Latest news with #elderlyCare
Bloomberg
23-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
A $20,000 ‘Home Companion' Robot From China to Debut This Year
China's UBTech Robotics Corp. is planning to unveil a $20,000 humanoid robot that can serve as a household companion this year, seeking to expand beyond factories. The company sees 'home companion' robots as a bright spot in China partly because of the growing need for elderly care, Chief Brand Officer Michael Tam told Bloomberg News in an interview on Friday. Still, he didn't give a timing for when the product goes on sale and said an all-purpose robot that can handle many types of household chores and look after human beings is years away as the technology isn't ready.
Fast Company
17-05-2025
- Climate
- Fast Company
5 ways to help your elderly parents prepare for hurricanes
When I lived in Florida, I had a neighbor named Ms. Carmen. She was in her late 70s, fiercely independent, and lived alone with her two dogs and one cat, which were her closest companions. Each hurricane season, she would anxiously ask if I would check on her when the winds began to pick up. She once told me: 'I'm more afraid of being forgotten than of the storm itself.' Her fear wasn't just about the weather; it was about facing it alone. When hurricanes hit, we often measure the damage in downed power lines, flooded roads, and wind-torn homes. But some of the most serious consequences are harder to see, especially for older adults who may struggle with mobility, chronic health problems, and cognitive decline. Emergency preparedness plans too often overlook the specific needs of elders in America's aging population, many of whom live alone. For people like Ms. Carmen, resilience needs to start long before the storm. I study disaster preparations and response. To prepare for hurricane season, and any other disaster, I encourage families to work with their older adults now to create an emergency plan. Preparing can help ensure that older adults will be safe and able to contact relatives or others for help, and will have the medications, documents and supplies they need, as well as the peace of mind of knowing what steps to take. Recent hurricanes show the gaps In 2024, Hurricanes Helene and Milton put a spotlight on the risks to older adults. The storms forced thousands of people to evacuate, often to shelters with little more than food supplies and mattresses on the floor, and ill-equipped for medical needs. Flooding isolated many rural homes, stranding older adults. Power was out for weeks in some areas. Emergency systems were overwhelmed. A tornado tore into a senior community in Port St. Lucie, Florida, during Milton, killing six people. Some long-term care facilities lost power and water during Helene. At the same time, some older adults chose to stay in homes in harm's way for fear that they would be separated from their pets or that their homes would be vandalized. These events are not just tragic; they are predictable. Many older adults cannot evacuate without assistance, and many evacuation centers aren't prepared to handle their needs. How to prepare: 5 key steps Helping older adults prepare for emergencies should involve the entire family so everyone knows what to expect. The best plans are personal, practical, and proactive, but they will contain some common elements. Here are five important steps: 1. Prepare an emergency folder with important documents. Disasters can leave older adults without essential information and supplies that they need, such as prescription lists, financial records, medical devices and—importantly—contact information to reach family, friends, and neighbors who could help them. Many older adults rely on preprogrammed phone numbers. If their phone is lost or the battery dies, they may not know how to reach friends or loved ones, so it's useful to have a hard copy of phone numbers. Consider encouraging the use of medical ID bracelets or cards for those with memory loss. Critical documents like wills, home deeds, powers of attorney, and insurance records are frequently kept in physical form and may be forgotten or lost in a sudden evacuation. Use waterproof storage that's easy to carry, and share copies with trusted caregivers and family members in case those documents are lost. 2. Have backup medications and equipment. Think about that person's assistive devices and health needs. Having extra batteries on hand is important, as is remembering to bring chargers and personal mobility aids, such as walkers, canes, mobility scooters, or wheelchairs. Do not forget that service animals support mobility, so having supplies of their food will be important during a hurricane or evacuation. Ask doctors to provide an emergency set of medications in case supplies run low in a disaster. If the person is staying in their home, prepare for at least 72 hours of self-sufficiency in case the power goes out. That means having enough bottled water, extra pet food, and human food that doesn't need refrigeration or cooking. 3. Map evacuation routes and shelter options. Identify nearby shelters that will likely be able to support older adults' mobility and cognitive challenges. If the person has pets, make a plan for them, too—many areas will have at least one pet-friendly shelter, but not all shelters will take pets. Figure out how the person will get to a shelter, and have a backup plan in case their usual transportation isn't an option. And decide where they will go and how they will get there if they can't return home after a storm. If your loved one lives in a care facility, ask to see that facility's hurricane plan. 4. Create a multiperson check-in system. Don't rely on just one caregiver or family member to check on older adults. Involve neighbors, faith communities, or local services such as home-delivered meals, transportation assistance, support groups, and senior centers. Redundancy is crucial when systems break down. 5. Practice the plan. Go through evacuation steps in advance so everyone knows what to do. Executing the plan should be second nature, not a scramble during a disaster or crisis. Planning with, not just for, older adults Emergency planning isn't something done for older adults—it's something done with them. Elders bring not only vulnerability but also wisdom. Their preferences and autonomy will have to guide decisions for the plan to be successful in a crisis. That means listening to their needs, honoring their independence, and making sure caregivers have realistic plans in place. It's an important shift from just reacting to a storm to preparing with purpose.
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Professor June Andrews: I feel the most vulnerable will be pressured to 'choose' death
The approval of the Assisted Dying Bill is a dangerous betrayal - and a tragedy in slow motion. I am shocked, but most of all I am frightened for the people I support - frail older people and families already under unbearable pressure. If some think it is a victory for compassion, I disagree. My career has been working with frail older people, including thousands living with dementia. I understand why people fear a long and difficult decline. I have witnessed grim deaths. And I understand the pressures families feel – financial, emotional, and social – when someone needs care. That's why I believe the Assisted Dying legislation is dangerous, and the people it claims to protect are the ones at greatest risk. Supporters of the Bill say it's about choice. But we don't live in a world where everyone is equally powerful. In my world, people with disabilities and older people are often made to feel like a burden. And law like this can tip the balance toward them 'choosing' death. No matter how carefully drafted, it opens the door to pressure – even if that pressure is not made clear. I see families struggle to fund care. I've heard older people say, 'I don't want to be a burden.' And when there's a cheaper, quicker option on the table, that's dangerous and a profound shift in how we value human life. It becomes another route in the care pathway. And once that happens, some people will feel they ought to take it. The Bill says it excludes people with dementia. But I've studied what happens in other countries. In the Netherlands, where assisted dying is legal, a woman with dementia was euthanised despite her last-minute resistance. Sedatives were put in her coffee. That isn't a civilised end – it's a warning. Is Scotland different? We've been assured that they'd never allow this to happen here. But how confident can we be? We don't have a fully functioning care system. Unpaid carers are exhausted and unsupported. Our hospices are underfunded. To introduce assisted dying now – in this context – is not expanding choice. It's a shortcut. Of course we don't want anyone to suffer. We don't want to see loved ones in pain. But we already have the tools to relieve pain and distress. Good palliative care can make an enormous difference – but it isn't always available. That's where we should focus our efforts, not on legalising suicide. And remember that we already have the legal right to refuse life sustaining care while still receiving pain relief, and comfort. And we already can delegate that instruction to some-one else, in case we lose capacity. That's already more freedom than the Bill offers. And what of the so-called public support? It's claimed people are in favour, but recent research shows only 8 per cent of Scots think this should be a priority for Parliament. Many more are concerned about misuse or that the line between voluntary and coerced death will get blurred. Even those who have been running the NHS and social care for nearly two decades are expressing doubts – John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon have spoken against it. And rightly so. Once a law is passed, it's impossible to stop its expansion. Today it's the terminally ill. Tomorrow it's people who can't 'contribute'. We've seen that pattern before. I don't speak from theory but experience. I've sat with families. I've helped people plan their care. I've seen what support can do – and what the absence of support costs. If Holyrood really wants to show compassion, it should invest in support for unpaid carers, increase palliative care services, and give every Scot the chance to live well until the very end. This Bill offers a false choice. It suggests dignity comes only through control over death. I believe dignity comes from how we care for one another. That's the Scotland I want to live in. *Professor June Andrews OBE is an expert in caring for older frail people and people with dementia, who has worked in academia, the NHS, and government, and the author of Dementia: the One Stop Guide
