사랑하는 할머니 위해 치매 치료 앱 개발한 기특한 손주 19-Year-Old Designs App to Help His Family Care for His Grandmother With Dementia
19-Year-Old Designs App to Help His Family Care for His Grandmother With Dementia
By Emma Taggart on December 20, 2019
When a loved one is diagnosed with dementia, it can be overwhelming for every member of the family. The devastating brain disease causes the person suffering from it to gradually lose the ability to think and remember, so it’s often up to the people around them to help them function on a daily basis.
기특한 손주...사랑하는 할머니 위해 치매 치료 앱 개발 사랑하는 사람이 치매 진단을 받을 때, 가족 구성원 모두에게 압박을 준다. 이 치명적인 뇌질환은 그로 인해 고통 받는 사람이 점차적으로 사고력과 기억력을 상실하게 하기 때문에, 그들이 매일 기능하는 것을 돕는 것은 종종 주변 사람들에게 달려 있다. 메사추세츠에 사는 19세의 로건 웰스의 할머니 나니가 4년 전 치매 진단을 받았을 때, 그는 부모님과 이모가 그녀를 돌보는 부담스러운 일을 떠맡는 것을 지켜보았다. 그러나 그것은 당시 고등학교 2학년이었던 학생들에게도 기업가적인 불씨를 불러일으켰다. 그는 치매 환자의 관리를 위한 완벽한 도구 키트를 제공하는 앱인 CareZare에 대한 아이디어를 내놓았다. 대부분의 가정들처럼 웰즈 가족은 할머니에게 올바른 보살핌을 제공하는 것이 엄청난 도전이라는 것을 재빨리 발견했다. 하지만 그들은 기꺼이 떠맡으려 하는 것 이상이었다. "우리가 가파른 학습 곡선을 마주하고 있다는 것이 금방 분명해졌다."라고 가족이 밝혔다. "우리는 돌봄의 부담을 나누고, 전문 간병인을 관리하고, 부모, 어린이, 전문가, 학생으로서의 삶을 유지하고, 그리고 가장 중요한 것은, 난니를 안전하고 행복하게 하기 위해 세계 최고의 보살핌을 제공하는 방법을 알아내는 동안, 빨리, 그것을 오를 필요가 있었다." 황기철 콘페이퍼 에디터 큐레이터 Ki Chul Hwang, conpaper editor, curator |
edited by kcontents
When 19-year-old, Massachusetts-based Logan Wells’ grandmother Nannie was diagnosed with dementia 4 years ago, he watched his parents and aunt take on the huge task of caring for her. But the difficult time also triggered an entrepreneurial spark in the then-high school sophomore. He came up with the idea for CareZare, an app that provides a complete toolkit for managing the care of someone with dementia.
Like most families, the Wells quickly discovered that providing the right care for grandmother Nannie would be a monumental challenge—but one they were more than willing to take on. “It quickly became apparent that we were facing a steep learning curve,” the family reveals. “We needed to climb it, fast, all while figuring out how to share the burden of care, manage professional caregivers, maintain our lives as parents, kids, professionals and students, and, most importantly, provide the world’s best possible care to keep Nannie safe and happy.”
As Nannie’s illness progressed, it became more and more difficult to keep track of what she needed, as multiple family members and paid caregivers were involved. That’s when Logan began working on a prototype for CareZare, and on-boarded the help of his family to make it happen. “We’re a family with a loved one who needed care,” say the Wells. “And we built CareZare because we needed it.”
The now finished CareZare app invites users to collaborate, allowing groups of carers to schedule and track activities in real time. You can log things like the person’s mood, how you spent your time together, and leave a “heads up” message for the other users in the group. The team-based approach empowers families to stay on top of their daily tasks and improves communication.
So far, over 600 families are using the app, and Wells hopes that number will grow. “Our users have been great about giving us feedback so we can tailor the app to their needs,” he says. “Caregiving is such an important issue for them because it’s so personal for them, just as it is for me.”
The free CareZare app is now available for both Apple and Android devices. Find out more here.
19-year-old Logan Wells’ grandmother Nannie was diagnosed with dementia, so he came up with an app to help his family (and others) manage the care they give.
Dementia App CareZare
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