1.) What motivated you to launch Caring.com?
Caring.com grew out of my experiences caring for my mom who had lung cancer. In 2006 when she got sick, she was in Chicago, and I was in Silicon Valley. I spent a lot of that year flying back and forth, trying to help her fight the lung cancer and be comfortable.
I kept going online looking for help, and trying to figure out how to hire a nurse, how to buy a hospital bed, how to navigate Medicare, etc. I was frustrated that there weren’t any good websites to help me figure out what to do.
When my mom passed away at the end of 2006, I talked to others who had lost parents, and asked how they figured out all the things they needed to do to be a family caregiver. Everybody told me it was really hard, they made a lot of mistakes, and wished there had been a website to help them. That inspired me to partner with Jim Scott and Steve Fram to create Caring.com, which we launched at the start of 2007.
2.) Who does Caring.com aim to help, and how?
Caring.com is the leading online destination for those seeking information and support as they care for aging parents, spouses, and other loved ones. More than 40 million people in the United States care for someone over age 50, yet most have little preparation or experience when they begin their caregiving journey. Our mission is to help these helpers — equip them to make better decisions, save time and money, and feel less alone — and less stressed — as they face the many challenges of caregiving. Currently, more than a million family caregivers visit Caring.com every month to read articles and blogs across a range of topics, find local resources in our senior living directory, get answers to their questions via Ask & Answer, and participate in our vibrant community.
For Alzheimer’s caregivers, we now offer Steps & Stages, which includes a free Custom Care Guide, weekly e-newsletter with practical caregiving tips, and online support groups. More than 35,000 caregivers are using Steps & Stages, with thousands registering each week. There are nearly 15 million Alzheimers and dementia caregivers in the U.S., and this role can last many years and become increasingly intense as their loved ones condition progresses. We created Steps & Stages to provide these caregivers guidance and comfort during a particularly challenging situation.
3.) What are a couple of the most difficult challenges for caregivers today? Has the serious downturn in the American economy affected caregivers and caregiving? If so, how?
Caregivers face numerous challenges, ranging from financial to medical to emotional. In three recent surveys of our community, we found that caring for a loved one is the leading source of stress for caregivers, ahead of the economy and other family medical problems. We also found that depression levels among caregivers are more than two times the national average (25% vs. the nationwide 9% reported by the CDC). Caregivers tell us they are overwhelmed, in many cases isolated, and often feel under-appreciated.
Beyond the emotional impacts, caregiving also comes with substantial financial costs. For instance, 86% of caregivers told us that their role impacted their work situation, because they had to take time away from their jobs, quit, retire early, reduce hours, or take a leave of absence (excluding those who were already not working). Seventy-seven percent are concerned about the impact of their caregiving on their savings, and 42 percent are spending more than $5,000 a year on caring. As you might imagine, an economic downturn only exacerbates these challenges.
4.) How can health providers (doctors, nurses, psychologists, etc.) use Caring.com to help their patients?
We collaborate with more than 50 trusted leaders in geriatric medicine, law, finance, housing, and other key areas of healthcare and eldercare, to deliver the highest quality, authoritative and helpful information and resources to family caregivers. We welcome the participation of health providers in our community, and want them to know that they can confidently refer individuals to our website. While we don’t provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment on Caring.com, we do offer information about health conditions and online peer support for caregivers of aging loved ones.
Steps & Stages is one such resource that is very helpful for the families of Alzheimer’s patients, and supplements the guidance these families receive from their loved ones’ doctors offline. It was developed in collaboration with two health care providers, Dr. Ken Robbins, a geriatric psychiatrist, and Dr. Leslie Kernisan, a geriatrician whose blog, Older Patients, Wiser Care is featured on our site.
Another resource on our website that health providers may find useful is our free senior living directory, to help their patients and their patients’ families to find local eldercare and senior living providers in their area, as well as local government health insurance counselors, geriatric care managers, and area agencies on aging. The directory also includes end of life resources, such as hospice providers and funeral homes.
Twitter
