Corporate wellness is inseparable from education and technology. Which is to say, the rapidity of change within the healthcare industry makes knowledge a priority and awareness (about the options available to individuals) a necessity. An informed workforce is, thus, not only an empowered group of professionals, eager to take better control of themselves; it is a cross-section of society - a diverse array of activists, consumers, patients and volunteers - that can benefit from the ultimate union of innovation and practical results, thanks to a revolution in technology and transportation.
I refer, specifically, to the use of aerial drones for the emergency delivery of lifesaving medication, medical devices (such as defibrillators) and inflatable vests (to prevent swimmers or sailors from drowning), among many other things.
Indeed, far from being the stuff of science fiction, which stretches a plausible idea by adding features not yet available in the real world; or, in a marriage of automotive design and aerodynamic engineering, gives us the flying cars of the near-future (the year 2019, to be exact, in the film adaptation of "Blade Runner"); in spite of the futuristic description of the services listed above, drones are very much a scientific fact - today - with the promise of forever improving health care and medical relief to the least among us.
I write these words from experience, where, in my talks with Phil McNamara, Managing Director of Voxpro USA, I have been introduced to experts concerning drone technology. For, it is this technology that is responsible for enabling pharmaceutical companies to help people in remote areas not easily navigable by rail, road or manned flight; it is this technology that can penetrate otherwise impenetrable places, a twenty-first century equivalent (in moral terms, if not logistical significance) to the Berlin Airlift, where aid came from the air - tons of dried food, meat, fish and potatoes, as well as coal and gasoline, for more than two million citizens of West Berlin.
In fact, a three-day event ("Drones, Data X Conference") will held on May 1-3 of this year, in Santa Cruz, California, featuring many of the world's top aviation experts, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, communications specialists and proponents of drones.
The conference is itself validation of the use of drones as a commercial resource, which can make this equipment an integral part of our health care system. This gathering of public figures and private citizens is a venue for the discussion about drones to take flight and soar, so to speak.
An Event of Towering Ambition and Measurable Results
The broader theme to this upcoming event is one of measurable results. In other words, concepts like health and wellness are not mere abstractions - the existing and forthcoming opportunities involving drones are no longer the stuff of academic conversation - because we can cite countless examples where the difference between comfort and catastrophe is a matter of seconds or minutes.
Those situations depend on speed and accuracy, unencumbered by traffic and the conventional limitations of stop lights and police detours.In those circumstances, where personal survival is paramount and time is scarce, drones are both necessary and invaluable. Educating people about these issues is an ethical responsibility and a display of corporate integrity.
It is confirmation of an investment in technology, as a subject of general importance, and a commitment on behalf of the increased use of drones, as a topic of particular urgency. With information and visible proof, there can be no doubt that drones are - and will continue to be - a critical means of aiding the sick, feeding the poor, protecting the weak and rescuing the injured. Or: Wellness will descend from the air, with speed and safety.
About the Author
Lewis Fein is a writer and a health care advocate, as well as a volunteer for patients battling various autoimmune diseases. Based in Southern California, he can be reached at feinlewis@gmail.com
