Author: Jonah

Jonah Shainberg interviewed Robin Levine Shainberg, his mom, on her plan for retirement, proactivity in monitoring her health, and comfortability with technology.

• Date: March 5, 2017
• Type: FaceTime Interview
• Location: Lives in Rye, NY
• Team participants: Conducted alone
• User Characteristics:
  • Gender: Female
  • Age: 50
  • Occupation: Elementary school teacher
  • Education: B.A. George Washington ‘88, and Manhattanville Master’s in Education ‘06
• Memorable Quotes:
  • “I’m more conscious about [my health] now that I can track it, but I haven’t really tracked it much. I walk because I have Leo… it’s a social activity… I meet people and see other dog owners and see the neighborhood. It opens up conversation.”
  • “The things I feel like I’m not in control of, I get checked every year.”
  • “I’d be willing to help my doctor track my health, and I wouldn’t find it invasive, but I’m not worried about anything because I don’t drink or smoke and I’m aware of how to stay healthy.”
  • “I’m a needs-based person.”
  • “There’s more knowledge coming out every year and people are more open to discussing health with their family.”
  • “I haven’t thought about it yet. I don’t know what my plans for retirement are.”
  • “[Moving] depends where you guys are living. I’d want to be close to wherever you guys are. It’s hard to age without a support system”
• Key insights: Some people need to wait for a shock to begin monitoring their health, reliance on others to encourage motivation, each generation handles healthcare differently (culture-wise) too
• Patterns: Another person emphasizing the importance of socialization, the expectation that family cannot provide all the support

How involved are you with your dad’s health right now?

• “He’s also been lucky with his health”
• “I ask how he’s doing all the time”
• “He’s young, he’s 73.”
• “I see more things mentally than physically”

Would you want to be more involved in his health?

• “If Mimi isn’t here. She’s the first line of defense”
• “There’s more knowledge coming out every year and people are more open to discussing health with their family”

How would you help him?

• “I’d start with the doctors he has now”
• “They’ve already been proactive- their building has an elevator and a gym and he doesn’t have to shovel”
• “If he had a medical issue, I’d move him to the Osborn [assisted facility in Rye] but it depends on him because he’s very stubborn”
• “We’ve never talked about it because he’s still young and independent”

Are you technologically savvy?

• “Yes, I am savvy”
• “I know how to download apps”

How do you use technology for your health?

• “I have a Fitbit but I use it in the summer. I also have the Health app on my iPhone”
  • “I feel like I’m working most of the time and I know my average habits, don’t need it all the time”
  • “I used the nutrition thing and it depressed me”
  • “I use other apps for recipes and news”
• “I look at it all the time to see what I did during the week. I walked 7 miles per day at ND over JPW!”
• “I’m more conscious about it now that I can track it, but I haven’t really tracked it much. I walk because I have Leo… it’s a social activity… I meet people and see other dog owners and see the neighborhood. It opens up conversation”

What would you like to do for your health in the future?

• “even now I’m trying to eat more salad and do more things. I make an attempt to eat healthy and enjoy treats in moderation”
• “the things I feel like I’m not in control of, I get checked every year” (cancer)

How often do you exercise?

• “Everyday. I walk 3 miles per day and I have an active job, plus pilates once per twice per week”

Would you like your doctor to be more proactively involved in your day-to-day health?

• “I don’t have a good relationship with my doctor… I doubt she’s missing me”
• “If I got an email saying it’s time for my checkup, I’d like that”
• “I wouldn’t mind sending my Fitbit data to the doctor to track it”
  • “I’d be willing to help my doctor track my health, I wouldn’t find it invasive, but I’m not worried about anything because I don’t drink or smoke and I’m aware”
• “I’m a needs based person”

How often do you see a doctor?

• “Once every two years for a regular doctor because I consider myself healthy plus specialists once per year”

Do you think about your health often?

• “I think about it all the time. My mother died when she was 5 years older than me. Could I eat more fruit? Yes. Could I eat less candy? Yes. But that’s why I walk a lot and monitor my diet”
• “all the moms who are home all those years play yoga and have routines but I work and watched you guys and walk the dog”
• “exercise is social and I like that”

What are your plans post-retirement?

• “I haven’t thought about it yet. I don’t know what my plans are”
• “It depends where you guys are living. I’d want to be close to wherever you guys are. It’s hard to age without a support system”
• “Avoid the sandwich generation”
• “I wouldn’t keep anything from parents or children. That doesn’t benefit anybody”
• “I’d wait until I had a complete story about my health. Doesn’t help anyone to worry”

Jonah Shainberg interviewed expert Bobbie Costigan, a professional nurse and former surveyor from St. Joseph PACE, on her knowledge about “aging in place” in South Bend, IN.

• Date: March 3, 2017
• Type: In-person expert interview
• Location: St. Joseph PACE, South Bend, IN
• Team participants: Therese, Rob, Sophie, and Mary
• User Characteristics
  • Gender: Female
  • Age: mid/late 30s
  • Occupation: Director of Quality Assurance and Infection Control at Trinity Health’s Saint Joseph PACE
    • Former:
      • Director of Quality Management and Chief Nursing Officer at Select Specialty Hospital
      • Public Health Nurse Surveyor at the Indiana State Department of Health
    • Education: IUSB ‘08, B.A. and Nursing
  • Memorable Quotes:
    • “I’ve been through this process with my parents recently… and there are nursing homes in the surrounding community I wouldn’t dare send them to”
    • “PACE centers are the future of elder healthcare”
    • “I’ve shut down some of the worst [retirement homes] in the area”
    • “Innovation in the healthcare industry spreads inwards quite slowly”
    • “Our goal is to serve the elder underserved”
    • “All departments work together to create a one-stop shop”
    • “Our environment is conducive to the elderly… and with our access to medical records, we can create an individualized plan for everyone”
  • Key insights: Holistic and proactive approach to healthcare is best
  • Patterns: Importance of collaboration between healthcare figures

While Kathleen Murphy and Ashley Stump [the other experts we met on the visit to St. Joseph PACE] shared powerful insights about the business and emotional implications behind PACE, Mrs. Costigan backed everything up with hard medical knowledge. While touring the facility, Mrs. Costigan took time to explain the nature of each room’s carefully thought out design – from wider doorways to accommodate wheelchairs, the importance of sanitary garment protectors to shield COPD patients from the transmission of fumes, to the dual-purpose of meal therapy to ensure proper nutrition and foster a renewed sense of independence, and more. It was extremely valuable to hear her take on the future of healthcare and what is needed right now. She explained that she would love a product that informs her when meds were taken, alerts her when someone is out of bed, allows for the secure transformation of medical information between identified parties, generates a daily report documenting vital signs with room for comments and pictures, and is easily accessible on a desktop and simple to use for the elderly.

I interviewed Raymond Shainberg, my grandpa, on his experience in his retirement community in Memphis, TN. The purpose of interviewing this subject was to hear his motivation for voluntarily moving out of his home, despite him and his partner’s health and ability to live safely on their own. I focused less on his willingness to adopt technology, and more on the emotional/social factors that influence one’s desire to stay-at or leave their homes.

• Date: February 28, 2017
• Type: Phone Interview
• Location: Lives in Memphis, TN
• Team participants: Conducted alone
• User Characteristics:
  • Post-retiree who moved out of his house voluntarily
  • Gender: Male
  • Age: 86
  • Occupation: “Retired” Lawyer
    • Started to phase out retirement when he was 82
    • Retired at end of the year but still goes in about once per week to advise and to take care of clients
    • Technically in senior council
  • Education: Yale B.A. ’53, Yale Law ‘56
• Memorable Quotes:
  • “It’s carefree living for the older people. We don’t have to do a damn thing!”
  • “I could’ve retired earlier but what was I going to do? Stay home and do nothing? Once I came here 3 years ago, I was given alternatives besides sitting at home and twiddling my thumbs!”
  • “These communities are getting more popular.”
• Key insights: Importance of the social factor
• Patterns: Choice, desire for activity, health

 

Where are you living now?

• “It’s a retirement community. I live in a private villa with Judy in a community of about 175 apartments”
• “If I get to the point where I can’t handle things myself, there’s 20 or so assisted living and dementia/Alzheimer’s units. Along with 70 or so full care facilities and a rehab unit for people who need help if they fall or something. Doctor every morning, nurse all day. There’s also a health club and trainer for people over the age of 86.”
• There’s a movie 5 nights a week at the theatre, a library to check out books, a pool, and more
• He is very passionate about the food options
• He eats most dinners at the facility (called the Big House), and breakfast and lunch in their home
• Wears alarm around neck that if pressed, will make people show up in 90 seconds
• Average age is somewhere in the 80s

What motivated you to make the choice to move out?

• “We moved out because of the services available to us here, if we needed them. There’s a medical clinic that you can go to any morning if you don’t feel good, and if it’s too bad, they’ll get you to a hospital.”
• “They’ll come and change a lightbulb or provide other kinds of maintenance in 10 minutes”

Do you like your neighbors?

• “Oh yeah! We eat almost every meal with people out here. You never have to eat by yourself.”
• “We knew a few people coming in but met a lot more. There’s always people to talk to.”
• “There’s a woman who is 101 and is active and walks, and a Rabbi who is 99 and active too”

What did you do today?

• Tai chi class in the morning
• Rode around in his golf cart
• “I took bridge lessons from 10-12. Four of us are learning from a teacher!”
• Lunch in the house
• Went to the office to take care of stuff for 2 hours
• Came home and relaxed
• Had dinner with 4 other people at the Big House
• Had a Mardi Gras meal in the main dining room and party from 6:30-8!

Are you technologically savvy?

• “Medium. I use a Mac an iPad and printer”

How often do you see a doctor?

• “I see my regular doctor generally once a year for a check up. Maybe a couple of times for sore throat. I see my heart doctor 3x per year to check the pacemaker”
• Has seen doctor annually last 20 years – since he was 65

Do you think about your health often?

• “Yes, I really do. It worries me now at 86. But it hasn’t always been that way.”
• Got bronchitis on cruise in Alaska last year and that started me worrying
• “We come from hardy stock, Jonah!”

Do you miss the house?

• “No, not at all. Life is so much simpler here”

How much does it cost?

• $5000 per month (including food), but they pay for all utilities, maintenance, and cleaning

Are you happy with your current surroundings?

“From 1-10, it’s a 10”

 

Takeaways: While health is a crucial factor that affects post-retiree’s ability to remain at home, it is not always the motivation to move out. The desire for companionship and activities are a huge draw for many, and retirement communities that offer healthcare services are often the answer. If our goal is to use the IoT to help post-retirees age in place, we will need to take the social factor into account. It’s not only about health monitoring.