Technologists, regulators, and industry action groups are working now to address these problems by putting the emphasis on empathy. And they are doing it in new and creative ways.

The We Are Alfred Project:

Embodied Labs is working on a project now called “We Are Alfred,” which uses Virtual Reality to help physicians really understand what it is like being an elderly person with declining skills. Participants wear the Virtual Reality glasses, and experience what it is like to sit in a doctor’s office and take a cognitive test when you can’t hear properly, or when your eyes are failing from macular degeneration. The group also simulates the effects of Alzheimer’s when it becomes difficult to make sense out of your surroundings.

The developers hope to make these Virtual Reality simulations part of standard curriculum at medical schools, so physicians can truly understand what their patients are going through. They also hope that these sorts of opportunities will help younger medical students read the symptoms their patients are having more accurately, as hearing and vision loss can often cloud the results of many important cognitive tests.

Age Friendly Banking:

As seniors decline, so too, do their finances. This is only compounded by the fact that seniors often lack the cognitive skills to deal with their financial matters. This is why the Federal Reserve of Philadelphia recently held a major roundtable discussion between the leaders of nonprofits, government agencies, and the financial community. These parties have convened under the auspices of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) during the past year to work on a concept known as “Age-Friendly Banking.” Members of this coalition include senior representatives from several of the nation’s largest banks including Bank of America and PNC Financial Group. Significantly, a number of government officials from the Northeastern United States also attended including: Delaware’s Secretary for HHS, Rita Landgraf; Pennsylvania’s Secretary for Department of Aging, Teresa Osbourne; and Laura Otterbourg of New Jersey’s Division of Aging Services. All of these distinguished members discussed their individual state’s efforts to address the needs of an aging population.

These needs have led banking members to begin discussing ideas such as simplified checking and savings accounts aimed at seniors and their caregivers. Members have also discussed new laws aimed at protecting seniors from being scammed by criminals parading as legitimate financial operators. They also begin talks on new financial protections that could help insulate seniors from financial shocks in the future. This is definitely an area of eldercare to watch as new, more effective legislation and bank practices will be introduced in the years to come.

Dementia Village:

It may take a village to raise a child, but it also takes a village to care for elderly dementia and Alzheimer’s patients. In the Netherlands, caregivers have reached a breakthrough with the development of Hogewey, a senior “village” that is only for patients with severe cognitive decline. Here, instead of warehousing seniors in nursing homes, seniors get their own monitored apartment. They can go out into the “village” where they are able to purchase food from the grocery store, treats from the ice cream shop, and send letters from a local postal office. The twist is that the shops are staffed with caregivers; and issues like money management and communication are mitigated by the nurturing staff. Seniors can’t leave, but the expansive nature of the facility makes it feel like they have the autonomy of living in their own town. The village has been positively life changing for its residents and their caregivers.

This sort of model for senior care, especially care of those with dementia or Alzheimer’s could be revolutionary if it makes its way over to the United States. With the sheer number of patients in the US with these chronic diseases, healthcare providers could learn a lot from the Hogewey project. Regardless of which of these models is implemented in the next few years, the secret to any effort’s success will be its ability to truly understand seniors. Something which, up to now, has been lacking from many health care outreach programs within the United States. We here at the Louisville Innovation Summit have great hopes for the future of empathy based care, and look forward to its continued development!

The post Empathy: The Secret to Driving Excellence in Aging Care appeared first on Louisville Innovation Summit.

Why the rise? Two primary factors: the Baby Boom generation, those born between 1945 and 1964 are one of the nation’s two biggest demographic groups, and they are aging and quickly entering retirement. The second factor? People, in general, are living longer. In fact, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Americans born in 2010 can expect to live to be 78.4 years of age, with women living even longer.

Americans are living longer now than we have in our country’s history– news that should be cause for celebration for America’s healthcare providers. But instead, it is revealing fissures in the system that could break it, if they aren’t addressed. Here’s how the upcoming “silver tsunami” may rewrite the way healthcare is delivered, for everyone.

Trend #1: America will have to shift to a system designed for chronic disease management.

Experts estimate that chronic disease is now responsible for 85 percent of all healthcare costs. This is driven by older Americans, who are now suffering from the effects of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and more.

This will mean that instead of a system where physicians are compensated for every procedure and service given, physicians will be given a stipend for the yearly care of their patients, which they must manage to ensure patients get the best preventative care. This is already the norm in many European countries, and will likely become the norm for American Medicare patients first, as America struggles to contain rising healthcare costs.

Trend #2: A shortage of Geriatricians will reach crisis levels.

According to the American Geriatric Society, the US now has 7,000 registered geriatricians, but will need 30,000 to meet the country’s needs by 2030. Geriatricians specialize in dealing with patients over 65, who usually have multiple chronic and deteriorating conditions, and who are on multiple medications. They understand the many differences between how older patients need to be treated, versus younger patients who may have more acute or temporary problems. That increased understanding will keep patients from being over or under treated, based on false assumptions. And could improve the healthcare of seniors overall.

However, because Geriatricians are not compensated as well as their peers in other specialties, and delivering healthcare to older patients is complex and difficult, recruitment of physicians into the profession is lagging far behind goals.It is a challenge the US must address if it is to find ways to treat its aging population, and get better healthcare outcomes.

Trend #3: Tech-enabled monitoring will help drive more in-home care for seniors.

In fact, according to a recent market sizing done by AARP/Parks Associates in 2016, home care is now a $279 billion market. Why? The average senior over the age of 75 has a net worth, including home equity, of $156,000. With senior housing costing an average of $42,000 a year, and nursing homes costing even more, seniors and their families will be turning to cheaper in-home care alternatives more than ever.

Deals are already being made between tech companies and home health care companies to create an “internet of things” for senior homes. Passive sensors in the floor will monitor how much grandma is moving around, and whether she has fallen. Smart refrigerators will monitor if there is any food in the fridge or if it has spoiled. High-tech canes will monitor Grandma’s gait and walking stability. High tech medicine dispensers will remind patients to take their medicine and mix the right combinations together for them. Nurses will be able to check in on their patients every day via phone over tablet phone chats. Options abound, and will only get sped to development more quickly by pressing patient needs.

Stay tuned for more from the Louisville Innovation Summit, as we will be continuing to explore the changing face of healthcare for seniors as we lead up to the 2016 conference, slated for October in Louisville, Ky.

Register now for the 2016 Louisville Innovation Summit.

The post Three Ways Seniors Will Change the Future of Healthcare appeared first on Louisville Innovation Summit.

Please join your fellow Louisville Innovation Summit attendees in experiencing traditional Kentucky Southern Hospitality at the Kentucky Derby Museum at historic Churchill Downs!

The history and traditions of the Derby are presented in this interactive and visually stimulating museum.

Bourbon & Derby are synonymous with the City of Louisville, two industries that have contributed to the history of the city and are part of its enduring culture.

Experience both as you partake in cocktails and Kentucky-proud heavy hors d’oeuvres while enjoying:

• “THE GREATEST RACE,” the first 360 degree high-definition presentation in the world. This ten-minute film provides the aura and action of the Derby, the thrill of competing in the ”fastest two-minutes in sports” and testimonials from Derby-winning trainers, jockeys and owners!
• Bourbon tastings where you’ll learn bourbon basics or become a real pro with help from official ”bourbon authority” and Best-Selling author Fred Minnick. Try Jim Beam, Basil Hayden’s and Four Roses!
• Guided ”Behind the Scenes” paddock tours and an up-close view of the twin spires.
• Meet the resident thoroughbred horse.
• Music provided by DJ Ryan Coxx.

Shuttle service will run continuously round-trip from the Marriott 2nd Street entrance, under the red canopy, to the Kentucky Derby Museum, 5:30 – 9:00 p.m.

The post Wednesday October 14th • 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. appeared first on Louisville Innovation Summit.

Louisville is the world-leader in Lifelong Wellness & Aging Care. With more than 21,000 professionals producing over $50 billion in revenue, Louisville is home to the nation’s largest collection of headquarters in nursing home, rehabilitation, assisted living and home health administration.

Companies like Humana, Kindred Healthcare, Almost Family and ResCare got their start and are headquartered in Louisville. These companies have created a knowledge center and culture of innovation that brought companies like Atria, Signature HealthCARE, and Trilogy to create the nation’s largest concentration of headquarters operations.

The Lifelong Wellness and Aging Care sector, together with innovators and the advances of technology, drives the strength and growth in this industry. The growth of this sector is occuring in the areas of pharmaceutical development, health technology and life sciences, making Louisville a center for innovation.

The University of Louisville is making strides in life sciences and biomedical innovation, through its work at Nucleus, the Micro-Nano Technology Center and the Cardiovascular Innovation Center.

Louisville offers a world-class business environment for the healthcare industry thanks to this concentration of expertise and business-to-business capacity.

The post Lifelong Wellness & Aging Care appeared first on Louisville Innovation Summit.

As an assistant to President Obama, Chopra designed the National Wireless Initiative, helped launch Startup America, and executed an “open innovation” strategy focused on better public-private collaboration as described in his 2014 book, Innovative State: How New Technologies can Transform Government.

Chopra is the co-founder and executive vice president of Hunch Analytics, a “hatchery” incubating ideas that improve the productivity of health and education markets, including NavHealth, an open data intelligence service.

In 2011, Chopra was named to Modern Healthcare’s list of the “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare” and in 2008, to Government Technology magazine’s “Top 25” in their Doers, Dreamers, and Drivers issue.

His talk, “From Innovation to Integration: Understanding the Interdependence of People and Data,” will be a conversation with Dr. Jordan Shlain, primary care physician, digital health entrepreneur and respected writer and thought leader in national health policy.

Other confirmed featured speakers include:

• Chris Kay, Senior Vice President, Chief Innovation Officer, Humana
• Jody Holtzman, Senior Vice President, Thought Leadership, AARP
• Marc Rothman, Senior Chief Medical Officer, Kindred Healthcare
• Mary Furlong, CEO and Founder, MFA; Producer, Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit
• Paul Bennett, Chief Creative Officer, IDEO

Nearly 30 speakers and session moderators are confirmed to date, including 14 company founders and CEOs.

The Louisville Innovation Summit founding partners – Delta Dental of Kentucky, Humana, Kindred, Trilogy, ResCare, and Signature HealthCARE – are joining forces with Louisville-based partners including the Office of the Mayor Greg Fischer, Innovate LTC, Greater Louisville Inc., Health Enterprises Network, Louisville Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, and Nucleus to present the two-day conference.

The post Louisville Innovation Summit Returns to Re-Imagine Aging Care appeared first on Louisville Innovation Summit.

Watch the 2013 Louisville Innovation Summit Highlight Reel.

We brought in leaders from all across the country to Louisville, the aging capital of the world. We need to pick up the pace, and bring more innovation to healthcare, assisted living, skilled nursing, long term care and to home care.

The post LIS Highlights appeared first on Louisville Innovation Summit.

The two-day event, which convenes healthcare executives and decision makers with the brightest and best healthcare innovators and entrepreneurs, will be held October 14 – 15 in downtown Louisville Kentucky, the lifelong wellness and aging capital of the world.

The original group of founding partners consisting of Humana, Kindred, Trilogy, ResCare, and Signature HealthCARE are joining forces once again to present Louisville Innovation Summit 2015.  The 2015 event brings renewed support from Louisville-based partners InnovateLTC, Greater Louisville Inc., Health Enterprises Network, Louisville Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, and the Office of the Mayor Greg Fischer.

This year’s event promises to be bigger and better than LI Summit 2013, so stay tuned for updates, and please follow on facebook or twitter.

Registration opens on July 1, 2015.  In the meantime please contact us with any questions or for more information.

The post LI Summit 2015 Dates Announced appeared first on Louisville Innovation Summit.

The list of finalists was culled from dozens of entries from across the U.S.  The finalists will make a LIVE Pitch to a panel of expert judges, which will then determine the winner.  The winner will receive a $20,000 cash prize to advance development of their product or innovation.

The finalists are:

1. 1 Doc Way; New York, NY
2. Cariloop; Dallas, TX
3. CoPatient; Portland, OR
4. Liberate Medical; Louisville, KY
5. QMedic; Boston, MASS
6. TheraBracelet; Louisville, KY
7. Swallow Solutions LLC; Madison, WIS
8. VibeTech; Sheboygan, WIS
9. WalkJoy; Long Beach, CA
10. WeRX; Miami, FL

The post Innovation Competition Finalists Announced appeared first on Louisville Innovation Summit.

Read the blog post at McKnights.com >>

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