Mayo's senior health lab partners with Lutheran Good Samaritan Society
The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society has joined Mayo Clinic's Healthy Aging and Independent Living consortium.
The Good Samaritan Society will help Mayo explore and support new ways to serve the growing senior population.
Naomi Woychick, the co-director of Mayo's Healthy Aging and Independent Living Initiative, said the consortium will allow the organizations to work together to pilot new services and technologies for seniors.
"The current structure that we have today is very costly for seniors," Woychick said.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
The South Dakota-based Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society is the nation's largest not-for-profit provider of senior care and services. It was established in 1922 and serves more than 27,000 people in 240 locations nationwide in services ranging from traditional skilled nursing care and senior living apartments to hospice care and Alzheimer's disease.
"During our discussions with Mayo's Center for Innovation, it was evident there was synergy between the innovation strategy of the Good Samaritan Society and Mayo's vision to help seniors remain at home," Kelly Soyland, the Good Samaritan Society's director for Innovation and Research, said in a statement.
Mayo's lab was established in September as a "living lab" located in the Charter House, a continuing care retirement community in Rochester.
Best Buy was the consortium's first member. The company has been exploring the growing potential for wireless-enabled health-related devices.