Tech plus service enables care at home.
Washington DC, August 21-25, 2024
CHIANG MAI, Thailand (February 17, 2023)— A new check-in service for
seniors living alone named “I’m Still Okay” was launched on February
17. “I’m Still Okay” is a balanced approach to preparing for
emergencies in a dignified and empowering manner.
David Freidberg, a 73 years old American who lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand,
conceived of the idea of a service for seniors living alone. But only after
working with his friend Jouni Flemming, a software engineer from Finland,
this idea materialized into an online service called “I’m Still Okay”.
David Freidberg and Jouni Flemming
As a senior, David has faced health challenges just like many seniors his
age. He lives with his wife, but he is concerned about what will happen to
his friends who also have health issues but live alone. His concern is not
unfounded; According to the US Census Bureau,15 million people, or 28.3% of
Americans aged more than 65 are living alone.
One day, during lunch with his friend, a lady in her mid-sixties who lives
alone with her cat and has multiple health problems, he explored the idea for
this service.
“She is very concerned that she will wake up some morning paralyzed and
nobody will know about it and come to help her.” Then, I got the idea: a
service that automatically checks up on your well-being and, if you don’t
respond, will automatically contact your friends and family!” David
Freidberg added.
David and Jouni designed the service to be as simple as possible. After
signing up, “I’m Still Okay” will send an email every day, with a
button that seniors can simply click to confirm that they’re still okay. If
they ever fail to check in, the website will automatically send emails to a
list of people whom they have chosen.
“As a senior myself, I wanted to ensure this service is delivered with
dignity and respect for the user. This is also why I made this a free service
and I still have a bigger vision of where I want to take this service in the
future. For example, I want to provide SMS support and mobile app,” David
Freidberg said.
“I’m Still Okay” is also a multinational effort with people from
Indonesia, Finland, Portugal, Spain, Ukraine, United States, and Thailand
working together to make this service possible.
About “I’m Still Okay”
“I’m Still Okay” is a free daily check-in service for seniors all
around the world who live alone. The service was created by David Freidberg,
a 73-year-old American living in Chiang Mai, Thailand. David has been a
professor at a university for Buddhist monks for the last 26 years. In the
last six years, he has also been teaching Social Studies to refugee youths
from Burma as a volunteer to prepare them for university. His selfless
approach, influenced by his work, led him to create “I’m Still Okay.”
The service is available at https://imstillokay.com/
###
Press Contacts
For further details, please reach out to:
David Freidberg
david@imstillokay.com
+66 81 881 5979