Title

Data Exchange for Disaster Responders to Senior Facilities

Irvine, CA

Contact

PROJECT LEAD

Nalini Venkatasubramanian

CONTACT INFO

  • nalini@ics.uci.edu

THE IDEA

The Irvine team implemented CareDEX, a set of information preparedness tools for first responders, caregivers, and other stakeholders to advance disaster response and resiliency for older adult populations.

THE CHALLENGE

CareDEX addresses the critical national need of improving the resilience of aging populations to large disasters. Across disasters caused by flooding, wildfires and earthquakes, older adults account for over 75% of deaths. CareDEX aims to enhance and transform past dire outcomes for older adults by enabling resilience through information preparedness.

THE TEAM

Research partners:

  • UC Irvine – Computer Science
  • UC Irvine – School of Medicine – Geriatrics
  • CU boulder – Natural Hazards Center
  • Ball State University
  • ImageCat Inc.

Civic Partners: 

  • Front Porch Living 
  • Walnut Village 
  • Fire Protection Research 
  • Foundation (FPRF) 
  • DHS FEMA Region IX 
 

THE APPROACH

CareDEX creates a scalable, accurate and secure information/data exchange architecture that captures specialized and personalized needs of older adults during disasters (e.g., dementia, dialysis/oxygen needs, impairments, etc), and enables information access to local caregivers while incorporating appropriate constraints on sharing and use.

CareDEX was developed on top of a novel and tested IoT data management platform called TIPPERS, which supports sensor and semantic level data and a seamless translation of data/queries across these levels for accurate situational awareness.

The tool incorporates spatial and resident data apriori, ingests a variety of live data from devices, visualizes and provides on-demand access of critical information needs for first responders along with regional impact data to inform decision making.

THE IMPACT

The team developed strong partnerships with key civic partners and stakeholders (senior living facilities, fire service, emergency management, local and regional governments, and response organizations) to help inform the development, testing, evaluation, sustainability and extensibility of the platform.