Seminar on “Towards a Silver Lining for Golden Years” held in city

Seminar on “Towards a Silver Lining for Golden Years” held in city

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Mar 24, 2023: Everyone wants to live long, but nobody wants to grow old! It seems to be a universal problem, and that was one of the takeaways at the learning seminar on “Towards a Silver Lining for Golden Years,” that was jointly organized by Mangalore Heartscan Foundation(MHF) and Elder Home Clinics on 18th March at Don Bosco Mini Hall, Mangalore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But the bigger takeaway was that you can make technology your friend in order to reach out, not only to friends and family but your doctor too.  This was exemplified by the Elixir App that was demonstrated at the Seminar as one of the newest elder-friendly initiatives in Mangalore.

Dr Mukund K, Chief Cardiologist, MHF, whose involvement in Elder Care is immense, said that elders in the evening of their lives were perceived as not productive and therefore not an attractive group that required focused attention. Technology, he said, could be a great driver to serve this segment of society and could come to their aid because while renowned doctors could be too busy in their practice, they were still  just a call away when seniors made an SOS call on the Elixir App.

Currently the Elixir Patient App that is available only to registered patients of Dr Mukund, is a boon to elders who, besides being able to access their doctor, almost on demand, can do so from the comfort of their homes and reduce the wait and travel time that is a huge source of stress. When a patient calls in, the doctor is able to see his patient on the video, ask him/her for medical history, lab reports and prescriptions and guide him/her through his/her medical crisis.

Realising the need for providing in-home medical treatment and care for their patients, in and around Mangalore, Dr Mukund’s daughter Anaesthesiologist, Dr Meghna, CEO, MHF, founded the Elder Home Clinics (EHC). This is designed to be a complete health outreach service where, short of surgery, all regular medical needs of elders could be taken care of. They provide home assessment & diagnostic services and follow-up treatment by skilled nurses, in coordination with the patient’s regular doctor. Other services provided are Nebulisation and oxygen concentrators, wound care, post operative care & Ryles tube feeding, Tracheostomy, IV and delivery of medications to a patient’s home.

To serve this segment, MHF has invested in technology and will soon be launching their new app: Elixir Call My Doc, where a comprehensive care plan can be developed for elder care at home, headed by a care manager. Patients can schedule appointments and request home visits and also have their medication delivered to them.

Dr Amit Dias, Assistant Professor, Goa Medical College, the guest speaker at the Seminar shared the Goa experience to the interactive audience. He spoke of the wide variety of initiatives that they have undertaken to help caregivers manage elders, particularly those who were suffering from dementia.  He, like other speakers stressed that caregivers of the elderly affected with dementia, also needed attention and support. Caregivers should be treated like professionals doing a crucial job caring for the elderly. The elderly, themselves as far as possible, should be coaxed and cajoled into being functional so that their depression levels abate and they feel useful. A programme that has become very popular is the Memory Café, held in person, as well as online on Zoom, that elders find very uplifting.

"Dil" means Heart but it also stands for Depression in Later Life, Dr Amit said, based on his interaction with seniors widely. This is another area in which Dr Amit has been working and has been able to extend help to those in need.

Harriet Vidyasagar, who for over 20 years was closely associated with elder care – her father died at 101 last year and her mother too in 2021 at 97, talked about all the lessons she had learned. She emphasized the fact that care of seniors and super seniors in not an individual’s job, nor that of the family but rather a whole community effort, for it to be successful and rewarding. Her support group comprised of 17 persons, from amongst family and friends, who provided all-round care, with the help of Dr Mukund leading the effort, and which survived even through a treacherous pandemic and period of complete isolation.

The entire Seminar was elegantly held together in a splendid manner by Dr Rohan S Monis, Chief Administrative Officer, Kanachur Institute of Medical Sciences, who gave the audience little nuggets of helpful information, including writing a “Living Will,” so that those who survived the elderly, had no complications, while also fulfilling the wishes of the dear departed.

One of the outcomes of the entire proceedings clearly pointed out a need for information that can help caregivers in the city.  Every person faced with the responsibility of elder care is reinventing the wheel and has to learn by trial and error and personal experience.