Family crisis? SmartFIND Helpt with Eldernet

Mum’s had a stroke! Where do you look for help in times of family crisis? SmartFIND it with Eldernet!

“A crisis can hit us in an instant when we least expect it,” says Eldernet’s Director Eleanor Bodger. “Imagine if your mother or another close relative suffered a health crisis, perhaps a stroke or heart attack and as a result is admitted to hospital. After extensive rehabilitation you might find that she still has a significant disability. She is ready to be discharged and you don’t have the know-how or resources to provide personal care. Health professionals will have given you a mind boggling amount of information and told you all about their entitlements and support services.”

“Do you know anything about services for which you might have to pay but which might be very useful to you?” Bodger asks. “How would you know what makes one rest home different from the next? What sort of place would suit your requirements? What should you look for in a rest home? All of a sudden you might need to know where rest homes are. Most of us have a good idea where we could find a petrol station or a block of shops but where on earth are rest homes? It’s at times like this when you can quickly feel overwhelmed and out of your depth.”

The popular Eldernet web site, www.eldernet.co.nz which has provided relevant information and a comprehensive database directory of services such as these (and others) for many years, has been rebuilt. Eldernet has a commitment to helping to defuse crises by providing information that puts you back in the driving seat. Adding mapping functionality to the site was a natural progression. Now with the assistance of Convoy Design and GeoSmart’s SmartFIND mapping services the site is even more useful.

“You can now get a visual picture of where services are located.” Says Phil Allen, CEO of GeoSmart Limited. “The ability to visualise where locations are on a map can make life much easier in times of stress.”

He added that GeoSmart was delighted to have Eldernet as one of the first clients for the new web services plug-in which is designed to allow companies to control and spatially present proprietary information and maps on their own websites.

Eldernet invites you to pop in and take a look. Who knows, you might need it one day for someone close to you.

For more information contact Eleanor Bodger, Phone (03 388 1204 or email team@eldernet.co.nz. About Eldernet Eldernet was established in 1997 as a direct result of the founders seeing the need for a comprehensive information service that focused on issues concerning older people in New Zealand. The internet seemed to be the prefect way to make this information available and so, Eldernet was born.

One of the main aims in setting up Eldernet was, and still is, to provide a service that gives older people, their families’ and professionals who work in this sector access to comprehensive information that enables them to make more informed decisions. Eldernet provides the visitor with timely, relevant, up to date, comprehensive information about services that are available for older people.

The site at www.eldernet.co.nz includes a database directory of New Zealand rest homes, residential care, retirement villages, home help, community groups, public hospitals and other third age services for seniors. About SmartFIND SmartFIND is an Internet Location Based Service (LBS) providing intelligent maps, for the widest range of devices including PC’s, PDA’s, Smartphones and Mobiles. This includes features such as ‘Where is?’, ‘Where are my assets?’, ‘How do I get from – to-?’ It is available as a web plug-in where geographical maps can be populated with data stored securely on a client’s own server.

Maps are continually being updated and form the basis for other solutions for clients including Wises Maps, DOC, Vodafone, Automobile Association, Navman, Siemens VDO, Toll Rail, BMW, Holden, Honda, Transit NZ and most local bodies in New Zealand. www.geosmart.co.nz

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