Our elders, the conscious keepers of our society, suffer from major social isolation in Indian community. A UN survey infers that about 75 percent of the Indian elderly population limits social interaction with their family due to the busy life of the city dwellers, who fail to meet their basic needs. 50 Plus Assist belongs to such community of caregivers who renders a companionship approach in its elderly care services.

“We personally believe that if we can't be an elder’s friend, it is impossible to improve their current conditions, even with best of the services,” avers Dr. Mrigna Nagraj, who founded 50 Plus Assist in 2015. 50 Plus Assist is an at home, completely customized, elderly care services provider offering dementia care, physiotherapy, health monitoring and home management services to stimulate them cognitively, making them socially active and physically sound. It is also highly engaged in creating awareness among the masses to involve such companions who can take care of the elderly people in more than one way, whether it is taking them to walk, doctor visit, yoga classes, or others.

A Total Care Solution
Instead of serving a fixed block program, 50 Plus Assist runs a complete assessment of patient needs and comes-up with a tailor made program of services upon expert consultation and family recommendations. The plans are highly organized and offer a patient-centric support concerning their social and physical needs.

Senescence can dull-out the habits and lifestyle, but can never affect one’s ability to enjoy a quality life. To assist the seniors to participate in various activities, 50 Plus Assist has non profit tie ups with various associations around the city, like art studios, yoga centres, healthcare centres and others, which organize sessions for pottery, painting, yoga and more. Dr. Mrigna recalls that one of her clients was interested in learning Pilates; though apprehensive about the health concerns, she arranged an instructor. In the process, she learnt this amended version of Pilates can actually reverse the adverse effects on aging. “Elderly care is not a one-way street. You give, but you learn a lot in return. Our work is very honest, highly personalized and we do it with all our heart,” she adds.

We personally believe that if you cannot befriend a senior, it is impossible to improve their current conditions, even with best of the services

Further, this all women company involves trained professionals from various fields, like psychotherapists, neurologists, geriatricians, physiotherapist and many more, who engage novel approaches to offer a holistic life for the elders. For instance, a theatre artist who is a part of the team conducts sessions once a week, involving creative expression through drama therapy which triggers one’s emotional memory to find new ways of self compassion.

Going Tech-Savvy
To pace with a tech savvy world, 50 Plus Assist maintains zero-paper and digital platform, where the concerned family can track all the updates on the work done via digital information like emails and videos. The team also helps the seniors to connect to technology as it has become indispensable. Researchers say that use of social media by older adults can benefit a novice to improve attention, processing speed, work memory and inhibitory control.

As these sessions will pace-up our seniors to communicate better with next generation, 50 Plus Assist is trying to empower them by mastering the Smartphone and social medias like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, amongst others. Dr. Mrigna adds, “One of our seniors once posted a TikTok video and received over 1000 likes from the followers. In a way, they are becoming creative and more popular among their grandkids a delight they enjoy”. With such care and support offered from its two centers in Delhi, the company looks forward to expand to two new cities, including Chandigarh.