Company Helps Save Lives of Seniors, Chronically Ill

A local company is helping to save lives and give peace of mind to hundreds in Michigan and beyond—including clients in Dearborn.

Prough's Farmington Hills-based Critical Signal Technologies provides Personal Emergency Response Systems, which connect seniors and others with a call center operator in case of a fall or other need, medication management systems and other solutions designed to keep people safe in their homes.

"The reason I'm so obsessed is that I see how things could have been different," he said. "We change lives. And we probably save 150 lives a day and ease families' concerns." 

The company mission is to help people "age in place and manage chronic disease as long as possible, with dignity," Prough said. "We have been chasing that dream since 2006."

The business anticipates growth driven by new standards in the federal Affordable Care Act and plans a move to larger quarters in Novi next year. 

Patient-centered care

While pendant, wrist and other types of call devices are marketed to seniors by other companies (think, "Help! I've fallen, and I can't get up!"), Critical Signal Technologies expands on what happens once the signal has been activated, Prough said. A more sophisticated system of protocols are tailored to a patient's needs. 

Tom Reddy, executive vice president of operations, said operators are assigned to a group of clients and have at their fingertips very detailed information to help them meet the client's specific need. 

"There's a logic built in, so the system identifies the type of signal ... and displays that uniqueness so each protocol is driven by the event," Reddy said, noting the operator and client have two-way voice contact. "It comes across as being more personal, because it is." 

Prough said the company has complete information for each client and ensures that everyone involved in that person's care is in the loop. That's particularly important when people are hospitalized and several physicians are involved. 

In addition to the personal alert devices, Critical Signal Technologies offers a wide range of health-related devices, from sensors that can determine whether someone has gotten out of bed in the morning, to glucose and blood pressure monitoring and a tower that dispenses a patient's daily doses of medications and can send a signal when pills aren't taken. 

"The first 60 days after somebody leaves an acute care facility is a critical time," Prough said. "Seventy percent of those who leave the hospital go home without care, and that can lead to readmission." 

Part of the Affordable Care Act focuses on reducing hospital readmissions and improving patient outcomes, both of which are at the heart of the services Critical Signal Technologies offers, Prough said. 

"We've built our business to not only solve problems, but to be a logical part of the solution," he said. "We are on the precipice of explosive growth." 

Learn more about Critical Signal Technologies at cstltl.com.