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Firefighters say they’re swamped by calls for routine care from senior homes

oregonlive.com

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Re: Firefighters say they’re swamped by calls for routine care from senior homes

#3
If there is an industry that needs startups, it is long term care and senior care in general.

Expensive, nearly universally badly done, and it seems like a lot of people could stay in their homes with some automated appliances/thoughtful redesigns of everyday items.

Hoping that when my grandparents start needing it in 5-10 years that the options have dramatically improved.

Re: Firefighters say they’re swamped by calls for routine care from senior homes

#4

If there is an industry that needs startups, it is long term care and senior care in general. Expensive, nearly universally badly done, and it seems like a lot of people could stay in their homes with some automated appliances/thoughtful redesigns of everyday items. Hoping that when my grandparents start needing it in 5-10 years that the options have dramatically improved.

> A resident needs a bandage changed? An IV line inserted? A catheter replaced? A prescription refilled?

This is not stuff that robots can do in the near future.

Re: Firefighters say they’re swamped by calls for routine care from senior homes

#5
post #4

If there is an industry that needs startups, it is long term care and senior care in general. Expensive, nearly universally badly done, and it seems like a lot of people could stay in their homes with some automated appliances/thoughtful redesigns of everyday items. Hoping that when my grandparents start needing it in 5-10 years that the options have dramatically improved.

> A resident needs a bandage changed? An IV line inserted? A catheter replaced? A prescription refilled? This is not stuff that robots can do in the near future.

First three, no, but why couldn't a robot refill a prescription or at least automatically handle the scheduling for that?

And the goal isn't to automate that stuff, but rather automate everything else to free up expensive human hours for this work. So instead of spreading humans thin between cleaning toilets, cleaning floors, doing laundry, and putting in IVs, get the cleaning and laundry off the plate of the human.

Re: Firefighters say they’re swamped by calls for routine care from senior homes

#7

If there is an industry that needs startups, it is long term care and senior care in general. Expensive, nearly universally badly done, and it seems like a lot of people could stay in their homes with some automated appliances/thoughtful redesigns of everyday items. Hoping that when my grandparents start needing it in 5-10 years that the options have dramatically improved.

> with some automated appliances/thoughtful redesigns

Can you give some examples?

I guess I can start: something that monitors gas cookers, which already exists: iguardfire.com

Re: Firefighters say they’re swamped by calls for routine care from senior homes

#9
In all my time living in Louisiana, the only time I saw a fire truck near a home was when the house was actually on fire or under threat of fire.

In Texas? EVERY SINGLE TIME I see an ambulance, I see a fire truck. It makes ZERO sense most of the time. Texas municipalities are using medical emergencies to fund their fire departments (and jack up insurance rates in the process) by sending fire trucks to people even when they're suffering from chronic conditions.

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