|
Simavita is a company established to deliver innovative continence management solutions for our customers, developed in ethical collaboration with healthcare professionals, which provides a quality of life for older people, improving dignity and grace. The first medical device developed is a solution to urinary continence assessment. Loss of bladder control, known as urinary incontinence (UI), is a major problem affecting many people in Australia and worldwide. It is common for older people to experience problems with UI and more than 70% of older people in countries such as USA, Germany, Australia live in Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACFs) or Nursing Homes experience UI. It is becoming a significant challenge for RACF to manage and provide the right level of care as the total ageing population in OECD rapidly expands with a decreasing care workforce (in line with the ageing demographics in developing countries).There is well established evidence that UI impacts on the functional, psychological, social well-being and quality of life of older people and the financial costs of UI for aged and healthcare services are considerable. Despite the high prevalence of UI among older people living in RACFs UI remains poorly assessed and managed. THE SOLUTION IS SIM® In order to manage the serious challenge of predicted labour shortages and funding, technology will be required as a solution; SIM® is one such technology, which addresses both clinical shortcomings as well as the general macroeconomic challenges facing the aged care industry – SIM® gives the potential to save $100 m + in direct and indirect costs of incontinence management within Australia and a massive $2B worldwide with its first product application. Simavita is "first to market"; there are as yet no meaningful competing products. SIM® replaces manual assessments with instrumented assessments removing the guesswork and subjectivity. The technology demonstrates substantial superiority, providing highly valuable data to clinicians, which was previously impossible to obtain. This data provides a comprehensive profile of the resident continence needs, which is used to develop an individual evidence-based care plan. Simavita’s motto is ‘gracing life’ and the SIM® technology provides a sense of dignity and grace to those with incontinence. CORPORATE HISTORY Our corporate history is rich with people who have dedicated their life work to the care of the ageing. The original concept for SIM® was developed by an Australian medical doctor, Dr Fred Bergman, while working with Residential Aged Care Facilities in Melbourne. After observing the inadequacy of continence management, he decided to file the first patent in 1996 for the development of SIM® to effectively assess and manage incontinence. Over the years, Dr Bergman continued to develop the technology devising and testing different working components. In 2004, the technology had reached a point where it was appropriate for field testing and the company applied for and was provided with a grant from the Commonwealth Government to conduct the first clinical trial. Regrettably Dr Bergman passed away shortly before the trial began. His legacy continued and a dedicated group of people brought to fruition the first commercial version in the Australian market in late 2009.
Preliminary findings confirmed significant efficiencies and improvements in quality of care as a result of the use of SIM®. Philippa Lewis, founder and driving force behind Sanicare Pty Ltd, assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer in April 2008. Philippa moved the company forward at an exciting pace and has successfully driven the development and commercialisation of SIM®. Installations are being rolled out nationally and soon internationally with certified licensees.
|