Living Lab in Germany
Ev. Altenhilfe in the rural area of the Black Forest is a complex provider for social services. About 260 employees take care of around 560 outpatients at their welfare centre every day. The neighbourhood support scheme we run through the welfare centre is available for anyone looking for personalised care advice, help with care plans and services tailored to their specific needs. We also offer residents’ lunch specials, meals on wheels and numerous counselling opportunities. The Ev. Altenhilfe is a very progressive organization very active in the field of social innovation, collaborating with different kinds of IT start-ups and its own IT expert to push digital transformation in elderly care.
Location:
St. Georgen in Black Forrest, Germany, 48.1256008 N, 8.3191565 E.
WebSite:
https://www.altenhilfe-st-georgen.de/en/
Contact:
Michael Werler
The context
The aim is to ensure that people in need of care can continue to be cared for in the future. This requires new forms of care and a rethink towards ambulantisation and the empowerment of family carers. This represents a paradigm shift: The traditional services of inpatient and outpatient care must be rethought. Just as the needs of a carer are extremely individual, the care services should also be individually adaptable. It is important to be able to act flexibly at this point and work together with the people who need help to create a suitable programme with appropriate aids.
Relevance
The solution aims to prolong the stay of people in need of care in their own homes. The mix of services developed by the EAH in conjunction with technical or digital aids is intended to prolong the time people can stay at home. The focus is not only on the person in need of care, but above all on the family carers who provide care at home. This target group should be relieved and enabled to provide care at home with the support of professional carers.
Prerequisites and boundary conditions:
- Ensure it can function offline and its essential features remain accessible with limited connectivity.
- Consider the various devices older individuals may use and ensure compatibility.
- Simplify the process of getting started with the solution, offer training, and provide ongoing tech support to address any issues users may encounter.
Preferred technologies
The technology that balances functionality, ease of use, and scalability while considering the specific needs and context of the elderly population.
Excluded technologies
Costly, challenging to navigate.
Existing technologies / system to integrate the solution
Ev. Altenhilfe is very well digitalised for the social sector. Many digital solutions are available, from Microsoft Office, including Microsoft Teams, to digital care documentation.
Necessary interfaces
The application should be flexible and easy to adjust, so it can easily fit into bigger systems later.
What else do we need to know?
Ev. Altenhilfe is a progressive organisation in the field of innovation. We have our own project department which is available exclusively for companies and start-ups. There is also very good co-operation with Furtwangen University.