The experience in the management of centers for the elderly in various parts of the province of Pontevedra is the basis of the Envita project, a company that is committed to a paradigm shift in the care of this group that goes far beyond the care provided it usually lends in these types of centers. A new methodology allows taking a step forward in psychological care in the care of the elderly, much more necessary after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Noelia López, CIELO of Envita, explains that the project was going to start before the arrival of the pandemic but finally had to be postponed until the beginning of this year. “We have two types of products, life stories and the care and life plan that we are offering to the different institutions that work with the elderly. We are having a good reception and we already have clients from Galicia and also from abroad ”.
The use of technology is one of the essential elements of Envita’s project, but it is also essential to offer professionals in the care sector the largest available teaching materials to work with. Another important point is to propose very simple technological solutions so that the elderly themselves can become familiar with these types of tools that will also help them exercise their memory.
“The Envita Stories program,” says López, “consists of a platform that allows institutions that serve the elderly to offer them the possibility of taking a portrait of their lives. We use different types of tools that allow us to build the soundtrack of the life of an old man. The final product can become a book in physical and virtual version that is delivered in a small ceremony to the protagonist himself ”.
Another of the company’s programs will include the Envita Plan app, a practical and participatory tool that allows digitizing the person-centered care model. In this way, communication between the elderly, the professionals of reference and the families of the users of the centers is favored. These types of solutions are the beginning of a path for a change in the culture of care that became even more evident with the impact of the pandemic on nursing homes.
Given the long experience of Envita’s creators in this field, they are very clear that it is necessary to face a change in the culture of organizations and bet on putting the life project of the elderly as a priority. The solutions that Envita offers go in this direction. “We needed new instruments to start this new model,” says López.
Envita’s creators are very clear that it is necessary to face a change in the culture of organizations and bet on putting the life project of the elderly as a priority
Envita was part of the Vía Galicia accelerator and was also in the “Principia” program, @ both supported by the Galician Innovation Agency (Gain) of the Xunta de Galicia. The latter was “very important” for the start-up since it allowed them to hire a digital manager, among other things. The company was also one of those selected in the Connect-19 program, organized by the Xunta and Tecnópole, which allowed it to advance in the process of digitizing care and life plans.
López hopes that this new model of care for the elderly promoted by Envita will eventually spread to Galicia, in particular, and to Spain, in general, as is already the case in other northern European countries and also in the United States. By next year Envita will also study the possibility of offering its products and methodology in other countries. “We have extensive experience in training that has allowed us to train more than 3,000 professionals throughout Spain and this is also important towards the development of this project,” concludes López.
