To enhance the independence and well-being of older people living at home and the quality of care for those living in nursing homes. In so doing, the system provides informal carers, who do not live with their aged relatives, with peace of mind.

The main motivation was to find cost effective solutions to care for older people with chronic illnesses such as dementia, preferably self-management and to provide marketable devices for “ageing in place”.

 Care Recipients
 Informal carers
 Paid assistants
 Formal carers

Not available

 Independent Living
 Information and learning for carers
 Personal Support and Social Integration for carer
 Care coordination

The centralized system solutions help continuously monitor care recipients to allow them to live independently and improve their quality of life inside and outside their home. In addition, Everon provides carers (formal and informal) with monitoring information of care recipients, in real time, to reassure and alert them. The system has the option for direct alerting into a cell phone. These alerts are secure, i.e. the delivery is monitored and safety precautions are in place when a delivery is delayed. Alternatively, all Everon solutions can be connected to monitoring central stations.

Everon’s services are based on four solutions with different hardware. They carry multiple unique features, some of which are internationally patented:

-Vega is a GPS safety solution featuring a watch that sends alerts to designated carers or a monitoring center when the wearer exits a predetermined Safe Zone. Alerts and settings can be time driven.

-Lyra is a wireless mobile telecare solution for facilities and residences that continuously monitors the wearer and its own function. It features passage control, bed sensors, waterproof alert buttons and PLUG & PLAY pairing of new devices for economical, easy and adaptable use.

-Urgentys is a security solution for the protection of lone workers. It is a feature rich system that provides security and alerting options together with two-way messaging and communication. Like the Vega, it is waterproof, has a robust design, a display for messages and photos and allows two way hands-free mobile communication.

-PERSmobile is a mobile Personal Emergency Response System for vulnerable people with full cognitive capacity. The watch has a long battery life and needs wearer activation to work.

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There are different models in operation. For instance, in the UK the local care authorities often purchase the Everon Nursing Care system with a monthly cost per user. However, the telecare system has often been offered free of charge to the older person living alone at home, following a carried out needs assessment. Alternatively, the Vega system may be purchased privately with monthly instalments.

For a purchase plan, a typical per user cost is less than 700 euros per year. For an all-inclusive plan, a private Vega user would pay between 59 and 79 euros per month. For a service provider, Everon has built great tools for direct implementation in central station monitoring platforms, allowing a low cost or free integration.

According to the representative of the service, the Everon system is flexible and can be adjusted without any incremental investments. The solutions are certified and approved internationally. Everon’s operations and service production are ISO9001 certified.

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 Authorities
 Private Care Sector
 Health and Social Care Systems
 Third Sector
 Private Companies

Not available

 Informal Carers
 Health Professionals
 Social Care Professionals
 Privately-Hired Care Assistants (inc. Migrant Care Workers)
 Volunteers

Professionals are technical experts and researchers in communication technologies.

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10.000 users

Promotion runs mainly through the web, trade events and shows on care issues. On the main webpage the section “NEWS” presents all recent successes.

Here are some highlights from to 2012 and 2013:

1. December 2013: Everon won three different public tenders in Finland for the Lyra system (a new nurse call and security system for medical centers). Contracts included several facilities comprising hundreds of beds. The deliveries have already started and the systems should be running in December 2013 and early 2014.
2. November 2013: Centra UK (formerly Invicta Telecare) selected the Vega as a leading product for its Telecare transformation starting in 2014. (several orders have already been received)
3. May 2013: Havering published a research study that as a first of its kind reported with a “before and after” comparison the actual recorded huge benefits of using the Vega solution as a mainstreaming solution.
4. March 2013: Everon signed a cooperation agreement with the Finnish security company Turvatiimi Plc through which Turvatiimi expanded into care services. Turvatiimi Plc launched its new business based on Everon’s Vega solution and their own alarm monitoring station. This was a new type of care service that not only brought enhanced care quality but also ensured significant cost savings.
5. Sept 29, 2012: The BBC reported on significant benefits from Everon's Vega.

The London Havering Borough survey reports that, after the usage of Vega, the perceived quality of life was improved for the 29,3% of carers. The system improved also the level of independence among users. Nearly a third of carers (32%) described the independence of users as good or very good in the outcome survey compared with just 8% in the baseline survey (London Havering Borough, 2013).

The service may have a positive impact on:

- Private organisations that provide care: the service could help save costs and optimise resources by enabling formal carers to be more efficient.

- Companies and the labour market: the service could help avoid the added costs to substitute/replace the informal carer. In the London Havering Borough survey the surveyed companies reported highlighted a significant reduction in the average number of days, per quarter, of respite care of their workers (the carers): from an average of 7.9 days to a mere 1.1 day (London Havering Borough, 2013).

The service benefits public authorities, the National Health System and social care services: Everon could help save the costs of home caring and hospitalisation and optimise financial and human resources (London Havering Borough, 2013).

Strengths:

1. The initiative responds to general policy goals regarding ageing in place and community care policies by providing a safer environment for frail older people living alone at home.

2. The telecare system is cost effective for the long term care sector by enhancing security and safety systems for dementia residents whilst containing staffing costs.

3. The service has gained significant national and international recognition. The products have a PRESS & PLAY functionality allowing even care staff to install and to make quick changes on site without expensive service visits.

4. Each product has a tutorial video and written information available on the website.

5. The systems are solid and proven. The products are ready and market tested for many years and in large quantity.

Weaknesses:

1. Evaluations have mainly focused on the overall acceptability of the service and its impact on the formal care sector and society, with a lack of assessments focusing on informal family carers and care recipient older people..

2. The document reporting the service evaluation are not available on the website.

3. The prices of the products are not clearly shown on the website.

4. The decision times are often long with public sector payers.

Opportunities:

1. In 2010 and 2011 Everon began its international expansion by introducing products through its own and other companies' sales force in the UK, France, Germany, and Sweden. Even if it is too early to see the effects of this action, these opportunities have already been converted into business and the growth in 2014 comes mainly from these export sectors

2. National reimbursement programs have recognized some of Everon’s products. Everon’s new products ranges launched in early 2014 have been extremely well received and the growth rate is expected by the company to exceed 100%.

Threats:

1. Despite the aforementioned national policies, in Sweden, for instance, due to a largely decentralized government, local policies differ across municipalities, so the adoption or resistance to telecare solutions varies greatly. Needs assessors play a key role, so awareness raising is needed amongst this group.

Everon is fully integrated in the Finnish care system and in 2010 began its international expansion in UK, France, Germany, and Sweden, gaining an international coverage. Everon all solutions are easily scalable. There are no incremental barriers for deploying significantly larger amounts of devices.

References:

London Havering Borough (2013), On track evaluation, http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:DV-wWj3ijOwJ:www.thl.fi/thl-client/pdfs/e1ace7da-19f3-4b11-adf4-2be7b9576f0b+&cd=1&hl=it&ct=clnk&gl=it

Update by Mr Markus Merne, Everon’s Chief Executive Officer, May 2014.

Resources:

http://www.everon.fi/

http://www.everon.net/

Address:

Everon Headquarters
Everon Oy/Ab
Vakiotie 9
FI-21420 LIETO
FINLAND

Telephone: 00358 207 920 702

fax. 00358 207 920 705

For information

E-mail: info.fi@everon.net

Management

• Markus Merne, CEO; markus.merne@everon.fi, tel: 00358 405 200 100

• Tommi Lundén, Product Concept Director; tommi.lunden@everon.fi, tel: 00358 400 449 559

• Phil Bridges, Business Development Director; phil.bridges@everon.net, tel: 00447 929 754 570

• Bill Brindley; Operations Director; bill.brindley@everon.net; tel: 00447 817 94