We are sitting at one of our events at the ICUK WORK SPACE, where the DIGITAL HEALTH PLATFORM meeting (a platform for the digitization of healthcare and social services) is taking place, which has connected the private and academic spheres. The presenters take turns at the speaking table and our colleagues - Tomáš Siviček and Tereza Okurková supervise everything. They are the ones behind this program. However, one presentation caught our attention the most. And above all, the energy of the speaker. Examples from practice, a vision for the future, humility about the topic and a desire to help people through innovation. This was the presentation of Mrs. Karolína Wankovská from the Diocesan Charity of Litoměřice. And we immediately knew who would be the next candidate for our interview.

Ms. Wankovská, we are currently sitting on meeting of the platform for digitization of healthcare and social services - Digital health platform. And when I listened to your presentation about innovations and your other projects at the Diocesan Charity of Litoměřice, I couldn't help but - what does innovation mean to you in the field of social services?

For me, innovation means renewal, development. It is an inseparable part of life. It could be said that this is a path to higher value, in our case to higher value with an impact on the client, or on the employee. I understand innovation as the benefit of higher benefits for clients, a reduction in the functional load of employees, or it can reduce our operating costs.

Innovative solutions at Charita Litoměřice can be found both in technical development and in the field of healthcare and social services. All changes have the same goal – finding a better way to satisfy the client and improving the quality of our services.

Your presentation was focused on the project of assistive technologies and the practice of using e-Heatlh technology. Could you describe these projects to us more?

In our activities, we work closely with a number of other organizations and platforms, so that we can provide our help even better and more efficiently. Through partners, we have a greater opportunity to build the brand of a good social service provider and employer. We have the opportunity to learn about new technologies, innovations, research, examples of good practice, even at the international level. In this way, we can implement targeted projects to support social services. We see the development in cooperation with the NEUROSMART organization, when diseases such as epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease significantly affect the quality of life of patients, when modern e-Health technologies offer hope for improving the situation.

We use the E-Health system as part of information and communication technologies. It includes a number of services and systems to support medical and preventive care. We also generally apply it in the field of healthy lifestyle. The most prominent segment is the SOS watch, which is a security system to protect people. In practice, they are applied by the Caring Service of Charity Litoměřice, which is a breakthrough device that can remotely monitor the condition of clients and ensure constant connection with dispatchers. The advantage of the entire platform is that, thanks to the watch and the continuous operation of the dispatch center, it is possible to monitor the state of health, or to react immediately, and this really in 24/7 mode. The watch detects continuous measurements of heart rate, blood pressure and GPS location and sends this data via a SIM card to the dispatcher's headquarters, where any wrong value is signaled and they solve it immediately. Based on the evaluation of the seriousness of the situation, they can send a caregiver to the place or call the emergency services. It is possible to communicate with the client through the loudspeaker.

And then we have, for example, another product – the SigFos SOS button. It works on the principle of a long-range radio band, which makes its reliability high and energy consumption low. It is intended for clients who are not mobile or are less tech-savvy. They can use it to call for help through our comprehensive system as needed. The button distinguishes between a long press, a short press and a double press, which creates an alarm type in the system. The battery does not need to be charged and lasts for 10 years. Pressing the button is again signaled to the dispatch center, where the dispatcher evaluates it and immediately provides the necessary assistance.

In October, you also opened the Living Lab – a so-called living test center for assistive technologies. How can you imagine this?

Assistive technologies are mobile technologies for personal use or the use of social and health care connections. They not only increase the self-sufficiency of seniors and people with disabilities, but also enable them to prolong their lives in a home environment among their loved ones. Using various technologies, we try to find out to what extent we can maintain the client's self-sufficiency and health at such a level that he can stay at home for as long as possible. So far, we have selected 10 clients with various handicaps and equipped them, for example, with technology that warns of a gas leak or fire, as well as fall detection. The functions of this technology can be a safe helper in the home environment, as they increase self-sufficiency, safety and also enable the extension of life in the home environment. This technology will give the person being cared for independence and some degree of certainty that someone will take care of them when needed.

In assistive technology sets, we also have oximeters, pressure gauges, SOS watches, GPS locators, SigFos buttons. If it is confirmed that the technologies were well chosen and beneficial for clients, we will start to introduce them to a greater extent. We are at the beginning of the project and will gradually evaluate how the sets prove themselves in practice. Specifically, we are currently testing assistive technologies only in Litoměřice, but we want to expand them to Chomutov, Mnichov Hradiště and Liberec as well.

And this brings us to the bottom line - what is the description of the work of the Diocese Charity of Litoměřice itself?

The Diocesan Charity of Litoměřice methodically directs, coordinates and controls the activities of all Charities in the Diocese of Litoměřice, of which there are currently sixteen in several regions. The Litoměřice Diocesan Charity itself provides several social, health and humanitarian services. Our activity is to provide a service to a neighbor in need, which is based on Christian principles, regardless of his race, nationality, religion, national and political affiliation. We also organize aid abroad, aid during natural disasters, aid to refugees and missions. We organize collections and humanitarian events to help those in need in the Czech Republic and abroad. We implement foreign development cooperation activities.

What benefits does participating in the Digital Health Platform project have for your organization?

As part of the Digital Health Platform project, we have the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with technological innovations, results and cooperation offers from companies and (not only) regional partners that can help us in fulfilling our tasks, we have the opportunity to share experiences, secure new sources for funding cooperation , we can participate in research, development of innovations with an emphasis on the field of health and social services.

You already use a relatively large fleet of electric cars (11 in total) for your business. Would you share with us how electromobility was reflected in the economic operation of your organization?

To date, there are 11 electric vehicles, but in 2023 we expect another 9 pluq-in hybrid cars + 2 vans in the pluq-in hybrid version adapted for the transport of people with limited mobility. In the future, we are toying with the idea of a hydrogen drive that, with a load of 6.27 kg of hydrogen, will clean 50,000 km while driving. liters of air (which is roughly equivalent to the breath consumption of 33 people per day).

And the economic impact?

Electric cars have fewer mechanical components that wear out less and require less maintenance. So it's quite common that you don't need to go to the service regularly every year to change the engine oil, but once every two years is enough just to change the air conditioner filter and check the brake fluid. You will save thousands more in the later stages of the car's life on the replacement of "consumable" parts, such as clutches or oil changes in the automatic transmission (electric cars can do without a gearbox), brake discs/pads (electric cars usually brake with electric motors, so the brakes don't wear out), etc.

You'll also save a lot of money on "fuel" because even though electricity prices have jumped up a bit, petrol and diesel prices have gone straight through the roof and the operation of an electric car is thus becoming significantly cheaper. Especially if you have available home charging in a lower "electric mobile" tariff.

As a charity, we plan to build 8 charging stations in 2023 with the help of the City of Litoměřice. We already have everything to build, the only thing missing is the technical infrastructure from the electricity supplier. Gradually, however, the charging network is also expanding to smaller towns - the vision of the local government also depends a lot on this, and there are definitely visionaries in our town. In the city of Litoměřice, the infrastructure of charging stations is significant, we participated in the SmartCity e-Fekta projects, where we charge cars based on photovoltaics.

When charging electrified cars, we have the opportunity to use discounted electricity rates, especially in the evening and at night, when we have the opportunity to pump electricity into the electric car at a reduced price. Realistically, when you drive an electric car charged like this, you end up with unattainable operating costs.

Electric vehicles are not subject to road tax, so we also have free parking for these vehicles in many city locations, including Prague.

We support new things and we like to participate in improving the ecological conditions in our city and life for us all. All this with the financial contribution of the European Union, which is the main driver of things.