Pop-up ‘MedCottage’ enables senior care at home

As the massive baby-boomer generation enters its senior years, a strain on long-term care facilities seems virtually inevitable. Aiming to offer an alternative mode of senior care, Virginia-based N2Care has come up with the MedCottage, a pop-up, medically equipped suite that families can use on their property to care for seniors at home. The 12-by-24-foot MedCottage connects to a single-family house’s electrical and water supplies much like an RV and is loaded with technology and amenities for the health, comfort and safety of the elderly or those recovering from illness or injury. The unit’s cozy bedroom, bathroom and kitchen offer the comforts of home while also incorporating the latest technology to monitor vital signs, filter the air and communicate with the outside world via video and cell phone text technology. A hospital-caliber bed is included, as is a toilet that measures weight, temperature and urine content, for example. Ankle-level sensors alert caregivers to an occupant’s fall, meanwhile, and a computer can even remind the occupant to take medications. A movable lift is built in, as is extra accommodation for a caregiver. Available for purchase or lease at prices that amount to roughly “half the expense of the nationally averaged cost of nursing home care,” N2Care says, the MedCottage is already authorized for use in Virginia and is designed to comply with local zoning ordinances throughout the US. Virginia, in fact, recently signed in a special law to allow the cottages to be used. By the year 2050, there will be more than 1.5 billion people worldwide over the age of 65, according to the US Census Bureau. How about bringing some fresh comfort and dignity to aging consumers in other parts of the world? (Related: Walking cane for seniors, upgraded with style — Home enhancement service focuses on senior citizens — Health and wellness shop focuses on seniors.) Spotted by: Vitus Zeller