2025-02-19
Hestia Agora launches digital solution for Elderly Care
The Medeon Company Hestia Agora Launches Hestia Vita – A Tool That Could Revolutionize Elderly Care
Medeon-based company Hestia Agora has launched its digital tool, Hestia Vita – a product that has the potential to revolutionize elderly care by helping municipalities work more proactively and strategically. Hestia Vita is based on an evidence-based method in which older adults self-assess their quality of life, providing municipalities with broad and easily accessible decision-making data.
“Municipalities are facing a major challenge in the future, with a growing elderly population and limited resources. I strongly believe that preventive efforts can make a big difference – both for the elderly and for municipal finances,” says Per Simonsson, founder and CEO of Hestia Agora.
The new Social Services Act, expected to come into force this summer, emphasizes the importance of preventive measures. With Hestia Vita, municipalities gain a powerful tool to better meet these new requirements.
Better Data for Decision-Making
Hestia Vita includes a digital version of the evidence-based ASCOT method from the University of Kent and provides municipalities with detailed insights into how older individuals perceive their lives – from social connections to the level of control they feel over their daily routines. Seniors respond via an app on their mobile phone, rating how well the statements reflect their situation. The entire survey takes just five minutes to complete.
“Hestia Vita gives municipalities access to better decision-making data directly from seniors. They can compare quality of life between men and women, across different age groups and geographic areas, and track how seniors’ quality of life evolves over time. Overall, municipalities receive a wealth of compiled and analyzed data quickly, with minimal effort. They can then direct resources for preventive actions where they will have the greatest impact,” explains Per Simonsson.
In addition, Hestia Vita offers tailored suggestions to the senior about preventive services available from the municipality, based on their ASCOT results.
Support from Medeon
With a background in management consulting, the field of municipal elder care was relatively new to Per Simonsson. To gain firsthand insight, he worked within municipal home care services for a period.
“Personally, I find it very fulfilling to work with something that creates social value – that improves the quality of life for seniors and reduces healthcare costs,” he says, and continues:
“Medeon has supported us tremendously during the development and testing of our product. We’ve received tailored support from our business development coach and made great use of Medeon’s broad network and experts – for example, getting help from AWA with trademark protection. The lectures at Medeon on marketing and export have also been valuable. Additionally, we received verification funding from Almi and a product development grant from Region Skåne through Medeon.”
Successful Pilot Project in Vellinge
Last autumn, the company conducted a major pilot project in Vellinge municipality, where over 280 seniors aged 65 to 100 participated. The project included individuals who were not yet receiving municipal support as well as those who were about to begin.
“Both the municipality and the seniors responded very positively to our tool, and we learned a great deal. Based on the feedback, we now have an improved version of Hestia Vita,” says Per Simonsson.
The Future of Hestia Vita
Following the successful pilot and positive feedback, Hestia Vita is now entering the market. The company is initially focusing on Sweden, with plans to expand to other Nordic countries in the future.
“The more users we have, the better the tool becomes. It enables benchmarking between municipalities and helps facilitate mutual learning,” concludes Per Simonsson.
