Translator: Johan Wong
Seniors around the world and here in Canada
are moving into care facilities too soon.
It's about losses:
losing autonomy
and losing established community of families and friends.
With new technology and compassion,
we can help extend senior living at home.
This means staying in familiar surroundings,
hanging out with familiar people,
savoring life-important memories.
Do you know that if we reach the age of 85,
there is a one in three chance that we'll live in a care facility?
As my son would say,
"Wow, that's not cool!"
(Laughter)
Last May, I was visiting Mom during Mother's Day weekend,
and right before dinner, we were sitting right around a little table,
reminiscing through old photos.
Mom says to me,
"Wow, look how much I look like Grandma!"
And Mom is right, she does look like Grandma.
Who do you look like?
Your mom? Your dad?
What about 30 years from now?
Who will you look like?
Looking at Grandma's eyes,
I am her favorite grandson.
(Laughter)
I'm telling you that, as one of eight grandkids,
all of whom we are told we are her favorite.
(Laughter)
But really,
I am her favorite grandson!
Ten years old, suburb in Hong Kong,
off to the farmer's market.
Grandma is wearing her grey top and pants,
with that yellow umbrella she is using as a walking stick.
I have to slow down; she cannot keep up.
Grandma calls me by her nickname for me:
"Ming Tsai,"
which in Chinese means "shining light."
"Ming Tsai, we need fresh ingredients."
That day, Grandma is cooking for the family,
and I know she is going to cook my favorite spot prawns.
Fresh, succulent prawns, hmm!
Sweet tomato sauce.
That day Grandma doesn't eat much.
Her eyes sparkle as she watches me devour
all the spot prawns that she cooked.
Grandma was very close to me and a big part of my life
until my parents and I moved to Canada when I was in grade 12.
I stayed in Canada afterwards for university and work.
Like many families,
we lived distances apart.
Grandma in Hong Kong -
uneven wooden floors,
narrow stairways,
and forgetting to lock the front door.
Grandma's home is becoming more dangerous with each birthday.
Like many others,
my Grandma is forced into a care facility.
Established in my career,
I wanted to see Grandma.
I traveled to Hong Kong.
In that taxi, going to Grandma's care facility for the very first time,
I imagine an environment
that is appropriate for my grandma.
Perhaps an old heritage home.
Perhaps the smell of home cooking in the background.
And perhaps playing in the background Grandma's favorite music:
(singing) "Moon river,
wider than a mile.
I'm crossing you in style, someday."
This cannot be right.
Gray industrial building,
rundown part of town,
noisy road construction.
Maybe I have the wrong address.
I get off the taxi. There is no front desk.
I push the elevator to go to the third floor.
There I smell something pungent and sterile.
I get off the elevator - still no one to stop me -
and I take a look.
Oh my!
Rows of steel cot beds with wafer-thin mattresses.
Oh, my God! Are you serious?
Eighty-year-old seniors roaming all around the place.
Where is Grandma? Some of them have dementia.
I walk down the hallway. Where is Grandma?
I find this older lady sitting in a steel cot bed,
her eyes staring blankly across the floor.
Older, much more frail than I thought.
Our eyes connect. There, that's the familiar smile.
"Ming Tsai?"
"Grandma!"
That instant, I realize
that, of all people, I could have prevented this.
Here I am, as a geriatric doctor,
who looks after seniors every day,
to help them stay as long as possible in their own homes.
And yet, I realize,
I am too late for my own grandma.
Too late to move her out of that care facility
because she is not medically stable to move.
I never want this to happen to you or your loved ones.
Making the decision of moving family
and our loved ones into a care facility
can be really tough.
It can generate heated debate and argument.
When is the right time? What is the right thing to do?
To stay or not to stay at home, that is the question.
What can we do to prevent the premature placement
of our family into a care facility,
to prevent losses, and to add life at home?
Society is starting to call this move "warehousing of seniors."
Not a pretty term at all,
if you imagine our family being packaged
into warehouse containers
and then the door slammed shut.
You and I do not need to warehouse family that we love,
or that one in three chance that we may get warehoused ourselves.
Take heart, there is hope.
As a geriatric doctor
who has looked after thousands of patients over the years,
I’m telling you that, today,
we can implement technology to do two things:
to increase safety and increase socialization.
And, immediately, I think about my mom.
"Mom, that doormat in the front entrance has to go."
"But, son, you don't understand.
That doormat is beautiful, it cost a lot of money,
and you can't buy it anywhere else."
"Well, Mom, if you want to stay longer at home,
that doormat is going.
It's a tripping hazard, and you can fall on it.
A fall can have serious consequences.
Besides, if you like it so much, hang it up on a wall."
(Laughter)
(Applause)
Doormat gone!
Well, to the wall.
(Laughter)
And likewise, we walk around Mom's home removing all the decorative tables.
Mom used to bang her knees against the tables -
another tripping hazard for a fall.
They are gone.
Mom's home has carpeted floor,
which is really nice keeping her feet warm
and softening the impact of a fall.
But deep carpet makes it difficult to move a walker around if she needs one.
So we decide to change the carpeted floor
into hardwood floor,
ideally with warm, anti-slip footwear,
and is easier for her to move a walker in case she needs one in the future.
And then, into the bathroom.
We want to make sure that the toilet seat is high enough
and that there are grab bars there for support
so that Mom doesn't fall while sitting down in the bathroom.
Take action now. Prevent falls.
Do you know that falls
are the most common cause of injuries in seniors?
And every year, on average,
three out of ten seniors would fall accidentally.
A simple fall can result in a broken hip,
creating disability and loss of independence.
Take action now. Make your home safe.
Safety is the most important consideration
for extending senior living at home.
Talking about safety,
do you know someone who is forgetful?
Do you know someone who puts salt instead of sugar in baking that apple pie?
(Laughter)
Do you know someone who leaves the burner on until the pot is burned?
And do you know someone who puts laundry detergent into the dishwasher?
And I don't count the time when you do it after a few drinks on a Friday night.
(Laughter)
I am committed
to watching out for the warning signs of dementia.
As a geriatric specialist,
I can tell you that seniors with mild or early dementia
can still live in the community.
They can still live at home without moving into a care facility.
(Applause)
What they need is a smartphone,
one that has GPS function,
so that you can use an app on your smartphone to locate them.
And you can use the same smartphone
to make sure their front door is locked at night
and their home appliances are turned off at night -
all made possible by connecting home devices
via the Internet of Things, or IoT.
And I know that all of us should be more patient,
walking through seniors how to use each of the apps on their smartphone
when their memory is still good,
so that they won't send us an entire email in that subject line box!
(Laughter)
Or they won't send us a text message that contains a bunch of emoticons
that are completely unrelated.
(Laughter)
Or they won't keep screaming at you on FaceTime:
"Can you hear me? Can you hear me?"
"Yes, I can hear you."
(Laughter)
I also think about socialization.
It can extend senior living
by adding images, conversations, and connections.
Do you know that loneliness is the new smoking?
Loneliness can have harmful effects on our health,
just like smoking 15 cigarettes a day,
shaving 8 years off our life.
Socialization can overcome loneliness and can improve health.
Let me introduce you to my aunt Agatha, my mom's older sister.
Having watched what happened to Grandma,
Aunt Agatha is determined
that she is not going to move into a care facility.
So what does she do?
She picks up tai chi at the age of 70.
Who knows what's next for her? Perhaps weight training.
(Laughter)
Aunt Agatha would go to social functions organized by her tai chi groups
all around the world.
And recently she won the gold medal
in the senior age category of a tai chi competition.
(Applause) (Cheering)
And, of course, she would post her medal pictures
all over her Facebook page.
(Laughter)
I used to think differently about social media.
I used to think that it is a waste of time.
But now I am connected with my loved ones
on Facebook, on Instagram, on WhatsApp, and on Skype.
Do you know that the number of seniors over 75 on social media
has doubled in the last year?
(Applause)
I am convinced that getting seniors into the digital age as early as possible
is the way to go.
Embrace technology before it is too late.
Now, face-to-face connection is still important
because technology cannot replace a real hug.
(Applause)
For my loved ones, as they grow older,
to stay or not to stay at home, that is the question.
When it is the right time,
do the right thing.
There is going to be a time when moving into a care facility
can be the right thing to do.
For example,
when you can no longer walk or transfer independently;
when you are losing your urine or bowel all the time;
when you are so frail,
and your family is totally burned out;
when you keep dropping your smartphone into the toilet bow ...
OK, I don't count that.
But, these are tough times,
and it takes courage,
courage to get help early from community services
There are many things that all of us can do, really,
to extend senior living at home
In particular, use technology
to increase safety and to increase socialization.
And now, let me share with you what happened with Grandma.
My last vacation day in Hong Kong,
Grandma in that care facility, in the steel cot bed,
her eyes staring blankly across the floor of wandering older people,
as I sing to her:
(singing) "Moon river, wider than a mile
I'm crossing you in style, someday."
Grandma says to me,
"Ming Tsai, I'm so sorry,
but I cannot cook spot prawns for you.
(Laughter)
They won't let us cook in here."
"Grandma, don't be sorry. I love you.
Is there anything that I can do for you?"
"Nothing, grandson, I love you too.
You have done everything you can, and more."
Six months later,
in that care facility,
in that steel cot bed,
Grandma passed away.
I miss Grandma.
My invitation for you, my challenge for you,
is to think of one way,
one way that you can use technology and your compassion
to extend senior living at home,
so that they can be in familiar surroundings,
hanging out with familiar people, savoring familiar memories.
Act before it is too late.
Do it for yourself
or someone you know,
or your parent,
or your grandma.
(Applause)
(Standing ovation)