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More than 130 people attended AustinUP’s 2018 ATX Aging & Innovation Summit, an information-packed program held on November 28, 2018 at Sonesta Bee Cave Austin.
The goal this year was to provide a creative space so that people with different talents and perspectives on aging could come together to help put Austin on the map in the emerging field of aging/longevity innovation.
Panelists represented community need, research, business opportunity and investment. A few highlights from the panels and presentations included:
- Andrew Levack, senior program officer at St. David’s Foundation (SDF), talked about a new SDF program called CAPABLE, which will combine the services of RNs, occupational therapists and handy persons to help support elders in their homes.
- Sarah Ortiz Shields, program manager at Austin Tech Alliance, spoke about the Senior Shuffle, which brought together aging-related service providers and Austin-Travis County EMS to brainstorm ways to provide comprehensive services to seniors in Austin.
- Debra Umberson, Ph.D., professor of sociology and director of the University of Texas at Austin Population Research Center, gave a preview of UT’s Texas Aging & Longevity Center, which will officially launch in January 2019. Their goal is to connect UT Austin with the city, state and national communities serving aging populations. Primary areas of expertise include aging in place/social isolation; technology and aging; health disparities; and Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
The afternoon Tech/Aging Startup Showcase featured:
- Clairvoyant Networks (solutions supporting Aging in Place, e.g., sensors, communication hardware, smartphone applications and cloud connectivity)
- Iris Plans (technology to help families with advance care planning)
- Guide Change (financial reporting and tracking for elders and their caregivers)
- Remedy (medical house calls and on-demand video visits)
In addition, attendees took part in a highly interactive “design thinking” strategy session over lunch, led by a team of IBM facilitators. The team shared a link that each attendee could use to pursue their own skills certification in design thinking.
The Senior Resource Guide was a proud sponsor of this event along with AARP Texas, St. David’s Foundation, Alzheimer’s Association, AnyPlace MD and Aging 2.0 Austin.