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 the summer of 2001,
I led a terrific team of alumni, faculty, students, and administrators at
Florida Gulf Coast University in founding the Center for Assisted Living
Innovation. CALI is an institute that addresses the challenges faced by
people who--because of age, injury or disease--require assistance with the
activities of daily living.
Several years ago my father suffered a debilitating stroke that left him
dependent on my mother and I to bathe, dress, and move him. This occurred
shortly after I recovered from severe injuries suffered in a car accident that
had, for several months, rendered me just as dependent on assistance. These
experiences marked a turning point in my life. I realized that millions face
such challenges every day, and that nearly all of us have experienced them at
some point within our families or circles of friends. I was determined to make a
difference in this large and important community, and I started by examining its
most pressing concerns.
A Growing Scarcity of Caregivers and Resources.
With the continued aging of the United States and many other countries,
the assisted living community will grow. This means that caregivers--whether
family or professional--will dwindle dramatically relative to the burgeoning
number of people requiring care. Another implication is that the cost of care
promises to rise dramatically at the same time that tax revenues shrink as more
Baby Boomers retire. This process is already under way; our healthcare and life
care systems currently suffer chronic labor shortages and spiraling costs in
many areas. These demographics impact growing numbers of people who fail to
receive the level of care they deserve, either because their families are unable
to provide it, or because the care-giving institutions they rely on are
increasingly strapped by cost and manpower issues.
A Need to Ease the Burdens and Enhance the Lives of Care Givers and Receivers
Alike.
My experiences as both care giver and receiver made me keenly aware that
better assistive solutions were needed to preserve the independence, dignity,
and well-being of older people and people with disabilities, and of those who
care for them. I believe that much of the isolation, helplessness, drudgery,
risk of injury, and unpleasantness involved in assisted living can be alleviated
through:
- Enlightened care practices based on the latest research in physical and
cognitive disabilities;
- Improved building, interior, and product design;
- The targeted application of advanced engineering, computerization, and
robotics.
Recently there have been major advances in fields such as universal design,
robotics, artificial intelligence, communication systems, and, most importantly,
in our understanding of the physical, social and psychological aspects of aging
and disability. It is now possible to design effective, affordable assistive
environments and devices that enable high degrees of autonomy and self-
sufficiency without sacrificing security, safety, privacy, and well being. An
important added benefit results from the reduction in caregiver hours devoted to
menial tasks: it increases the "quality time" of care provided while also
helping to rein in costs and relieve the labor crunch.
A Need For Authoritative Information and Standards on Assistive Products,
Services and Practices.
When it became apparent that my mother and I needed help caring for my
father, we were frustrated by a lack of accessible, comprehensive information on
the availability and quality of assistive services and products. My subsequent
experiences and research confirmed that there exists no central, authoritative
assisted living information source. The major impetus for CALI was the
recognition that wide-spread innovation and excellence in assisted living
required the creation of a nationally recognized knowledge and certification
authority serving the needs of both service providers and the people who use
those services.
CALI is an interdisciplinary research and service institute dedicated to
promoting excellence in assisted living by serving as just such a knowledge and
standards authority. We will accomplish this through our own and affiliated
research, government and industry alliances, and by working closely with all
stakeholder groups to identify and address their needs. We will help identify,
develop, certify, and implement solutions that span everything from building
design to medication monitoring, from intelligent household appliances to
specialized communication devices and interfaces. We will also spearhead
education efforts to promote the use of these innovations in the
assisted living community and industry, including providing consulting and
training services on, for instance, selecting and properly using assistive
devices, and integrating multi-component assistive systems.
To achieve these goals, CALI will need to draw on the considerable resources
of the Southwest Florida community and industries, as well as their
counterparts across the nation and around the world. With the support of
individuals and organizations that share our goals, we intend to make CALI--
and Southwest Florida--an internationally recognized center
of excellence in assisted living.
Please contact us to learn how you or your organization can partner with
CALI. Your personal contribution or participation, or that of your
organization, will help improve the lives of millions --very likely including
someone close to you.
Gary Kluckhuhn
Co-Director
1010 Fifth Avenue South
Naples, FL 34102
Phone:
(239) 732-0375
Email: grkluckh@eagle.fgcu.edu
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