Join me as OnGuardian founder Daniel Ferraz and I talk about Brazil, his years in Angola, and how an unexpected crisis with his father back home led to the creation of OnGuardian, an advanced solution that empowers family caregivers by streamlining support, collaboration and access to information while providing care recipients with and easy to use voice interface, powered by Amazon Echo and Alexa.

OnGuardian is finalist in the 2017 Aging2.0 Optimize contest, to be held in San Francisco, CA in November. Daniel and I will both be there, along with scores of other innovators taking on the biggest challenges and opportunities in aging.

What you will learn from Daniel Ferraz:

• About Daniel’s journey from Sao Paulo, Brazil, through ten years in Angola, Africa, and finally, the personal crisis that brought him to Houston, Texas
• The difference between two types of care: Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL)
• The inspiring story of elderly lady caring for her husband with MLS, and how the Echo was helping her
• How a career in Information Technology led to Daniel’s Eureka moment
• The difference between Echo and Alexa
• A live demonstration of the Echo
• How National Alliance on Caregiving and the AARP recognize the unsung heroes in our health care system: family caregivers
• About our connection through Aging2.0, an organization supporting innovators taking on the biggest challenges and opportunities in aging.
• How to mute your Echo for privacy
• A live demonstration of OnGuardian and how it always keeps the primary caretaker in the loop
• The future of OnGuardian:
  — Integrating OG with other devices (e.g. heart rate monitor)
  — Notifying senior of meds schedule
  — Caregiver support platform
  — Caregiver knowledge base and resource center
  — Integrating with third party directories and services (Angie’s list, HomeAdvisor)
  — Summoning Uber or Lyft cars
  — Ordering groceries
• A good recipe for Caipirinha — Brazil’s national cocktail!