Hello and welcome to living in the Lehigh Valley, where our focus is your health and wellness.

I'm your host, Brittany Sweeney.

The old adage that knowledge is power might be the mantra for Good Shepherd Rehabilitation.

Hospitals in power plus space in Center Valley.

Our own Grover Silcox paid a visit to the hospital and is here to tell us what he learned.

Grover, always great to see you.

Great to be here.

I've been to this space.

Really cool space.

It really is.

Empower Plus is on the ground floor of good Shepherds, new rehabilitation hospital in Center Valley.

As you had mentioned.

And it's designed to be an education and learning center for folks with disabilities to discover new technologies that they can use to improve their quality of living.

Awesome.

It seems like a really cool place.

So what are some of the things that you saw there?

Well, there's everything from electronic medication organizers to assistive devices made with 3-D printing.

They actually have a 3D printing lab there.

Wow.

So someone with disabilities, this is a great place for them to go and find some gadgets to make their life a little easier.

It is.

Empower Plus is free and open to the public.

The empower plus space not only displays amazing gadgets and devices designed to assist folks with disabilities, but the Good Shepherd staff is there as well, ready to answer questions and help visitors give this leading edge technology a try.

This is a digital magnifier that we have here for people with vision difficulties.

Amanda Clark, director of Good Shepherd Create shows a visit there, The Clover Book Pro, one of the myriad technologies on display in the Empower Plus demonstration space at Good Shepherds New Rehabilitation Hospital in Center Valley.

Empower Plus is a brand new concept for Good Shepherd and for the Lehigh Valley.

It is meant to be a free public education and demonstration space of a variety of different technologies.

Empower Plus is open to the public.

That can be our patients, family members, other community groups to come and learn and experience some of the amazing technologies that are out there and this is the part that changes the culture here.

Yes.

So multiple different color moons contrast.

It can be anyone who is upstairs in our inpatient facility.

So maybe it is someone who has had a stroke, brain injury or spinal cord injury.

Maybe it's someone recovering from a prolonged or complicated hospitalization.

It could be someone living with a chronic disability like cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's.

Or it could be someone who is trying to age in the community and wants to be able to live as full and safe and gracefully in their home as possible.

Clinicians, coordinators and clients of Good Shepherd partner organizations also use the Empower Plus space.

We also included 3D printed devices in the Living in Place exhibit.

On this day.

Ashley Patete, a support coordinator for the Lehigh Valley Center for Independent Living Visits Empower Plus to learn about new technologies who are LVI ALS clients.

So we provide all different kinds of services to people with disabilities, all ages, all types of disabilities.

My role specifically is with assistive technology, and that's why we have the partnership with Good Shepherd and Empower, Plus.

Amanda and her colleagues encourage visitors to try the technologies on display.

So as you can see, it's blinking right now.

So every other compartment is locked except the one that is open and blinking to take this medicine.

It is a place for people to come learn, get hands on experience, and hear from some of our staff about some of the amazing technologies that are out there and some of the specialty services we have at Good Shepherd to support the community that we're serving.

The devices, gadgets and systems presented at Empower Plus represent leading edge technologies currently on the market.

For many people.

A lot of these technologies are new to them.

They didn't know they were available or we are presenting them in a new light.

So for example, Smart Home Technologies, many people know of smart Home as a comfort or a luxury, but they don't know about it as a tool for independence, which is really why we wanted to open a space like this to help inspire and engage people so they know of all the possibilities that are out there to promote independence.

The Empower Plus exhibits are divided into themes.

So living in place and Smart Home is one of the exhibits.

So think of this as various technologies and tools that can help someone either return home after being in the hospital or stay in their home longer and more safely.

The space also features inclusive education exhibits.

Those are tools and devices to help someone in an educational or professional setting.

And then we have adaptive gaming and virtual reality as well.

The lot of the technology here, we put in here because people can get that hands on learning experience with the whether it's the medication management system where we can actually demonstrate how it alerts someone when to take their medications and how it locks to our smart home hub that we can actually give commands to the digital assistant, turn on the light, the fan, etc..

So we want to try and make it as engaging and educational as possible.

Empower Plus also features a 3D printing lab courtesy of a partnership between Good Shepherd and Moravian University.

So it's been really fun.

Collaboration between Meridian University, our clinicians, our patients, our 3D printing, clinical specialists to see some of the really creative and unique tools we can make for people.

This table here is an example of some of the other 3D printed devices we're making in our 3D printing lab.

Some of the examples include this modified candy can Holder handle for people who have difficulty holding a typical soda?

Can makes it easier to still drink their favorite beverages.

Technologies created to improve lives can help folks if they don't know about them, making sure folks do know about them and how they might make a difference in their lives is what good shepherds empower.

Plus, space is all about.

Our goal is to promote that inclusion and accessibility and quality of life, whether it's in the home and the community in their professional setting.

You know, our goal at Good Shepherd is to help everyone live their life to the fullest and with as much potential as possible, which is why we wanted to create a space like this.

As mentioned in my report, Good Shepherds Empower Plus operates in partnership with the Lehigh Valley Center for Independent Living, Moravian University, and also Tech Owl, an extension of Temple University, which helps folks with disabilities find and use assistive technology.

Really just so innovative And all these advanced gadgets and technology is that on the market today?

They are.

You know, many of them are things we might already know about.

But there were some things that took me by surprise, certainly in terms of how they might assist folks with disabilities.

Absolutely.

So can visitors purchase these different items or how does that all work?

They can't purchase them there, but the staff at Good Shepherd and their affiliate partners will help visitors with that process if they're interested in purchasing one of the devices or systems or technologies, except for the tools and devices made in their 3D printing lab, they're free to visitors who need and want them.

Sure.

And it sounds like a really great place for people to go who maybe have a disability and want to make their life a little bit easier.

This might be a good place to start.

It really.

Is.

And so they also have events there all the time, right?

They do special events, but again, open to the public throughout the.

Week so they can just stop by and say hello.

Right.

All right.

Go over some really great information, as always.

Thank you so much.

My pleasure.

And that'll do it for this edition of Living in the Lehigh Valley.

I'm Brittany Sweeney, hoping you stay happy and healthy.