Kinds of competitions in their lives. Older adults benefit from innovations and particularly related training and how to benefit from them that adjust their ability to connect with other people, opportunities, they engage in their communities, be safe and manage health and wellbeing. Looking at each category starting with the upper left puzzle piece, lets admit examine them one at a time. In the communication and engagement technologies, while devices may change over time and have changed significantly, as you showed by your example, the purpose remains the same. They help older adults connect connected with others through email and video chat, playing games, fining people with shared finding people with shared interests, and finding services and resources to meet their needs. With video it can be used to monitor and also to engage people with social connections with family and friends are friends. While 27 have smartphones, both percentages drop off noticeably at age 75. The second category, the most important aspect is a home alarm system that can monitor and alert about fire, temperature, and moisture in the home. Without it, the other technologies are just nice to have. Other uses of technologies listed here include emergency response, which we have already talked about, and safety watches. Following sensors, motion sensors, and activity monitors that could now monitor absence of activity and decline over time. Increasingly, information from various devices can be combined to detect the changes and other patterns over time. Health and wellness technologies in the bottom right, that includes health as we heard, but also wearables, smart phone apps, as people acquire smartphones, that may be useful, and Online Health information. There are new tools are being developed all the time to help with dementia care, and help home care workers. And a variety of these new devices can assist with people with low vision and able with and people with hearing impairment. The bottom lefthand corner is about learning and contribution and how we stay engaged in our society as we continue to learn new things, which is how we remain content with our lives and interested and help keep our minds sharp. Tools that help people tell and record their life story, for example, online sites that enable them to volunteer, enable them to find work. 20 of people after age 65 these days are actually working. Many of them fulltime. People can learn new skills. They can learn new skills that are leisure and workrelated and all of this Online Training is free. These are the times we live in now. It is free. Forums are developed are available to ask questions. The biggest problem we have is that mobile device data plants today average 60 to 80 per month and wifi access is typically being used by people in coffee shops and libraries because having a highspeed Internet Connection to the home can be quite costly. 60 a month or more. That is a limitation on access for a lot of folks. As people age, all of the four categories are enhanced by inclusion of the role of the formal and informal caregiver which you can see in the middle. That could include the professional caregiver. There are new technologies that not only track time and attention of caregivers but also communicate care status. That is, mobility, eating, and cognitive function. The future market potential of this market is greater than the availability of smartphone features, technologies, and will move into robotics. It