Young Adult Institute/National Institute for People with Disabilities Network

As people with developmental disabilities age, they face the same complex medical challenges as the general aging population, need more medical supervision, and risk being institutionalized in nursing homes.

For this group, the limited nursing services that are available under the current residential model are rapidly becoming inadequate. Young Adult Institute/National Institute for People with Disabilities Network (YAI) aimed to improve health care for people with developmental disabilities living in group or individual residences through deployment of a “telehealth” system.

This grant to the YAI/National Institute for People with Disabilities Network supported a telehealth program that linked nurses and health care providers to residences for people with developmental disabilities.

Many people with developmental disabilities now live in community residences. These individuals are also living longer than in past generations. Though these changes are positive, they increase the need for access to medical services for this high-need, aging population. This grant to the YAI/National Institute for People with Disabilities Network supported a telehealth program that linked nurses and health care providers to residences for people with developmental disabilities. Because transportation is sometimes difficult, medical problems for this population can go unserved and expensive trips to emergency rooms become all too frequent. The telehealth program allowed nurses to assess medical care issues for people living in the YAI community residences quickly and efficiently, allowing for better decisions about when medical care was required. Specific project activities included placement of computerized health monitoring systems in group residences and individual apartments. These systems measured blood pressure and glucose levels, weight, pulse, and respiration. A camera was used to photograph wounds, infections, or other conditions. All this information was immediately available for review in real time by an off-site nurse, who could make an assessment and recommend treatment based on the data. Consumers and staff were able to be trained to use the equipment in approximately four weeks.