Care Innovations Connect, a joint venture between Intel and GE, announced a new product to address social isolation in older adults and provide caregivers the ability to monitor the changing needs of seniors.
The product comes as a result of ten years of in depth research and offers a range of wellness surveys, brain fitness games, medication compliance reminders, and simple social networking tools for seniors to help them “go digital” and proactively engage in their physical, social and mental health.
“Research has shown that loneliness, as a health risk factor, is twice as detrimental as being obese, and equal to the risk of smoking cigarettes and alcoholism,” said Louis Burns, chief executive officer of Care Innovations. “With Connect, we’re helping senior service providers overcome this issue by helping them identify major health deterioration in their members, while enabling seniors to stay engaged and live more socially connected lives.”
The Connect system includes both an in-home digital device for seniors and an online portal where the professional caregiver can customize content for each member. By giving staff a tool to quickly assess individual wellness, Connect drives operational efficiency and improves quality of service with proactive, consistent, tailored care.
Recent data shows that one of the biggest obstacles to successful care in senior living communities is members’ lack of information about available social services and the inability to easily socialize with others. Connect overcomes this obstacle by proactively sharing information about available services, enabling seniors to connect with one another and build communities. In addition, innovative software lets professional caregivers customize wellness surveys for seniors so that they can proactively identify potential issues.
“Technology is one of LeadingAge’s Five Big Ideas to help empower people to live fully as they age” said Larry Minnix, president and chief executive officer of LeadingAge, an association of 5,400 not-for-profit organizations dedicated to expanding the world of possibilities for aging. “Through collaborations between technology developers, aging services providers, and, most importantly, the seniors that we serve, together we can develop innovative technology solutions and deliver them into the homes of older adults to help them to maintain their health, happiness and independence.
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