How to use Alexa Care Hub to help monitor and contact older relatives or friends

• To use Alexa Care Hub, create a Care Hub invitation for the other person (either a caregiver or family member) from the "More" menu in the Alexa app and follow the setup instructions.
• After it's configured, you can monitor Alexa activity, drop in and message the family member, and configure Care Hub Settings from the Alexa Care Hub entry in the "More" menu of the Alexa app.
• Alexa Care Hub is a feature available in all Alexa-enabled devices that lets family members and caregivers stay in closer contact with anyone who needs extra care or monitoring.

A smart speaker like the Amazon Echo is a great resource for older family members who may need extra help or monitoring. It's unobtrusive - an Echo speaker doesn't draw attention to itself as a medical or monitoring device, for example - and yet it has the potential to warn caregivers if there's a potential problem. That's the idea behind Alexa Care Hub, which is a free feature you can enable on any Alexa device.

After you set up Alexa Care Hub, Alexa connects to a remote caregiver's phone, whether they are concerned relatives or a medical professional like a part-time nurse. Alexa can send alerts to let the caregiver know when it has been used and warn if it hasn't been used by a certain time during the day.

There's a dashboard to see how frequently Alexa has been used throughout the day (though the information is filtered for privacy, so you can't see exactly what Alexa has been asked to do). And the Alexa device can be used to reach out to an emergency contact with a simple command like "Alexa, call for help."

How to use Alexa Care Hub

Once Alexa Care Hub has been set up, it works in the background for both the family member and caregiver. To see the Care Hub dashboard, open the Alexa app, and tap "More" in the bottom right of the screen. Then tap "See More" and then tap "Care Hub."

Here you can configure the emergency contact number, call, message, or Drop In, and configure alerts that let the caregiver know about the family member's activity.

How to set up Alexa Care Hub

1. Open the Alexa app that's connected to the device you want to use for care. This can be an existing Echo device or a new one you are setting up specifically for this purpose.

2. Tap "More" in the bottom right of the screen.

3. Tap "See More" and then tap "Care Hub."

3. Follow the steps to set up the Care Hub. After you tap "Get Started," read the introductory pages and then choose whether you are providing support or receiving support.

• If you are setting this up for an Alexa that's in a family member's home, for example, tap "Provide Support" and then use the link to send an invitation to your family member.
• If you are setting up the Care Hub for yourself, you'll need to invite a family member to connect with.

4. Whichever family member sent the invitation needs to wait for the other person to accept the invitation. That person should accept the invitation that arrives via email and follow the instructions to complete the setup, which concludes with creating a PIN for security.

5. If you don't already have Alexa installed on your phone, you'll be prompted to install the app and set up an account.

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