Technological care for the elderly
Especially affected by these trends are the elderly, who may have been isolated or side-streamed in their twilight years. It's not a positive aspect of society, but rising to the challenge of reinvigorating and reintroducing this golden aged sector into mainstream society, and providing them with a sense of belonging and esteem, comes the EU funded programme, RISE. RISE is a telematic concern based on the area of informatics that aims at providing the elderly both with medical facilities and care as well as a means by which to fight their sense of isolation and abandonment. RISE amalgamates modern medical technologies with a network system of healthcare professionals, medical practitioners and home care, not just as a means of catering to their medical needs, but also as a means to break their sense of isolation and improving their quality and standards of living. Some of the benefits of this award winning programme are that Health care can be provided at home with near hospital-like standards, reduction in health care costs-always an important feature since most elderly cannot afford standard health care provisioning, reducing hospitalization times, bring health care attention to elderly and disabled in isolated areas, and introduce a more comprehensive value added service to health care orientated institutions such as retirement homes, social facilities, hospitals and nursing homes. Ultimately, its good to know, that whilst racing ahead, some of us are rising to the occasion to ensure no one gets left behind.
