Six Tech Startups to Help Seniors Age in Place

From robots to wearable safety detectors, end-of-life decisions to daytrips for dementia patients, 20- and 30-somethings are turning their immense drive and creativity towards helping seniors and their family members as never before. These young entrepreneurs are filling senior market gaps, some of which we might not have conceived of until the visionary company appeared.

Such as a ride service for patients with early stage Alzheimer’s disease. Yes, Silver Sedans offers rides to all older adults in need of transportation. But they also offer a specialized ride service for Alzheimer’s patients that provides mental stimulation along with the ride.

Or Attendant, an aptly-named platform that aggregates tasks for the family of a just-deceased loved one, from funeral arrangements to death certificates and beyond — “from social security to social media” says the site — so families can focus on grieving rather than on details at a time of loss. The startup team is young enough to be a reverse mortgage client’s grandchildren — which may be precisely why they understand the importance and value of such a service.

Robots to the rescue

We’ve written before about how robots are infiltrating the senior landscape to make life easier, such as with household chores. Now Luvozo is developing SAM, a robot who’ll be able to roam senior living communities, assist residents with non-medical tasks, and participate in activities. For those who may be lonely, with few people to talk to, SAM might be a welcome friend. Hopefully he’ll be programmed to be a good listener and scintillating conversationalist.

Women are often at the helm of disruptive health care technology startups, such as Caremerge, a health tech company that’s revolutionizing care coordination and communication for seniors by providing a HIPAA-compliant, web- and mobile platform that allows family members to communicate in real time with their loved ones’ doctors and other health care providers.

Humetrix puts medical intelligence in a senior’s hands, literally: the company’s mobile applications give consumers their own health IT systems for improved patient safety and cost control, from a customizable ICEBlueButton (In Case of Emergency) to an iBlueButton, a patient-controlled button that enables consumers to easily and securely pull, receive, aggregate, store and share their emergency medical records summary at any point of care or in a telemedicine scenario.

Finally, when a senior needs to move, the very thought of sorting through and packing up a lifetime of memories can be overwhelming. Senior Move Success helps manage the transition to assisted living or independent housing, providing the compassionate support that can smooth the way to an older adult’s next, and likely final, place of residence — by planning, finding, arranging, coordinating, and managing all of the resources necessary.

All of these startups and many others point to the extensive support both youth and the healthcare IT sector are devoting to an aging population, welcome news for both reverse mortgage professionals and the seniors you serve.

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