Perry

Perry takes care of her 85 year old mother and has 3 young children. Her mother has vascular dementia, osteoporosis, arthritis, and hypertension. Her mother used to live near Perry but moved into a nursing home.

Needs

Current Approaches Used by Perry Alternate Suggestions 

What Could Be Created?

1. Perry needs help bridging the gap between doctors, researchers, and consumers in terms of knowledge of technology that is available. She believes that doctors are unaware of the technologies out there that could help consumers. Once Perry’s mother moved into the nursing home, the social worker or OT would recommend a particular device from a vendor who had a contract with the nursing home.  
2. Perry needs help loading the wheelchair from her mother’s nursing home into her car. On weekends, there are no doctors at the nursing homes and no transport wheelchairs.  Perry loaded the heavy wheelchair that was not collapsible into her car. 
3. Perry needs help finding a way to get her mother into Perry’s home with her big wheelchair. 
4. Perry needs help advocating for the residents in the nursing home. She found that the care aides were not feeding patients in a timely manner and were chatting amongst themselves. Perry ended up going to the care home quite often to monitor the staff and see if they were doing a good job.

Perry goes in a few days a week to feed her mother and other residents.

5. Perry needs help making facilities feel more home-y in the presence of technology. This would reduce the stigma of having technology.
6. Perry needs help making her home more well-adapted and care-friendly to her mother. For example, a flooring material that is durable to spills, and a slip resistant flooring with zero height or changes in level.
7. Perry needs simpler appliances. Her mother stopped using the microwave because she forgot how to use it.