Ithaca College

Dr. Karen Edwards, Associate Professor of Health Care Management (Dept. of Health Promotion and Physical Education) participated in the 2020 MIT Grand Hack. This annual program uses a competitive application process to provide around 400 hackers from around the globe space and time to work together on health care challenges to focus on innovative solutions. 

From Friday, October 2nd to Sunday, October 4th, Dr. Karen Edwards, Associate Professor of Health Care Management (HPPE) participated in the 2020 MIT Grand Hack. This annual program uses a competitive application process to provide around 400 hackers from around the globe space and time to work together on health care challenges to focus on innovative solutions. 
Dr. Edwards worked on a team consisting of a recent Princeton graduate working in Philadelphia, a CEO of a virtual reality learning firm in Massachusetts, an industrial design student in India, a leader in the VA in New Mexico, and a TBI patient living in Boston. Together, they worked for 40 hours to design a solution to address the challenges associated with decreased mobility in older adults. Since fewer adults are making doctor visits these days, and physical therapists have a hard time gathering essential mobility data (6MWT, TUG, Gait Speed) outside the clinical setting, the product we proposed attempts to help health professionals to identify patients with greater fall risk and at an earlier stage in the progression of their decline.
The innovative digital app leverages the convenience of Papa (using on-demand Peer support), the simplicity of a Warby Parker eye exam (using Augmented Reality to measure TUG, Gait Speed), and the direct, affordable access to PTs that is currently lacking for many communities at risk.
While Dr. Edwards' team did not place in the top three for their category, the connection to industry experts and elements of innovation from the weekend's work will infuse her class strategies for years to come. 

Be on the lookout for an HSHP Hack event for students in Spring '21.