Scandent Deploys System at Island Nursing & Rehab Center

June 27, 2011

HOLTSVILLE, New York -- Island Nursing and Rehab Center, a leader in skilled nursing and rehabilitation, is one of the first nursing facilities in the nation to use Scandent, a new state-of-the-art tracking system for misplaced resident dentures, eyeglasses, and hearing aids.

The Scandent system was recently developed by Long Island engineers in response to a request from Fred Sganga, the Executive Director of the Long Island State Veterans' Home. Mr. Sganga approached Scandent last year and asked for help in solving the denture loss problem at his facility. Vladimir Djuric, a cofounder of Scandent, along with his team of engineers, was quick to respond to the challenge.

Today, Scandent is a commercially available system that prevents the loss of residents' dentures, glasses, hearings aids, and other personal items in senior care facilities. Scandent embeds proprietary RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags into dentures, eyeglasses, and hearing aids, and mounts RFID readers and antennas at strategic choke points through which lost items are likely to pass. Choke points are typically set up in hallways leading to the laundry and garbage disposal rooms, and in the kitchen area where food trays are broken down. When a misplaced item passes by one of these choke points, an alarm will sound, and the system will send emails to facility staff notifying them of where an item was detected and to whom it belongs. Scandent also provides facilities with portable handheld readers that can search for items in resident rooms and common areas.

A large number of nursing home residents lose their dentures, glasses and hearing aids each year, which gives them difficulty with eating, seeing, and basic communication. Denture loss is particularly problematic, as it often leads to dietary restrictions and weight loss, which can trigger other health problems.

Since a set of dentures or hearings aids can cost thousands of dollars to replace, Scandent can save residents and facilities a tremendous amount of money, while also improving the standard of care and giving residents peace of mind.

"We welcome the Scandent program because of its ability to improve the residents' quality of life. This advanced technology ingeniously tracks any lost dentures and alerts us to their specific location, so they are returned promptly to the resident," said David Fridkin, CEO/Administrator of Island Nursing and Rehab Center. "Residents don't need to wait weeks for new dentures, a situation which could compromise their nutrition and daily living, as not having dentures creates difficulty with eating and speaking, and a loss of dignity as well."

"Scandent is a novel and cost-effective system that benefits both residents and nursing facilities," Mr. Djuric said. "Facilities can save a lot of money and staff time with this system, while simultaneously improving resident health and quality of life. As baby boomers retire and the demand for senior care increases, we think that a wider adoption of Scandent can concurrently improve the standard of senior care and decrease healthcare costs."

Island Nursing and Rehab Center is so committed to this new technology that it recently hosted an educational seminar for administrators and owners of other Long Island-based nursing homes.

Island Nursing and Rehab Center, located at 5537 Expressway Drive North in Holtsville, offers excellence in short term rehabilitation, subacute care, long term care and skilled nursing services.