Innovatia

live-in residents in its two residential facilities (one is for those who are mobile but require as- sisted living, the other for those with dementia and other high-care residents). All residents are cared for by a staff of highly trained nurses and carers with supplementary support provided by an energetic squad of local volunteers. The or- ganisation also provides a range of vital at-home services for hundreds of locals. The costs of pri- vate aged care remain high for many Australians, and a key pillar of MannaCare’s philosophy is to provide high-quality care for those who need it, rather than those who can afford it. Among the silver linings of COVID-19 is the growing realisation that, while in-person con- tact will always be indispensable, high-quali- ty aged care can, in part, be delivered remote- ly – and that emerging technologies have the potential to revolutionise the field. Mannacare – whose board of directors includes Peter Full- er, of the software giant Micro Focus, and Mark McNamara, an expert in digital transforma- tion – is fully embracing those transformative ideas. Peter Fuller says the current and potential applications of tech in the evolving aged care ecosystem are diverse and growing. “For now, at MannaCare, they include residents being able to meet remotely with their GPs and spe- cialists, as well as socialise with families and friends, through video applications (crucial during Melbourne’s 2020 lockdowns); access to video-on-demand and pay TV services; and the use of tablets and other smart devices in the re- habilitation of people with disabilities.” At-home care is a growing part of the industry’s big picture, and here, the possibilities that tech opens up are almost endless. As Fuller says, they

include “wearable tech that can measure an indi- vidual’s heart rate and other vital signs, including blood pressure (going far beyond the old ‘panic button’, which has to be physically pressed); mo- tion pressure detectors that can perceive falls; and tech that can remind people to take their medica- tions in ways a plastic pill box never could. The Internet of Things (IoT) will open up a whole new world of once unthinkable possibilities; suppose, for example, that pill box could record whether its lids had been opened each day and alert the user if they hadn’t.” The IT industry has in recent years had a collec- tive epiphany: that it can create social as well as corporate value in a range of areas – healthcare, disability services and aged care, for example – and it’s already directing significant intellectual capital towards that end. “Of course, industry can’t do it alone,” Fuller notes. “Getting high-speed, cost-effective, re- liable internet into more aged care facilities is crucial to improving residents’ lives, and gov- ernment is the key player in that area. Gov- ernment can also help by improving the reg- ulatory and funding landscape to speed the development of cheaper and simpler-to-use smart devices.” “Tech will never fully replace the human ele- ment of aged care – a volunteer’s warm smile or a nurse’s thoughtful gesture can achieve what even the smartest device cannot. But tech can be – and already is – a valuable sup- plement to the existing infrastructure.” MannaCare’s use of technology in its oper- ations, its strong leadership structure and its sense of social mission are good news, not only for Australia’s ageing population but also for the future of the industry as a whole.

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INNOVATIA

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