This Startup Is Providing Holistic Care To Elders From The Comfort Of Their Homes Emoha Elder Care, anchored by Lumis Partners, is using technology to provide seamless elder care experience

Ignorance towards their needs is the biggest impediment for senior citizens to live the best quality of life, according to Saumyajit Roy, Founder and CEO, Emoha Elder Care. "Many elders have an attitude that the autumn of their lives have come and now they don't need to look after themselves," says Roy. He further adds that most children of senior citizen parents do not realise what difference a professional elder care company can bring in the lives of their ageing parents.

Emoha Elder Care, a comprehensive eldercare company, is doing just that by providing a host of services to senior citizens. The company's services can be broadly divided into 5 categories - Emergency, Health, Safety, Convenience and Engagement.

A Comprehensive Solution

In case of an 'emergency', an ex-defence services professional along with a paramedic nurse is sent to the house of the elderly in the minimum time possible.

For 'health care', Emoha digitizes the entire health history of the elderly and keeps updating it fortnightly. It also arranges for regular healthcare check-ups. "We believe in making preventive health care happen. We do not wait for an emergency to occur," says Roy.

Under the 'safety' section, Emoha installs the home of an elderly person with a detailed sensor system. The sensor is smoke and fire-sensitive, among other things. A senior person simply has to press a button in case of an emergency. Emoha also provides wearable tracking devices for elders who suffer from ailments like dementia. "The device makes sure that we know the exact location of the elder and they are not lost because of their ailment," he says.

The 'convenience' section looks after the day to day well-being of the elderly. The care and coordination centre at Emoha calls them twice a day. "We receive various requests from them like helping them in filing for a new Aadhaar card, assistance in getting their house painted or requiring a person to accompany them when they are visiting a hospital. Emoha takes care of all such needs of the elderly," explains Roy.

As part of its 'engagement' section, Emoha organizes musical evenings, tambola nights, movie nights and picnics for the elderly. Roy says, "Many elderly people have vast knowledge and experience and want to be engaged in activities. We provide a platform to them where they can become part-time consultants, teachers, mentors etc."

"Faujis' for the elders

A key aspect of Emoha's service backbone is formed by ex-defence force personnel, who have taken retirement from the defence forces. These "fauji's form part of the emergency response teams as well as act as community coordinators and care buddies, to support various needs of elders. Captain (IN) Harsh Singh (Retd) and Dr Manreet Kahlon, have in-depth experience on working with ex-defence personnel on elder care and bring tremendous depth to Emoha's operational expertise.

Facilitating eldercare through technology

What makes Emoha standout from other elder care facilities is that it makes healthcare possible within the comfort of elders' home. The company is leveraging technology to serve their elderly customers in remote locations. "Many senior citizens do not want to leave their home and relocate to a senior living facility. So for a company like us that manages things remotely, technology is our backbone. We heavily rely on technology for both our and the client's convenience," says Roy. He further adds, "We have made the technology very simple so that the senior people have no difficulty in using it. We also visit them regularly to clear all their doubts."

Changing Mindset

Roy says that there is a changing perception around eldercare. "Now children are gifting eldercare subscription to their parents. The elders who were uncertain at the beginning about us are now our biggest ambassadors, he claims.

There are around 120 million senior citizens in India and numerous eldercare startups, such as Life Circle Senior Services, Seniority, Athulya Assisted Living, SeniorShelf and Elder Ease have mushroomed to tap the huge emerging market.

Emoha was founded in January 2019 and is currently present in Delhi, NCR. The company plans to expand its operations in Mumbai and Pune by 2020. The company is anchored by Lumis Partners.