The New York State Office for the Aging will deliver 4,725 animatronic pets and games to older adults through the state’s aging network. The move is part of phase 6 of its animatronic pets initiative and phase 2 of its intergenerational game project collaboration with Ageless Innovation.
“Our work with the New York State Office for the Aging and the Association on Aging in New York has resulted in heartwarming feedback from family members and caregivers who have seen significant positive changes in their loved ones as the result of receiving a companion pet,” Ageless Innovation CEO and co-founder Ted Fische said in a release. “This gratifying response, as well as the proven reduction in loneliness and pain that we’ve seen in older adults who have benefitted from this program, is what inspires us every day.”
The announcement comes more than a year after the surgeon general released an advisory on loneliness and isolation, deeming it a public health crisis. This is not the first time that New York state has implemented robots to comfort lonely older adults. NYSOFA has distributed 31,500 animatronic pets to socially isolated adults and has inspired similar efforts in more than 30 states. The lifelike animatronic pets make realistic sounds and movements while serving as a companion to older adults.
NYSOFA found that 75% of older adults receiving those pets reported a reduction/significant reduction in loneliness as well as a 75% decrease in pain. Physicians also have expressed support for animatronic pets as a means of fighting loneliness. Some 70% said that robots could improve the mental health of older adults and believe that insurers should cover the cost of them to alleviate social isolation.
Individuals in New York who are interested can contact their local office for the aging or can use New York’s discount code, NYS20. Additionally, NYSOFA and Ageless Innovation are hosting “Reach Out and Play” events with local aging and health services organization as part of a national initiative encouraging intergenerational play.
This story originally appeared on the website of McKnight’s Home Care.
The McKnight’s Tech Daily is an e-newsletter for the audiences of McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Home Care.
