ATLANTA: A well known geriatric psychiatrist and author says the skilled nursing home is headed for extinction.
The future solution, however, will be wholly home-based, with regular visits from a variety of different professional and volunteer caregivers providing assistance in every shape and form, including mobile nursing, medical and mental-health services, a dizzying array of social activities and networks, and prepackaged super nutritional meals (aka “meals on wheels on steroids” with tailor-made organic, vegan, Mediterranean and countless other options), all designed to not only maintain health and mitigate decline but also to engage the creative spirit of aging.
All of these services will be in the service of wearable and home-embedded technologies that provide moment-to-moment data on vital signs, metabolic indexes (i.e., no more regular blood work needed), mobility, safety and daily needs…