Living Lab in Germany
Diakonie Kork is one of the leading complex providers for people with disabilities specialized on epilepsy in Germany.
The heart of the Diakonie Kork are the three special-ist clinics about epilepsy with a clinic for adults, a clinic for children and a clinic for people with complex disabilities.
Around that we have several offers for people with disabilities. We also provide stationary housing, workplaces, education, leisure for people with disabilities. We also provide our own school for future professionals, a kindergarden, and an outpatient care service.
Overall, we support around 1200 people in the region and about 1500 outpatients with the clinics all over Germany.
About 1600 employees work for and with people with disabilities, offering inclusion opportunities in every area of life, community, digitalisation (incl. start-up collaborations), education and work.
Location:
Kork, Germany, 48.5651388 N, 7.8641631 E.
WebSite:
Contact:
Julian Schulte
(vorstandsassistent@diakonie-kork.de)
The Challenges our clients face
Creating opportunities to connecting with each other and even harder with non-handicaped fellow citizens is a tough challenge for our benificiaries. They need more or less intense support on several areas of living (e.g. interaction with authorities, work, building relationships, personal needs).
Limited access to events and low social acceptence lead to isolation and loneliness. Mental stimulation is low in day to day life and community support is limited.
For many of our handicaped fellow citizens this leads to a vicious circle and increasing psychological, mental and physical degradation.
Context
Many people with disabilities live in our society. The formerly mainly inpatient services are increasingly being eliminated and an outpatient approach is being focused on. According to the Federal Statistical Office, in 2021, around 250,000 people of the 450,000 people cared for by facilities for people with disabilities lived in outpatient living arrangements. Above all, social challenges have grown; the lack of integration into society and the sometimes clearly noticeable lack of acceptance lead to loneliness and isolation for those affected.
Relevance
As you know from yourself, the desire for self-determination is also strong among people with disabilities. The legal framework and the UN-Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities oblige us to accompany people with disabilities on this jour-ney.
Due to the Federal Participation Act and the increased focus on outpatient forms of living, broad support was needed for people with disabilities in all areas of life.
The goal is to provide this support through digital technologies, to relieve the burden on assistants and to enable sustainable self-determination for people with disabilities.
Prerequisites and boundary conditions
- Solutions should be barrier-free and available in simple/easy language.
- Low-threshold access to the solution
- Ideally, a complete package consisting of device, solution, training, and sup-port.
- Low costs, can be financed in the catalogue of resources from the care insur-ance or through additional budgets such as living space improvement measures etc.
Possible solutions
A solution that brings people together, breaks down barriers and allows people in a region to benefit from each other.
This could be a regional solution based on social media, a digital village square or a solution that allows you to meet up to go for a walk, go shopping or something similar. The possibility to plan events should also be integrated so that people can get in con-tact with each other.
Preferred technologies
It is best to offer a complete package; most people do have a smartphone but few or no more digital devices. Some don’t even have a smartphone. Therefore, if possible, a complete package consisting of a solution and digital device as well as training for use should be offered.
Excluded technologies
- High costs
- Too many barriers to use / complicated technology
Existing technologies / system to integrate the solution
Diakonie Kork has a few digital solutions already in use.
- We use a digital documentation system from cgm (https://www.cgm.com)
- We have different videocall platforms in use like MS Teams, Zoom, WebEx.
- We are working on an internal server.
- We have Smart Home installed and in use on a few places.
- We are testing enna (https://www.enna.care)
- We have digital monitoring and alarm systems for epilepsy.
- We have home emergency systems.
- We provide tablets, PC and supported communication systems on stationary living and in day structure facilities.
Necessary interfaces
Since people with disabilities are unique in many cases, it would be great if the solu-tion would be flexible and can be easily slightly adjusted. It also should have the pos-sibility to have an open API to other solutions.
What else do we need to know?
Diakonie Kork is always open to new solutions or projects we see a potential to help people with disabilities or that relieve the workload of our skilled workers. Next to the innovation projects we do on our own, we are open to help you finalize your product and make it usable for to the disabled.