The service-sharing app ZINKN has relaunched to focus on Elder care. With the newest version now available in app stores, senior care is now on-demand and better than ever.

Originally ZINKN creator, Michael Vogler, came to Fyresite with an idea that helped differently-abled seniors. After doing market research and seeing a dire need within the community, Vogler decided to expand ZINKN’s services to seniors who need it and even people with disabilities who just need some extra help. After stripping down the app and expanding its services, Fyresite relaunched ZINKN 2.0.

Not only does ZINKN have the capabilities to help differently abled seniors, but now the app is made to serve anyone who might need it. With a variety of services and experienced caregivers, this app was made to make simple tasks easier.

With the click of a button, a pre-screened caregiver will be dispatched to the location to provide a variety of services. Once the provider is requested, the app will display the arrival time of the caregiver, who that person is, and various reviews from other seniors.

Services Include:

Home care includes: Continence and toileting, Feeding , Fall prevention, Medical reminders, Meal planning and preparation. Personal care includes: Exercise and, range of motion Transferring, Bathing and showering, Skincare and ,hair care, Dressing . Errands include: Light housekeeping , Shopping , and errands, Transportation, Companionship

ZINKN makes safety a top priority. Before a caregiver is accepted into the system, they must first pass all background checks, record validations and vehicle safety inspections. ZINKN also made sure that they used the best developers to trust their app with.

Stephen Orr, the Senior full stack developer at Fyresite, says that with the relaunch of ZINKN, Fyresite was able to make a “bulletproof” app with some of their best code written to date. This code was written with seniors in mind, making sure the app is easy to understand and use.

“One thing that’s important to remember when designing or implementing user interfaces for seniors is that they did not grow up using computers the same way we use them today. Seniors need interfaces to present options, use text to describe what they do, and most of all, not hide anything behind unfamiliar icons or swipe interactions,” Orr said.

Even if seniors are weary of using the app, there is now an easier way to request access. After setting up your account, seniors can just click a button and receive care.

Dylan Opet, Fyresite’s senior UI/UX Engineer, says that this button makes all the difference with senior care. And it all starts with accessibility.

“Having experience working with a wide variety of demographics has brought us a couple advantages while designing ZINKN’s experience for seniors. We took accessibility heavily into consideration while adopting it into every avenue of the app, from things like being WCAG compliant for text and visuals to easy-to-digest user journeys that are frictionless to experience,” Opet said.

One of the biggest challenges was making sure all needs could be met with a push of a button. “Requesting senior-care is one thing, but at the push of a button is a whole other story. Combining these two together creates a lot of work behind the scenes, so making it as seamless as it is today was quite a challenge,” Opet said.

Jacob Lai, one of Fyresite’s software engineers who worked on the relaunch, says that even though there was a project hiccup, they were able to work though it in order to create the best outcome. “It was challenging trying to connect the app to the bluetooth beacon. We weren’t able to connect to the original beacon and eventually had to go with another beacon from a completely different manufacturer,” Lai said.

Even though this presented a challenge, Fyresite knew the importance of this project and continued to find solutions to these problems.

zinkin screenshot of caregiver arriving Zinkin Billing image

“Being a part of this process is special because we know this product will potentially help a lot of our senior citizens. My grandparents are at the age where they need help with a lot of things, so it feels great to be a part of something like this,” Lai said.

Fyresite worked hard to make sure all needs could be met instantly and without any friction. In late February, ZINKN 2.0 was released to the app stores.

“Together as a team, we tested multiple solutions in usability studies to figure out the best way to provide these services. We designed the app from thinking outside-in instead of inside-out by always taking account of the context of use cases that our audience might use this app,” Dylan Opet said.

With the relaunch of this app, seniors all over the Phoenix metropolitan area will now be able to receive care that is safe and on-demand. As ZINKN grows to be more successful, the company is looking to expand care to more cities.