Henry Street Awarded Digital Health Marketplace Grant
By Nicole Fogarty
Henry Street’s Senior Services Division is piloting a unique new smartphone application to improve access to social services and health care for seniors living in the Settlement’s Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC) in the Vladeck Houses.
Henry Street Settlement and AgeWell Global, the app’s developer, were one of 11 provider/innovator pairs to be awarded a grant from the Digital Health Marketplace to pilot the adoption of innovative health care technologies in New York.
During the pilot, specially selected seniors known for the purposes of this pilot as AgeWells, will be trained to use the app with approximately 30 Vladeck NORC seniors. During home visits, the AgeWells will conduct smartphone-based health screening that can trigger referrals to NORC case managers and other health care providers, as well as provide companionship to their senior clients.
The screening is designed to help improve overall health outcomes and quality of life, reduce preventable hospital visits, lower medical costs, and increase the use of preventative health care among seniors. The first pilot, in Cape Town, South Africa, yielded impressive results: clients showed a sustained 95 percent reduction in signs of depression.
“Henry Street continues to be an innovator for senior services. When AgeWell contacted us, we recognized that our NORC, which provides case management support to seniors in the Vladeck Houses, would be ideal to pilot this new peer to peer care model. We are honored to be one of the eleven awardees,” said Diane Rubin, Henry Street’s Chief Program Officer.
The Digital Health Marketplace is a partnership between New York City Economic Development Corporation and Health 2.0.
