Caring and Tech: The Future of Nursing Homes

Nursing homes are essential to the future of senior citizens in the United States. Nursing homes serve a variety of functions. Some elderly people go there for constant care, while others are simply there to rehabilitate an injury. Whatever the reason, nursing homes are key to the survival of one of the most vulnerable age groups, senior citizens. Despite their importance though, there is a lack of confidence among seniors that nursing homes can provide the care they need. On average, residents require 4 hours of personalized care throughout the day, yet only 19 percent of those same residents feel that they are better off in a nursing home. Most elderly people do not have a choice though. Whether it is a lack of resources or family, or just the amount of help they require, seniors are forced into nursing homes to rehabilitate and receive the proper care. Nursing homes are not institutions though. The Wayne Center wants to develop and distribute the right technology to increase the support and positive feedback that nursing homes receive.

At the Wayne Center, technology is being advanced and devices are being built for the present and the future care of nursing homes. In 2030, the first of 77 million Baby Boomers will reach 85, and in 2034 seniors will outnumber children for the first time in United States history. With these projections in mind, the Wayne Center knew it would have to develop technology that allowed seniors to regain their independence. The Wayne Center also took note of the substantial amounts of money the U.S. was spending on seniors. Medicare spends $6.7 billion more on senior citizens who lack a social support system and become socially isolated. The statistics provided another key area the Wayne Center could target to improve quality of care at nursing homes.

The technology itself includes multiple groundbreaking devices in the medical industry. The Solo-Step rehabilitation harness is developed to increase mobility, while also restoring confidence. The harness eliminates the fear of falling down, but still challenges the patient to go further and work to regain independence. The Solo-Step harness gets measurable results in less time than other rehabilitation methods. This two factor approach is something the Wayne Center took into account in all of their stages of development To see the full lineup of cutting edge technology, see the visual deep dive below.

Technology in this digital age moves quickly, and so must nursing homes and the devices they employ. That is why the Wayne Center did not stop at the technology of the present, but instead looked ahead to how they could impact the future. The Kidney Project is just one example of these extraordinary developments. The Kidney Project offers implantable, artificial kidneys that will eliminate any need for dialysis. These artificial kidneys also cost one-third the price of chronic dialysis. The elimination of a time consuming expensive medical treatment is truly remarkable technology that can only continue to improve life for elderly patients. The Wayne Center has the future of nursing home technology in very good hands.

Via The Wayne Center