Care 2030: Korian Foundation and Bavarian Ministry of Health launch pilot project at care facility in Karlsfeld

"Pflege 2030" is an initiative of the Korian Foundation for Care and Dignified Ageing and Korian Deutschland GmbH together with the University of Bremen (Professor Heinz Rothgang) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS. The innovative project to improve processes in full inpatient care facilities is being funded by the Bavarian State Ministry of Health and Care.

Klaus Holetschek, Bavarian State Minister for Health and Care, officially launched the project on site: "Improving care is one of the key issues for the future. This includes both dignified care for people in need of care and an improvement in working conditions in the care profession. We must now set the course for the comprehensive and humane care of tomorrow. For us as the Bavarian State Ministry of Health and Care, the 'Care 2030' project is therefore forward-looking. I hope to gain sustainable insights for the long-term improvement of inpatient care in Bavaria and beyond."

Elisabeth Scharfenberg, Chairwoman of the Korian Foundation, added: "We at the Korian Foundation are very pleased about the start of 'Care 2030' at the Korian facility in Karlsfeld. Over the next three years, supported by scientific monitoring, a modernised care concept can be implemented that will sustainably relieve the daily workload of carers and support them in their routines, thus also benefiting those in need of care."

During the three-year project period, the care facility in Karlsfeld will be a transfer room for quantitatively and qualitatively needs-oriented and digitalised care in real-life operation. Based on a demand-oriented staff mix with significantly more care assistants, the modernisation of the facility's equipment through digital care technology (such as sensors, artificial intelligence, service robots or data-driven process control) and innovative staff deployment planning will be tested."This can lead to improved processes in day-to-day care that equally improve the quality of life of nursing home residents and the job satisfaction of nursing staff,"  emphasises Professor Heinz Rothgang from the University of Bremen.

"The development, implementation and integration of new processes and 'smart' technologies to relieve the burden on care staff pose equally high challenges for their developers and their users", emphasises Dr Thomas Wittenberg from Fraunhofer IIS.

For the identification and evaluation of suitable technologies (such as intelligent beds, data glasses, speech recognition or robotic systems for use and work facilitation in care routines), researchers from Fraunhofer IIS in Erlangen will contribute their expertise to the project. At the same time, new methods for recognising, analysing and interpreting "stress points" in established care processes using so-called "wearables" - i.e. portable sensors - will be developed together with the nursing staff and the solutions implemented in practice.

In view of the great need for reform in inpatient long-term care, the facility in Karlsfeld is intended to serve as a best-practice model and provide valuable, transferable findings for Bavaria, but also for the whole of Germany. "The interplay and the triad of additional staff, building infrastructure and the use of technology make 'Care 2030' a holistic and future-orientated project. In order to change care sustainably and make it future-proof, we must not think in fixed categories," says Dr Marc-Alexander Burmeister, CEO of Korian Deutschland GmbH. Instead, the aim is to comprehensively evaluate the entire project in terms of care quality and to create modular guidelines that other facilities can use as a blueprint for appropriate implementation.

üüber die Korian Stiftung für Pflege und würvolle Altern