The magazine of the Air Liquide Group | Healthcare

160,000 people in France suffer from Parkinson’s disease. That’s one in a hundred people over the age of 65. The figures are expected to double by 2050. Parkinson’s is an automaticity disorder characterized by slowness of movement, rigidity, and sometimes tremors when at rest.

No matter their job, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the daily lives of all employees, particularly those at Air Liquide Healthcare. They have learned to adapt and overcome challenges in order to respond to the emergency and to provide healthcare professionals and patients with the best support. Some of them tell us their experience.

Protecting the health of employees, customers, patients and partners; ensuring continuity of service in essential sectors such as healthcare, energy and the food industry; responding to the health emergency by supporting unprecedented measures throughout the world to fight the COVID-19 pandemic… Spotlight on an exceptional mobilization.

Often overlooked by society at large, caregivers provide critical assistance to their sick loved ones. Be they men or women, active workers or retirees, these invisible helpers charge nothing for their time or effort. We met with Russell Patten, Secretary General of the European Parkinson's Disease Association (EPDA), which has had a partnership with Air Liquide since 2019.

In the context of the fight against COVID-19, Air Liquide continues to support healthcare professionals and hospitals worldwide. In France, the Air Liquide Healthcare teams are particularly proud to have contributed to the installation of the new intensive care unit at the Henri-Mondor Hospital (AP-HP), in Créteil, France, to receive COVID-19 patients as of April 10.

Faced with the urgent need for ventilators to treat the patients most severely affected by COVID-19, Air Liquide, Groupe PSA, Schneider Electric, Valeo took up the challenge of producing 10.000 ventilators Air Liquide Medical Systems (ALMS) between April and mid-May, in response to a request from the French Government.

The increase in the number of chronic diseases,⁽¹⁾ new patient expectations, hospital overcrowding, and higher costs for treatment and its follow-up are major challenges for our healthcare systems. This new landscape provides an opportunity to collectively reinvent the patient pathway for chronically ill patients by focusing on personalized home care.

The stakes are high. With 425 million adults affected worldwide¹, diabetes is a pandemic. This chronic disease is ever-growing, and may affect as many as 629 million people by 2045². The intensive medical supervision required seriously hampers the daily habits and lifestyle of patients.

The healthcare industry is experiencing some major shifts, including aging populations, accelerated urban growth, technological progress, sedentary lifestyles, and the increase of chronic illnesses. Healthcare systems, which are often organized around hospitals, do not always encourage support for chronic diseases that require regular, long ­ term monitoring.

Healthcare is experiencing a revolution. Digital technologies have become an integral part of healthcare, transforming usages and economic models in ways that benefit patients and health professionals alike. In 2017, the innovative solution Chronic Care Connect™ has been developed in this environment undergoing major changes.