Hanna Harzman,
CEO of the Keshet Association for the Elderly
The technology surrounding us has reached the thresholds of geriatric institutions and nursing homes, bringing with it countless possibilities for the provision of efficient and effective services at a higher level than ever before.
Technology is aide that helps teams function and enables transparency, speedy response and organizational memory.
The concept of a “smart” ward at geriatric institutions and nursing homes does not mean connecting sensors between the beds of the elderly and a computer in the nurse’s room; a smart ward is one in which services are provided to the residents by means of multiple technological interfaces that allow continuous improvements in the care, service, and attention given to individual residents, and in their ability to communicate with their families and others around them.
In a smart ward it is possible to collect information on the residents and design personally-tailored services suitable for them and for all the professional service providers in the ward, when and where they operate.
"Treatment that combines personal attention and putting the patient at the center provides the best response to the patient's needs and improves his quality of life" ("Issues in the Management of Institutions for the Elderly”, 2016, Prof. Esther Yakovitz, pg. 21, published by JDC Israel Eshel).
The technological systems transfer information from various functional areas: the resident's bed, the wheelchair on which he sits in the dining room at meal times, the occupational therapy room, during activity or during physiotherapy, while practicing walking or during other activities. All of these are monitored and managed in one system that centralizes all the information, consolidates and analyzes it, and builds a personalized treatment plan that is tailored and updated as needed.
Future technological systems will enable geriatric centers and nursing homes to operate in a smarter world, connected online to an almost unlimited data flow of medical and professional data. The technology will enable communication between systems, devices and equipment (IOT – Internet of Things).
AI (artificial intelligence) systems,
BI (business intelligence) – a graphical display to assist in decision making by concentrating the data using a clear presentation to facilitate evaluation and provide a comparative picture of the situation, VR (virtual reality), AR (augmented reality).
All these and more will give a broader picture of the residents in real time and a quality of care that will be proactive and rather than reactive.
The capabilities are many; below are some examples:
1. The Staff – Staff involvement is the basis for the success of these in-depth processes.
It is important to ensure comprehensive assimilation of the process and to provide ongoing support to the staff in a structured and gradual process. The quality of life of residents in geriatric institutions and nursing homes depends closely on the staff's ability to control, analyze and convey information.
The success of the digital transformation depends largely on the human factor and the corporate culture, dedicated managers and employees who understand the rationale and its importance for the success of the nursing homes and the geriatric centers.
The smart ward staff will manage some of its activities with the help of smartphones, which will enable them to control all the required procedures in a continuous, accessible and convenient manner.
“The concept of a “smart” ward at geriatric institutions and nursing homes does not mean connecting sensors between the beds of the elderly and a computer in the nurse’s room; a smart ward is one in which services are provided to the residents by means of multiple technological interfaces that allow continuous improvements in the care, service, and attention given to individual residents, and in their ability to communicate with their families and others around them.”
2. The families – Increasing the involvement of family members in activities and sharing of information. Families will receive a daily report of their loved ones’ regular activities as well as special activities by innovative technological means, including photos and full documentation, on a daily basis, which will give them confidence in the quality of the care. Residents will be able to communicate with their families whenever they wish, giving them a good and encouraging feeling that they have not been forgotten.
3. Medical management – The volume of data generated by physicians, nursing staff, occupational therapists, dietitians, communication clinicians and physiotherapists is enormous.
The collection and management of this data, the utilization of its full potential for providing insights, and the creation of meaningful value from the data – all these are important for the health and well-being of nursing home and geriatric center residents.
The ability to assess the risk of heart disease, lung disease, pressure ulcers, cognitive decline and more using machine learning are the future of the smart ward.
4. Operation – Will be smart, efficient and effective; there will be technological control over the quantities and qualities of purchased items and measurements will be performed in a simpler way, enabling cost savings and continuous improvement of purchased goods. In the smart ward, the water, electricity, air conditioning and air quality systems, as well as the medication and food refrigerators, will be managed in a controlled and efficient manner via IOT.
Smart ward services are based on an infrastructure of machine-to-machine communication capability; a robust and advanced wireless communication infrastructure that can handle very large volumes of data and scenarios to manage institutions in real time and with no limitations.
5. The robot – A social robot will tour the ward, and residents or staff members will be able to invite it to their table in the dining room or to their own room, and use it contact family or play games.
Music lovers can build a personalized playlist that varies according to their musical tastes, and which they can call on whenever or wherever they choose to listen. The robot will allow residents who love flowers to observe the growth of virtual foliage; residents who love birds will be able to watch them in their natural surroundings throughout the day and listen to birdsong in their rooms.
6. Games – The technology will provide a range of digital games for the benefit of the residents, by projecting them on the dining room tables, memory games, identification of sites in Israel, Jewish holidays represented by pictures and songs, social bingo and more.
A "smart geriatric ward" is a ward that knows how to connect processes and staff members by means of various information systems.
In the next chapter, implementation at the Tzahalon Geriatric Center in Tel Aviv and in the smart ward
at the Givat Hashlosha integrated geriatric center in Petah Tikva.
[Image] A picture of the robot in the ward
