Senior Living Designed with You in Mind

continuous monitoring and can send readings to a smart device such as a phone at a set interval. Dexcom, a company that manufactures blood glucose monitoring systems, claims it can detect low blood glucose readings as much as 20 minutes before glucose levels drop to a level where they can cause symptoms of hypoglycemia.

Numerous users can also be allowed to monitor your blood glucose, including your health care provider. With this information, your health care provider can provide you with faster adjustments in your medications.

Non-wearable devices include scales and blood-pressure cuffs. Blood-pressure cuffs are included in the non-wearable category as they do not have to be worn continuously, unless ordered by your physician. These devices are used to monitor chronic conditions such as congestive heart failure and hypertension. Like the blood glucose monitoring devices, they transmit data to your provider, who can monitor your readings. They will also receive an alert if your readings are out of range, and can adjust medication early and potentially lower the chances of having to go into an office or hospital.

With any technology, there are price-point differences. Basic activity trackers can cost under $100, while a top-of-the-line smartphone and watch combination can come close to $1,000 depending on the features. You also need to take into account the cost of the services.

If you are interested in smart health monitoring, think about what you want to use it to monitor, and look at the services the devices can provide. If you don’t want to monitor your respiration rate and blood pressure, a wearable fitness tracker might be your best choice. However, if you have chronic conditions that need to be monitored, or if you engage in activities that could cause a fall (or are at risk for falls), a smartphone and watch combination may be just what you need. Finally, consult with your physician and insurance provider. If you meet certain criteria, you insurance may cover part of the cost of these devices.

Nature is great at providing moments of wonder, and in The Parklands we are getting a front-row seat to the transformation and migration of the monarch butterfly. This important pollinator species is endangered, and we at The Parklands are doing our part to change that. We actively support this species’ ability to thrive with the enhancement and protection of our meadow habitat that is specifically designed to attract and feed monarch butterflies.

Monarchs go through four phases in their lifetime - eggs, caterpillar, pupa and butterfly. Butterflies in these phases can be seen in our gardens and meadows right now. When the caterpillars grow large enough, they usually crawl away from the host plant to a more covered area to make their chrysalis. The entire process from egg to adult takes about four weeks. When these butterflies emerge from their chrysalises, they are part of a great migration from Canada to Mexico spanning over four generations.

Unfortunately, the monarch population has declined by about 90% in the last two decades, and we want to do everything we can to help protect them so they can thrive once again. This population decline is largely due to drought, habitat loss and pesticides, so protecting these monarchs and planting more of their host plant is integral to their survival.

At The Parklands, we are protecting and learning about monarchs by maintaining healthy meadows, and also participating in the Monarch Watch citizen science program and tagging our monarchs. The Monarch Watch Tagging Program began in 1992 to help better understand the dynamics of the monarchs’ spectacular fall migration through mark and recapture. Tagging helps answer questions about the origins of monarchs that reach Mexico, the timing and pace of the migration, mortality during the migration,

To track monarchs, a tag is placed on each monarch butterfly caught during the migratory season. This small, sticker-like tag is lightweight and specifically designed to not interfere with the migration of the butterfly. Each tag has a unique code that can then be used to find out more information about each butterfly when they are retrieved in Mexico at their overwintering sites.

For more info on The Parklands, go to theparklands.org.