Go Lean Commentary
Food, clothing and shelter …
… these are undeniable and undisputable classifications of basic needs. (Some societies add energy as an additional basic need). When economies get warped and twisted, the recommendation is always to return focus back to these basics so as to jump-start an economic reboot by optimizing the commerce engines delivering these basics.
So a consideration of housing solutions, that requires local jobs/fabrication and satisfies Elder-Care is a study in economic kinetics. Every community needs housing … for their seniors. This is just a basic fact of life: old age and illness … befall us all.
Just because an abled-bodied person has a house, it does not make it ideal when the circumstances change to “less than able”, or disabled, or differently-abled. Yet, disabilities are a reality … everyday: Just keep living.
This consideration is very appropriate for the Caribbean. We have some societal defects: consider our abandonment rate, especially among the younger generation, due mainly to a lack of economic opportunities, at home. Assuredly, they emigrate for refuge abroad, and then remit funds back to their Caribbean homelands, often to support their aging parents. These ones have the need for Elder-Care; but Elder-Care consists of more than remittances; many times, it includes nursing.
Providing housing, Elder-Care and nursing can be an economic conjunction, an activity at an intersection. The book Go Lean … Caribbean asserts that “luck” is the intersection of preparation and opportunity; that economic growth can be gained simply by positioning at that intersection and exploiting the opportunities.
Exploit … economics …
That sounds like a formula for “greed”. But alas, in this case, greed is good! In this case, greed is motivated by the ethos of the Greater Good, that is a solution that can provide the most good to the most number of people. This solution of facilitating a housing solution specifically designed for Elder-Care would benefit so many: elders, builders, nurse practitioners/clinicians, local family, Diasporic family, public health deliveries and the overall economy.
Win, win …
See a sample of the relevant solution here, in this article and accompanying VIDEOs:
Title: These Backyard “Granny Pods” Could be the Solution to Nursing Homes
By: David Wolfe (see profile in Appendix)
Since the age of 20, I had known that I would be the one to take care of my aunt when she got older. I love her dearly, but my family enjoys our space. It has always been a stressful notion of what we are going to do once it is time to take care of her, with both of us being so independent, sharing our home was never an option while a nursing home also does not feel right. I had no idea that a solution was already out there.These “Granny Pods” are specially built with the safety of a senior in mind. They include a small kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom all designed to house safely a senior. The bathrooms are handicap accessible with railing and safety features built in.
The kitchen includes a microwave, small refrigerator, and a pill dispenser. The microwave could be unplugged and used as an electromagnetically-insulated safe container for supplements. A BerryBreeze refrigerator purifier could be put in the small refrigerator. The pill dispenser could be filled with capsules of supplements, superfoods, and superherbs. Everything is conveniently located and safe to reach.
The safety features for these little homes are fantastic. They include webcams for monitoring by family members and a padded floor! Padded floor is great on joints. Also, they protect older relatives from a fall. One can be comfortable having their family member spending time in these homes.
Talk about high tech! These pods utilize small robotic features that can monitor vital signs. In addition, they can filter the air for contaminants while sending alerts reminding when to take supplements, superfoods, and superherbs. Communication is a breeze with high-tech video and text cell technology incorporated. If anything were to go wrong, these pods have alert systems to notify caregivers as well.
With three models thus far to choose from, you are sure to pick the right one for your loved one. Knowing that your family member will have a safe space that is close by is worth everything.
Check them out at their website MedCottages and/or Facebook/MEDCottages
———
VIDEO – THESE BACKYARD “GRANNY PODS” COULD BE THE SOLUTION TO NURSING HOMES – https://youtu.be/r08e7eZl-AQ
Published on Feb 25, 2016 – Move Grandma and/or Grandpa into a “Granny Pod”. http://www.davidwolfe.com/backyard-gr…
Category: Education
License: Standard YouTube License———–
VIDEO – The Backyard Nursing Home – https://youtu.be/5RnY5CSwO9E
Uploaded on Jul 18, 2010 – In the future, you may not have to go far to care for aging loved ones. Whit Johnson has a first look at the MedCottage which could be a new option for caring for the elderly in your backyard.
Category: News & Politics
License: Standard YouTube License
Using the foregoing model, the Caribbean can create its own solutions to the impending crisis with Elder-Care housing. This has always been in the plan (roadmap); the book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), with a charter to elevate Caribbean society, using Pre-Fab housing as one of 144 missions. The book highlights the CU’s prime directives, as described by these statements:
- Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
- Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines and mitigate challenges/threats to ensure public safety for the region’s stakeholders (residents, visitors, trading partners, Diaspora, etc.).
- Improvement of Caribbean governance, including a separation-of-powers with member-states, to support these engines.
The Go Lean roadmap, and the foregoing article, calls for the region to double-down its efforts to ensure a quality delivery for Elder-Care and healthcare. The need for this awareness was identified in early in the Go Lean book, in the opening pronouncement in the Declaration of Interdependence (Page 11), as follows:
ix. Whereas the realities of healthcare and an aging population cannot be ignored and cannot be afforded without some advanced mitigation, the Federation must arrange for health plans to consolidate premiums of both healthy and sickly people across the wider base of the entire Caribbean population. The mitigation should extend further to disease management, wellness, mental health, obesity … programs.
The Go Lean … Caribbean roadmap constitutes a change for the region, a plan to consolidate 30 member-states into a Trade Federation with the tools/techniques to bring immediate change to the region to benefit one and all member-states. The roadmap calls for coordination of the region’s healthcare needs at a CU federal agency. Though there is a separation-of-powers mandate between the member-states and federal agencies, the CU can still wield influence in this area due to funding accountabilities – strings attached – monitoring and metering responsibility between the CU and the member-states. So there will be some federal compliance and regulatory oversight. This empowerment would also allow for better coordination with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international stakeholders.
The book details the community ethos needed to effect change in this area, plus the executions of the following strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to impact the region’s Elder-Care, Healthcare and Housing solutions:
| Community Ethos – Deferred Gratification | Page 21 |
| Community Ethos – Economics Influence Choices | Page 21 |
| Community Ethos – People Choose | Page 21 |
| Community Ethos – All Choices Involve Costs | Page 21 |
| Community Ethos – Lean Operations | Page 24 |
| Community Ethos – Cooperatives | Page 24 |
| Community Ethos – Non-Government Organizations | Page 25 |
| Community Ethos – Impact the Greater Good | Page 37 |
| Strategy – Vision – Confederate 30 Member-States | Page 45 |
| Strategy – Mission – Reform our Health Care Response | Page 47 |
| Strategy – Agents of Change – Aging Diaspora | Page 57 |
| Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy | Page 64 |
| Separation of Powers – Department of Health | Page 86 |
| Implementation – Ways to Deliver | Page 109 |
| Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better – Improve First Responder Solutions | Page 131 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs | Page 152 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Improve Healthcare | Page 156 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Better Manage the Social Contract | Page 170 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Foster Cooperatives | Page 176 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Improve Intelligence Gathering & Analysis – First Responders | Page 182 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Improve Emergency Management – First Responders | Page 196 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Foster Technology | Page 197 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Develop a Pre-Fab Housing Industry | Page 207 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Improve Elder-Care – Including Oversight of First Responders | Page 225 |
| Appendix – New Jobs: 10,000 Gerontology related jobs | Page 257 |
| Appendix – Sample Pre-fab Homes, with Photos | Page 289 |
| Appendix – Disease Management – Healthways Model | Page 300 |
This Go Lean book asserts that there is a direct correlation of healthcare (physical, mental, preventative, wellness, pharmaceuticals, etc.) and the economy. This viewpoint has been previously detailed in Go Lean blog/commentaries, as sampled here:
The Go Lean roadmap encourages the inclusion of more senior citizens, not less. In addition to retaining our seniors, we also want to encourage the repatriation of our Diaspora and invite other seniors to enjoy our hospitality. Granted, caring for older people is not easy, but no effort to reform and transform the Caribbean is going to be easy. The Go Lean book, describes it as heavy-lifting. But do it we must! For the love … of our senior citizens, and the accompanying jobs and economic growth.
All of this is for the Greater Good and for our own good. A measurement of a great society is how well we care for our senior citizens. This concept is from the Bible:
The form of worship that is clean and undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their tribulation …- James 1:27 – New World Translation
Pre-fab housing solutions are conceivable, believable and achievable. Considering the foregoing article, photos and VIDEO‘s, the Caribbean can and must foster our own solutions. But we have the constant threats of hurricanes, so our pre-fab structures must feature mitigations for storm resistance. The plausible options are depicted in great details in the Go Lean book (Page 207).
Everyone in Caribbean – people, institutions, governments – are hereby urged to lean-in to the Go Lean roadmap for regional, societal empowerment. 🙂
Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!
———
Appendix – About David Wolfe
David “Avocado” Wolfe is the rock star and Indiana Jones of the super-foods and longevity universe. The world’s top CEOs, ambassadors, celebrities, athletes, artists, and the real superheroes of this planet—Moms—all look to David for expert advice in health, beauty, herbal-ism, nutrition, and chocolate!
David is the celebrity spokesperson for America’s #1 selling kitchen appliance: the NUTRiBULLET™ and for www.LongevityWarehouse.com. He is the co-founder of TheBestDayEver.com online health magazine and is the visionary founder and president of the non-profit The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation charity (www.ftpf.org) with a mission to plant 18 billion fruit, nut, and medicinal trees on planet Earth.
With over 22 years of dedicated experience and having hosted over 2750 live events, David has led the environmental charge for radiant health via a positive mental attitude, eco-community building, living spring water, and the best-ever quality organic foods and herbs.
David champions the ideals of spending time in nature, growing one’s own food, and making today the best day ever. He teaches that inspiration is found in love, travel, natural beauty, vibrant health, and peak-performance.
David has circumnavigated the Earth for decades seeking out the world’s purest foods and waters and leading adventure retreats (please see www.davidwolfeadventures.com).
Source: http://www.davidwolfe.com/about/