Poços de Caldas expands elderly sports, telehealth, and warns of underground mapping gaps

The municipal Sports Secretariat in Poços de Caldas, Brazil, has added a 60+ adapted volleyball program and plans to launch a 60+ basketball class, aiming to encourage physical activity, social interaction and quality of life for seniors. Secretary Zélia Maria Testi Moreira said the goal is to broaden opportunities for older residents to exercise and interact in group settings.

The city’s Health Department, through the "Melhor em Casa" program, introduced teleattendance for home‑care patients. In the past six months more than 1,200 remote contacts were recorded, including over 200 video consultations and 1,000 message‑based inquiries, helping caregivers with medication, wound care, psychological support and clinical re‑evaluations. Dr. Alisson Barbosa Silva and coordinator Morgana Batista highlighted that telehealth complements, rather than replaces, in‑person visits, improving response speed and allowing staff to focus on cases that truly need a home visit.

A councilor’s request revealed that Poços de Caldas lacks a unified, georeferenced database of all underground utilities—water, sewage, gas, electricity, telecom and fiber. Each provider keeps separate records, and the municipality has no integrated mapping system, increasing the risk of accidents during construction or maintenance. The issue was raised by councilor Álvaro Cagnani (PSDB), with responsibilities outlined for the departments of Infrastructure, Water Management and Energy.