Rhode Island Takes Center Stage in Effort to Improve Elder Care
April 14, 2008 | Print this page | Share This | Email this page
The Business Innovation Factory (BIF) is partnering with the Tockwotton Home, Quality Partners of Rhode Island and the MIT AgeLab to create a real-world laboratory for developing and testing new solutions, products and models for improving elderly care. Leveraging the BIF Experience Lab platform, the "Nursing Home of the Future" will create a platform for innovators and industry partners to transform current approaches to elderly care in assisted living and nursing care facilities. Outcomes will provide a roadmap for redesigning the next generation of elderly care solutions and help companies and care providers deliver better value to the burgeoning elderly population.
“The elderly population is exploding and our country is not prepared to meet the challenges of delivering high quality and cost effective care. We must act now to design a new model for elderly care and improve the experience of seniors who require assistance,” says BIF founder and chief catalyst Saul Kaplan. “The Nursing Home of the Future initiative will enable us to quickly and cost effectively test big-win solutions in a manageable environment and then to scale those ideas nationally. This bold approach gives elders the lead voice in improving their care and quality of life.”
For this effort, the partnership team engages residents and staff at Tockwotton Home, a 30-bed assisted living center and 42-bed skilled nursing home located in Providence, Rhode Island. The Tockwotton Home provides the partnership access to a working home where residents and partners can co-develop a real-world understanding of the elderly experience and a platform for developing and testing new solutions.
Tockwotton Home also plans to open a new 150-bed facility in 2010 in which they will dedicate a patient unit and common living areas to the Nursing Home of the Future initiative. This will provide project partners with a unique opportunity to participate in a holistic redesign of the resident experience, including the physical space of the facility, and house the ongoing platform for research and innovation around elderly care delivery models.
Also central to the partnership is the leadership and expertise of Quality Partners of Rhode Island (QPRI). QPRI carries the Medicare and Medicaid designation as the National Nursing Home Quality Improvement Organization Support Center since 2002. In this role, QPRI serves as a national leader and center of excellence in nursing home quality and provides clinical support and quality improvement materials to Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) throughout the United States.
For more information, visit http://businessinnovationfactory.com/experiencelabs/overview_headlines_n...
