Christian Village Communities First in Nation to Use 'Smart Patient Sock' to Guide Rehab Patients' Therapy

MASON, Ohio, February 6, 2018 (Newswire.com) - Christian Village Communities (CVC), the parent organization of The Christian Village at Mason and The Christian Village at Mt. Healthy, is the first rehabilitation program in the country to use the Palarum PUP™ “smart sock” to enhance individual therapy plans of care for rehabilitation patients.

“At CVC, we are known for our high-quality service to our patients and exceptional therapy outcomes,” said Lisa Cecil, vice president, health services. “When I learned of Palarum’s PUP sock technology, I was excited about the possibilities to improve patient care and therapy outcomes which are so important at CVC. As one of the leading providers of rehabilitation, we wanted to be on the forefront of Palarum’s ground-breaking technology and through this trial, assist in making it available to other senior living communities.”      

Palarum PUP (the Patient is Up) is a revolutionary patient sock that incorporates patented technology originally designed to help prevent patient falls. The technology has also proven to be an innovative solution for rehabilitation, physical therapy and other mobility applications. Using conductive fabric materials created by French firm TexiSense, combined with BTLE and IMU technologies, the sock wirelessly transmits data to a hand-held device, providing physical therapists with instant insight on the critical measures of an individual patient’s movement, including weight-bearing capabilities, balance, pressure displacement, gait and corrective posture analysis, enabling him or her to create a plan of care that will produce the optimum results achievable.

When I learned of Palarum's PUP sock technology, I was excited about the possibilities to improve patient care and therapy outcomes which are so important at CVC. As one of the leading providers of rehabilitation, we wanted to be on the forefront of Palarum's ground-breaking technology and through this trial, assist in making it available to other senior living communities.

Lisa Cecil

Vice President, Health Services, Christian Village Communities

“With the Palarum PUP sock, we are able to localize patients’ preferred weight-bearing patterns and analyze their compensation techniques as they recover from injuries or dysfunctions,” said Vernon Cepeda, physical therapist (PT). “We are also able to quantify weight-bearing activity on affected/unaffected lower extremities and use it for our patients’ treatments.” 

Mary Ann Zindel was one of the first CVC rehabilitation patients to experience the value of the PUP sock during her therapy sessions. “I wasn’t aware of the differences in my weight bearing until I used the socks. It was surprising to me. The socks seemed to help and were so comfortable that I forgot I had them on.” Charlene Asbach, another CVC rehabilitation patient who had a left reverse total shoulder replacement, said, “I wouldn’t have realized what an impact my overall ability to evenly distribute weight would be as a result of my shoulder surgery. What an ingenious idea to have socks detecting my weight-bearing status.”

“Patient mobility incorporates several components that are important to a patient’s safety and recovery,” said Patrick Baker, founder and chief executive officer of Palarum. “For rehab patients, the PUP provides critical information to their physical therapists about their weight-bearing ability and balance that is foundational data for creating individualized therapy plans of care. We value our relationship with Christian Village Communities and its willingness to be a pioneer in helping their rehab patients realize the most from their therapy while keeping them safe.”           

CVC is using the PUP sock with rehabilitation patients at its facilities in Mason and Cincinnati. Palarum is also working with other rehabilitation programs across the country to bring the PUP sock to their patients.

About Palarum:

Founded in 2014 by the former chief nursing officer of a large community hospital in Lebanon, Ohio, Palarum created the revolutionary PUP™ smart sock that incorporates patented technologies woven into conductive fabric, enabling real-time monitoring to prevent patient falls and enhance physical therapy and rehabilitation. PUP, the most technologically advanced, nurse-centric, patient mobility system in healthcare, improves patient safety by greatly reducing injuries from falls; significantly reduces costs related to falls; decreases alarm fatigue through a smart notification system, and generates critical new data to enhance facility operations. PUP is designed for acute care hospitals, as well as facilities for rehabilitation, long-term care and physical therapy. www.palarum.com

About Christian Village Communities:

Founded in 1960, Christian Village Communities is committed to providing inspiring Christian retirement living for senior adults with services that enhance the well-being of each resident. As a locally owned and not-for-profit organization, CVC is dedicated to providing Christ-centered care for its residents and patients, meeting the physical, social, cultural and spiritual needs of each individual. www.christianvillages.org