Building Connected Care for Hawaii
Published in the Maui News, Letters to the Editor, May 30, 2008 As elections loom, let’s hope that at least one candidate emerges who’ll champion the desire of Maui’s baby boomers and their frail relatives to age in place and not be forced into institutional settings. We need candidates who understand how inadequate most of Maui’s barrier-filled and elevated homes are for aging in place. We also need candidates who realize that Maui County urgently needs a digital, telehealth system which connects health care providers, caregivers and patients. Most importantly, we need candidates who will advocate the adoption of telehealth technologies that are now available to empower baby boomers and caregivers on Maui to age in place. These affordable and easy to use technologies include: digital personal health records, home-based vital signs monitoring devices, disease management cell phone programs, digital prescription compliance tools and personal home alarm and video systems. The age wave that will double the number of older adults on Maui in the coming decades, coupled with our growing shortages of doctors, nurses and care beds, makes it imperative that candidates commit if elected to help Maui baby boomers to remodel their homes and use innovative new aging-in-place technologies. If you wonder which candidates have a clue about these issues, simply ask them: “If I vote for you, will you help me and my loved one age in place”? If they say yes, ask how they will help you. If they don’t have a coherent answer that includes supporting home remodeling for accessibility and the use of aging-in-place technologies, vote for someone who does. Peter Durkson Makawao |
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Changing Aging |
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