Those over 65 are going through a stage that is increasingly active and for this reason they want to fully enjoy it, without limitations or conditioning, but, at the same time, feeling cared for, content and connected.
However, many times, physiological, emotional and affective factors keep them far from their expectations, and sometimes without the possibility of enjoying themselves as they would like. For example, there are those who do not go far from home because they do not feel safe if they need care, which causes them to withdraw, lose interest in doing different activities and even in socializing. Because of this, situations of depression and isolation are more frequent the older the person is.
For this reason, for some years now, Gervasio Videla Dorna, an industrial engineer from ITBA (Buenos Aires Technological Institute), with an MBA and a postgraduate degree from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), has been dedicating himself to thinking about solutions to improve the quality of life of the elderly. This is how last year he created Ellie Care, one of the few Age-Tech proposals in Latin America. What is it about? It is a technological platform that allows a family, a company, a neighborhood, or even a city, to care for and promote the well-being of its elderly. “Our objective is simple: to help people over 65 and their families to fully live this beautiful stage of life, with health, safety, independence, and close affection”, says the founder of Ellie Care.
His connection with the elderly began almost a decade ago, when during the World Youth Day in 2013, Pope Francis pronounced some words that resonated with him: “Make a mess, take care of the extremes of the people who are the elderly and the young people, do not allow yourself to be excluded and do not exclude the elderly, and do not liquefy your faith in Jesus Christ”. That was the kick to put his talent at the service of people over 65 years of age.
The solution: comprehensive health that promotes affective bonds through technology
How does Ellie Care work? The platform is based on an application for smartphones and smartwatches that collects information on the physical, cognitive and socio-affective well-being of the elderly, which is then processed by an artificial intelligence engine with predictive algorithms. The objective is to promote healthy habits, strengthen ties with families, and provide information related to health, so that the elderly themselves, their family, or the health system work preventively.
Ellie Care collects different data about the person, for example, if they get up at night or if they spend many hours sitting in their living room, how is their mobility, if they are physically active. It also allows you to understand how your neurocognitive functions are, and work on the prevention and care of falls.
“There are very interesting statistics from the WHO and Harvard, which show the challenge, but also the opportunity: in 2050 almost 20% of the world population will be over 65 years old”, clarifies the founder of Ellie Care. And it ensures that, according to these reports, of said population, 23% cannot carry out activities of daily living independently, 40% live alone and the majority are women, 50% say they are “invisible” to the companies and society, and 90% want to go through this stage of life where they want and not where they are taken care of.
In addition to the benefits for users of the platform and their families, based on the information collected and processed, it is possible to generate initiatives to save time and money in the health system, moving towards more preventive and personalized medicine.
Finally, the Ellie Care proposal is complemented by a rewards and benefits platform that recognizes and rewards family interactions and socialization activities. These include discounts at her favorite places, such as a restaurant, coffee shop, movie theater or theater.
“The +65 years stage is rich in experience, in wisdom, in the ability to give and receive love, in understanding the really important things in life. It is a stage to transmit traditions, culture, values, to enjoy everything sown”, explains Videla Dorna. The creator of Ellie Care also maintains that, just as in recent years human beings have noticed the importance of caring for the planet, old age is another space that will find all of us and which it is also time to deal with.
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Content LAB is LA NACION’s idea and content generation unit for brands with distribution on its digital platforms and social networks. This content was produced for an advertiser and published by the Content LAB. The writing of LA NACION was not involved in the generation of this content.
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