Mobile health van to visit old-age homes once in month

Healthy Aging India in association with the Rotary Club International and the AIIMS will launch a mobile health van to provide a comprehensive healthcare at the doorsteps to destitute elderly people residing in old-age homes in the National Capital Region (NCR).

The mobile van will be launched on October 1, which is being celebrated as the International Day of Older Persons.

It will be equipped with a doctor, trained in Geriatric medicine from Ayurveda, a physiotherapist, a nurse, and a lab technician, said Dr. Prasoon Chatterjee, assistant professor at the Department of Geriatrics, AIIMS. Chatterjee is also the founder president of Healthy Aging India.

The healthcare, to be provided, includes the active screening of non-communicable diseases, management of the same at the doorstep and rehabilitation for age-related diseases like depression, dementia, stroke, osteoarthritis etc, he said.

"The van will complete the circle by providing appropriate referral to the Department of Geriatric Medicine at the AIIMS in case of need. The Healthy Aging is adopting 20 old-age homes, approximately 1,050 elderly people for providing 360-degree healthcare," Chatterjee said.

The van will visit old-age homes once in a month, provide free medicines and will be accompanied by senior citizens other than the team, who will provide psychological support to the elderly people, he said.

"We will also take school and college students along in order to sensitize them and also to transfer positive vibration to these older people who have been rejected and excluded from the society," Chatterjee said.

The mobile van will be launched at the AIIMS by Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal on Monday.