{"id":130753,"date":"2026-01-24T22:58:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T22:58:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/130753\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T22:58:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T22:58:06","slug":"florida-embraces-longevity-tech-and-safeguards-to-aid-seniors-and-caregivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/130753\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida embraces longevity tech and safeguards to aid seniors and caregivers"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 With about 6.5 million seniors in Florida\u2014equivalent to the population of nearly 20 states\u2014the Department of Elder Affairs faces the challenge of serving a large and growing senior population.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Lt. Gov. Jay Collins launches \u2018Operation Senior Shield\u2019 to help seniors avoid scammers, fraud<\/a><\/p>\n

Michelle Branham, secretary of Florida\u2019s Department of Elder Affairs, shared how the department supports seniors and caregivers across the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to be nimble, flexible, innovative,\u201d Branham said.<\/p>\n

Technology plays a key role in meeting these demands. <\/p>\n

\u201cI became really immersed in health tech, aging tech, in what we call longevity tech, so ways that we can leverage technology,\u201d Branham said.<\/p>\n

One example is Bluetooth technology that monitors seniors\u2019 safety, such as detecting falls, while protecting their privacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to make sure that the guardrails we put around that technology are keeping up with the technology itself,\u201d Branham said.<\/p>\n

The department also supports practical technologies that assist caregivers physically, such as devices that help move seniors safely and easily. Additionally, Florida hosts Health Innovation Pitch Days, a \u201cShark Tank-style\u201d event that brings startup companies from around the world to showcase new technologies that could benefit seniors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe bring in all of these vendors and folks that are startup companies and leveraging all the best technology from across the world to see what will help us,\u201d Branham said. <\/p>\n

At the same time, she emphasized the department\u2019s focus on creating safeguards to protect seniors\u2019 privacy and safety as new technologies are adopted.<\/p>\n

The department\u2019s efforts also include specialized support through the Florida Alzheimer Center of Excellence, which provides care navigators to guide families through the journey, Branham explained.<\/p>\n

This Week in Jacksonville<\/p>\n

More Stories Like This In Our Email Newsletter<\/p>\n

To watch the full interview with Branham, tune in to This Week in Jacksonville<\/a> on Sunday morning at 9 a.m. We also spoke with former Florida House Speaker and governor candidate Paul Renner, as well as Daniel Davis, CEO of the JAX Chamber of Commerce, about growth in Jacksonville.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 With about 6.5 million seniors in Florida\u2014equivalent to the population of nearly 20 states\u2014the Department…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":130754,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[28,571,116,118,117,99],"class_list":["post-130753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-florida","tag-health","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/130754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}