Current Trajectory
Once the acute event passes, services are withdrawn, leaving seniors vulnerable to future incidents. This pattern repeats, with chronic conditions exacerbating the cycle. Seniors often become more resistant to seeking help, and their quality of life diminishes as they endure repeated hospitalizations and crises. Over time, they transition from independent to dependent, facing limited choices, diminished energy, and reduced recovery motivation.
Our project aims to break this cycle by holistically understanding seniors' needs and personalizing their care. By prioritizing preventive services, addressing root causes, and providing a single point of contact, we strive to create a sustainable model of care that supports seniors' well-being and independence over the long term.
Ideal/ future Trajectory
01. THE CHALLENGE
How might we holistically empower seniors to manage chronic conditions, navigate healthcare with confidence, and overcome barriers to stay healthy at home, reduce avoidable hospital admissions, and live fuller, more independent lives to help them age magnificently?
I Led end-to-end design and strategy efforts to optimize service delivery and enhance the customer experience. My role encompassed market research, design research, data synthesis, testing, and facilitating collaborative workshops, all while aligning business objectives with user needs.
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Conducted user research (e.g., interviews) to uncover needs and pain points, and led evaluative testing, including A/B testing and moderated usability testing.
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Facilitated stakeholder workshops to align goals and generate actionable insights.
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Collaborated with multidisciplinary teams to co-create innovative solutions.
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Delivered impactful design artifacts such as customer journey maps, service blueprints, user personas, wireframes, and prototypes (both high- and low-fidelity).
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Developed strategic frameworks, including competitive analyses and business model canvases, to inform decision-making.
I relied on data-driven insights, systems-thinking methodologies, and a strong understanding of the Social Determinants of Health (SoDh) to design and iterate solutions that met user goals and business outcomes. A significant part of my work focused on creating service blueprints and journey maps, seamlessly integrating systems design for a holistic approach.
02. THE APPROACH
Using a patient-first mindset and the design thinking/ human- centered -Design, I conducted 1st and secondary research across:
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7 main facilities.
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Interviewed 30 stakeholders.
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Competitive Market Analysis
By conducting interviews, surveys, testimonials
utilized secondary research better understand our users' pain points and build empathy. shadowing and observing.
I also conducted a competitive market analysis of other top senior care services to better understand current market trend, financial trends, while identifying market needs in the senior care space.
03. THE OUTCOME
The project resulted in a transformative shift from a hospital-focused model to a patient-centered approach, grounded in the seven elements of social determinants of health (SDOH).
The development and implementation of a new innovative model integrates the full spectrum of geriatric health services into a single, home-based experience, empowering seniors to age magnificently.
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28% decrease In hospital admissions
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36 % Fewer days spent in the hospital if admitted
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22% Reduction in overall health care in costs
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69% Higher new promoter score means members love Lifespark services (compare to 38 NPS average for other health care providers)
MY ROLE
Key responsibilities and methods
Approach and contrtributions:
01.
THE CHALLENGE:
With a aging population and growing prevalence of chronic conditions, the senior population faces significant challenges such as:
Recurrent and Unnecessary Hospital Admissions:
Often due to inadequate follow-up care, mismanagement of chronic conditions, or lack of support at home.
Caregiver Shortages:
The growing demand for skilled caregivers outpaces supply, leading to overburdened caregivers and inconsistent quality of care.
Financial Strain:
Rising healthcare costs, long-term care expenses, and limited retirement savings place a heavy burden on seniors and their families.
Difficulty Navigating complex healthcare systems :
Seniors often struggle to understand and access the services they need, leading to delays in care or improper treatments.
Chronic Disease Management:
Many seniors face multiple chronic conditions, requiring coordinated care that is often difficult to achieve in fragmented healthcare systems.
Polypharmacy and improper medication use are common, leading to adverse drug interactions and health complications.
Medication Mismangement
Technological Barriers:
Many seniors struggle to adopt digital tools for healthcare, communication, and day-to-day tasks, exacerbating isolation and reducing access to Telehealth services.
Challenges with mobility, balance, and strength increase the risk of falls and injuries, often leading to loss of independence.
Physical decline and disability:
02.
THE APPROACH:
I started by developing a time line, conducting research, interviews, surveys, and testimonials
this helped to better understand our users' pain points and build empathy.
Primary Research:
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1:1 Interviews
Roughly 30 Stakeholders
RN, S Social Workers, PT/OT,Physicians, Pharmacologists Family, Enrollment, Finance,
Insurance
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Shadowing/Field research:
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Respite care, TCU, Skilled Home Health, HospiceSenior living- Memory care, Independent living, Assisted living.
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Focus Groups
Secondary Research:
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Read customer reviews
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Analyzed/Synthesized Data
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Quantitative/ Qualitative
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Competitive Market Analysis
Insights/Areas of Opportunity:
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A significant gap exists in aligning life design with the needs of multi-dimensional nurses.
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Nurses face inefficiencies due to the lack of a seamless system for inputting information, leading to time loss and missing data.
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Members struggled to understand the value of the new product and its intended benefits.
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Clear parameters are needed for when and how to introduce services, as this process depends on multiple facilities and stakeholders within each partner organization.
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lance, and strength increase the risk of falls and injuries, often leading to loss of independence.
03.
THE OUTCOME:
The project resulted in a transformative shift from a hospital-focused model to a patient-centered approach, grounded in the seven elements of social determinants of health (SDOH). Through Lifespark COMPLETE™ services, seniors gain access to in-home primary care provided by nurse practitioners, physicians, and clinicians, who realign the healthcare system around their needs. This innovative model integrates the full spectrum of geriatric health services into a single, home-based experience, empowering seniors to age magnificently.
Delivering New Tech-Driven Solutions for Seniors and Their Families:
We introduced digital services designed to simplify and enhance the lives of seniors while supporting their families. By prioritizing intuitive design and seamless functionality, we created tools that are easy for seniors to use independently and equally accessible for their family members. These solutions enable seniors to manage their care effortlessly while allowing family members to stay informed, coordinate caregiving, and remain connected. The result is a collaborative, technology-driven ecosystem that empowers seniors, strengthens family involvement, and reduces the complexity of navigating care.
Redefining and Reshaping the Service Lines:
To simplify and enhance the caregiving experience, we restructured and redefined caregiver services. Previously, these services were categorized by risk stratification levels, which often caused confusion for patients and their families, making it difficult to understand and select the right options. By shifting the focus to patient needs, we streamlined the services, enabling clearer choices and easier decision-making.
Building on this foundation, we developed seven distinct service lines tailored to the unique characteristics and needs of different inpatient groups. Each service line features a clear purpose, a defined target audience, and extended scenarios that address diverse aspects of senior care.
Mapping the Patient Journey: By mapping the entire patient journey from pre-admission to post-discharge, the project identified 7 key channels to focus on and developed new physical and touchpoint concepts to make services more accessible and perceptible to our members.
The Impact:
Through this project, LS has strengthened its brand service capabilities and empowered its team to embrace innovative thinking. The caregiving service has transformed from focusing on "what hospitals want" to "what patients want," achieving clear positioning and aligning with future strategies through service design.
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Enhanced Brand Communication: Transitioned from a medical-graded system to a customer-centric language, making services easier to understand.
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Agile Iterations: Rapid iteration methods optimized products cost-effectively.
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Collaborative Innovation: Co-creation inspired the team, fostering efficiency, knowledge-sharing, and consensus-building.
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Distinctive Value: Defined unique selling points, setting LS apart and identifying growth opportunities.
Key Outcomes:
The senior care business now boasts stronger capabilities, earning recognition from patients, families, hospitals, and local governments. This project extends healthcare services into home care, providing standardized, patient-focused experiences while easing hospital management burdens. It represents a pioneering application of service design, offering guidance for innovation in caregiving and injecting vitality into an aging society.
Metrics:
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28% decrease In hospital admissions
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36 % Fewer days spent in the hospital if admitted
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22% Reduction in overall health care in costs
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69% Higher new promoter score means members love Lifespark services (compare to 38 NPS average for other health care providers)
This was NOT the actual work used for this specific project.
Just a quick mock-up of some ideas in the past.
04.
Reflecting on this project underscores the transformative power of empathy in driving impactful solutions. Conducting deep, on-the-ground research revealed hidden pain points, enabling the alignment of solutions with real user needs. Stakeholder collaboration emerged as another pivotal factor; co-creation workshops with clients built trust and consensus and led to innovative outcomes that were more likely to succeed in real-world applications.
Adaptability was a critical mindset, especially when navigating unforeseen challenges like resistance to change or operational constraints. Flexibility in solution development allowed the team to address these hurdles effectively. The project also demonstrated how operational efficiency can be enhanced through innovation, with the standardization of processes and the adoption of new tools to alleviate caregiver burdens and improve service delivery.
Simplifying complexity was a cornerstone of this initiative. Transitioning to a clear, customer-centric communication framework illustrated the significance of accessibility in enhancing user experience and brand perception. At the same time, balancing standardization with personalization emphasized the need for flexible caregiving solutions that cater to diverse patient needs. This balance ensured both efficiency and individualized care.
Service design was leveraged as a strategic tool to differentiate the company in a competitive market, setting a new benchmark for innovation in a rapidly aging society. Most importantly, the project highlighted the long-term benefits of integrating home care into the broader healthcare ecosystem. This approach improved patient outcomes and streamlined provider operations, paving the way for scalable, sustainable solutions in senior care. This reflection underscores the importance of empathy, collaboration, and adaptability in tackling complex challenges and creating meaningful, lasting impact.
THE REFLECTION:
Lifespark Total C
Helping seniors to age magnificently.
Project Context
The "sick care roller coaster" is a cycle many seniors experience as they age. Initially, their physical and emotional well-being may seem stable, but over time, subtle changes—such as loneliness, neglecting medication, or poor nutrition—lead to a gradual decline in health. Eventually, this decline triggers a crisis, resulting in acute care interventions like hospitalizations, temporary care unit (TCU) stays, or rehabilitation.Family members often step in during these emergencies, and the current reactive healthcare system focuses on resolving the immediate crisis without addressing the root causes.