Technology and health are connected with the well-being of the elderly

In June 2013, during World Youth Day, Pope Francis pronounced some words that resonated within an entrepreneur: “Do it, take care of the extremes of the people that are the elderly and the young, do not allow yourself to be excluded and that do not exclude the elderly, and do not license faith in Jesus Christ”. That was the beginning of a vocation, which was later shared by a team of professionals: putting their talents at the service of those over 65 years of age.

Gervasio is 46 years old, he is an industrial engineer from ITBA, with an MBA and a postgraduate degree from MIT, he worked for almost 23 years in multinationals such as Tenaris, Kimberly Clark, Pfizer, and Zoetis, and he chose to undertake for this segment.

“The +65 years stage is rich in experience, in wisdom, in the ability to give and receive love, in understanding the really important things in life. It is a stage to transmit traditions, culture, values, to enjoy everything sown. And it is also a stage with challenges that are different from those of other stages of life,” he says.

So it was that in 2018, Gervasio together with a team of entrepreneurs developed CMA Vida, a company that develops and operates residences for the elderly and that currently has 4 projects in progress.

In 2021, this team of entrepreneurs starts a second venture that allows them to amplify the scope of their purpose. It’s regarding Ellie Care, one of the few Age-Tech in Latin America, and has everything to become a company with international projection. With a investment of one million dollars, this company is developing an innovative technological platform that allows to any community (a family, a company, a city, etc.) to take care and promote the comprehensive well-being of its members over 65 years of age.

“Our objective is simple: to help those over 65 and their families to fully live this beautiful stage of life, with health, safety, independence, and close affection,” says Gervasio.

To achieve this, Ellie Care developed an application for smartphones and one for smartwatch, through which emergencies are attended, falls are detected, and it will allow the collection of information on the physical, cognitive and socio-affective well-being of the elderly, which will be processed in an artificial intelligence engine with the aim of promoting healthy habits, strengthening ties with families, and moving towards preventive and personalized medicine. The proposal is complemented by a 24/7 monitoring center and a rewards and benefits platform that rewards family interactions and socialization.

“In December we started the operations in Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, with our first version of the platform. We are committed to building the most complete and innovative platform in the segment, and we have many new features that we will be incorporating in the following months. We need to create a more Senior Friendly world,” he says.

There are very interesting statistics from the WHO and Harvard that highlight this challenge, but also the opportunity: by 2050 almost 20% of the world population will be over 65 years of age. Of this population, 23% cannot carry out activities of daily living independently, almost 40% live alone and the majority are women, 50% say they are “invisible” to companies and society, and 90% want to go through this stage of life wherever they want.

In the same way that we need to take care of our common home, which is the planet, old age is another space that will find all of us… it is time to take care of ourselves too.

For more information go to www.ellie.care.