Establishing an NSF Engineering Research Center for Connected Eldercare
First Online Workshop
Date: December 16, 2021
Time: 1:00 pm – 4:30 pm EST
https://mit.zoom.us/j/94426214085
Meeting ID: 944 2621 4085
+16465588656,94426214085# US (New York)
+16699006833, 94426214085# US (San Jose)
Invitation
Over 580,000 elderly people have died of COVID 19 in the United States, and approximately 40% of them were residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities. The pandemic severely impacted the eldercare industry which provides in-person care services. Numerous cluster infections have taken place at vulnerable nursing facilities. Eldercare has long been a difficult challenge experienced by all communities in the US and the world at large. Its labor-intensive services have been facing numerous difficulties, including a shortage of qualified caregivers, high costs for providing quality services, and low wages and limited compensation for the staff. The impact of the pandemic is an added challenge, causing not only numerous deaths and health problems but also mental and psychological disorders among the elderly population that have been isolated. It is time to take a long, hard look at traditional eldercare practices. The goal of the proposed NSF ERC is to establish an alternative approach to traditional in-person care. Exploiting the rapidly growing telemedicine infrastructure, we aim to deliver quality eldercare to a broad spectrum of the elderly population while reducing in-person care needs. Emerging technologies, such as soft robotics and a 5G/6G network, have the potential to enable safe and personal contacts that the elderly population needs. Progress in neuromotor control, cognitive science, AI, physical medicine and geriatrics will underpin our effort for establishing a new approach to eldercare.
The objective of this online workshop is to bring together researchers and practitioners from diverse fields, ranging from robotics, biomedical engineering, and computing to nursing, physical medicine, geriatrics, and care businesses. Despite the enormous potentials and social impact, currently, researchers know very little about real needs in eldercare. Care providers, on the other hand, know very little about the latest advances in technology. In an attempt to fill the gap, this online workshop focuses on communication between the two. We hope that you find this workshop useful for charting a new approach to eldercare.
Agenda
1:00 pm Opening of the Workshop, Dr. Paolo Bonato, M.C., Co-PI, ERC Planning Project, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital
1:05 pm Welcome, Dr. Evelyn Wang, Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering, M.I.T.
1:15 pm Planning report for establishing an NSF ERC for Connected Eldercare, Dr. Harry Asada, PI, ERC Planning Project, M.I.T.
1:50 pm Participants introduction (all participants, in alphabetical order of Zoom accounts) and breakout session briefing, Dr. Jun Ueda, Co-PI, ERC Planning Project, Georgia Institute of Technology
2:10 pm Breakout Session
Two themes will be discussed: theme A will focus on home-based and community-based eldercare, and theme B on skilled nursing homes and assisted living facilities. In each theme, short-term and long-term needs will be identified, and four major points – opportunities for a) convergence research, b) workforce development, c) diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and d) collaboration with stakeholders – will be discussed. Two breakout session groups will be formed, Groups 1 and 2. Group 1 will discuss theme A first followed by theme B. Group 2 will discuss each theme in the opposite order.
Theme A: Moderator: Mike Bankowski , LiteRun, Note taker: Dr. Waiman Meinhold, Georgia Tech
Theme B: Moderator: Dr. Randie Black-Schaffer, Spaulding Rehab Hospital, Note taker: Roberto Bolli, MIT
2:10 – 2:45 Breakout session 1
Theme A Group 1
Theme B Group 2
2:50 – 3:25 Breakout session 2
Theme A Group 2
Theme B Group 1
3:30 pm Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Bryan Nance, M.I.T.
3:50 pm Breakout session report
4:20 pm Wrap-up and action items
4:30 pm Adjourn
