Maintain Financial Sustainability
Caregivers who understand their options and available resources have lower out-of-pocket spending as well as having decreased borrowing against their own financial future.
If you have a role providing physical, social, emotional, or financial support to an adult loved one - a relative, a friend, or a neighbor - due to a physical, mental, age-related, or potentially life-limiting condition or disability, you are a Caregiver.
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Caregiven’s platform and mobile application promote engagement and a more meaningful connection between caregivers and their loved ones by offering clarity and providing support to help with caregiving challenges. Our products empower individuals to confidently and securely exchange vital information and help with the many decision-making processes while honoring the emotional needs of everyone involved.
Caregiven decreases administrative paperwork so that people have more meaningful time with their loved one. Knowing what documents are most important, where to get them, how to make and share decisions is overwhelming and complicated for families that are already experiencing the emotional and physical struggles of caring for a loved one. This feature embeds links and guides so that caregivers know what needs to be prepared at each stage of the care journey and by whom.
Caring for a loved one requires a collective effort. We help you create your Care Circle while each individual manages their specific user preferences. The Care Circle empowers everybody to show up as their true authentic self to contribute to their loved one's care and nurturing.
Caregiven offers individuals curated guidance and advice much like any in-person care navigator. But ours is through an interactive platform. Users get tailored support from subject matter experts across all touch-points in a care journey: medical, legal, financial, logistical, familial, emotional, and legacy. This advice is based on chatbot interactions, a comprehensive understanding of where the family is within the care journey, and the individual's stated needs. The resulting trusted guidance helps people feel more confident in their care role and make the most of their time and professional support.
Coordinating services and appointments and managing logistics amongst all caregivers can be the most time-consuming and frustrating parts of the caregiving role. The stress of figuring all this out contributes to carer overwhelm and burnout. Caregiven’s appointment feature enables clear communication among all involved. It serves as a secure and convenient place to keep everyone in the Care Circle - both informal and professional - engaged through proactive reminders, messaging, and the single-point sharing of notes and updates.
Every care journey is unique, but that does not mean there are not shared emotions or milestones that every family will face. Caregiven has identified these moments to create a roadmap that we use to help people recognize what they will need to know and when they need to know it. As a result, many of the unknowns become known, and families can make decisions proactively.
Often, individuals put the needs of caring for another before their own, which is very true of those caring for a loved one. Some carers report positive outcomes such as closer relationships, greater appreciation of life, increased empathy, and a positive self-view. Many can also experience anxiety, depression, and a decline in quality of life. You must look after your own physical and mental health every day so you can continue to provide the support and compassion your loved one needs. Caregiven guides and supports carer wellbeing without making it another expectation.
Providing the structure and guidance you need to confidentially manage the care journey of a loved one.
We’ll be frank. This is going to be one of the hardest things you’ll ever do. No matter who we are and how prepared we think we are, we are never prepared for being thrust into the situation of caregiving for a loved one with a serious or terminal illness or at their end of life.
There will be many moments when you will not be at your best. Sometimes, that will be obvious, but sometimes, you won’t even know it. We want you to know that it’s okay. Perfection is a dangerous myth and a bogus standard that only causes pain. Embrace your imperfection, your humanity. It’s the honest thing to do. It’ll make this journey easier -- and more beautiful.
The sheer amount of information that gets thrown at you will be overwhelming. You don’t have to know everything all at once. You don’t have to memorize it. Write it down. Come back to it later. That’s why Caregiven’s here.
There are only a handful of things you can plan for. Everything changes, sometimes so quickly you can almost feel the breeze as it speeds by. You don’t need to find all the solutions now. All you need to do is make the next right move.
You’ll get advice from all corners of your world. Remember that you get to shape the journey for yourself and your loved one. Only you know what’s truly best for you. There won’t be objective rights and wrongs, only choices that are the best for you and your loved one in your specific, unique circumstances. You get to decide.
And finally, you’ll experience intense feelings, ones that will feel like they could destroy you, along with the depths of love and gratitude you’ve never felt before. All of those feelings are okay. All of them are normal.
And don’t forget to laugh. Sometimes the most challenging things need the most laughter. Be silly. Make bad, inappropriate jokes. Laugh at yourself. Laugh with your loved one. As they say, it’s the best medicine. It truly is.
And remember, you’ll get through.
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1. Download the Caregiven App here.
2. Reach out to your employer, insurer, or aged care service provider to see if they offer Caregiven.
3. Read our blogs, follow us on social media - Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn - and share with others who are also caring for a loved one.
Most caregiving is provided by caregivers - the informal or unpaid individual who rises to the occasion to care for someone in need. These heroic humans are estimated to spend an average of 32.5 hours per week providing care compared with an assumed 5 hours of weekly care for non-primary carers. Calculating the value of informal carers is a step towards recognizing their contributions and opening a dialogue on how to best support these carers to enhance their utilization in the workforce market and well-being outcomes
Caregivers who understand their options and available resources have lower out-of-pocket spending as well as having decreased borrowing against their own financial future.
Care recipients with an engaged caregivers are 50% less likely to be admitted to hospital.
Loved ones are able to remain living independently and delay care facility placement by more than 20 months.
When supported, employees with caregiver obligations are less likely to be absent. This support also positively influences their behaviors, social connectedness, and workforce engagement on their health status.
"Stressed out family caregivers don't have the time to sift through the existing islands of online information trying to find answers and support. They need a unique caregiver app like Caregiven that meets a family caregiver at that "aperture" moment. An app that holds their hand and guides them to the right support and solutions. This app is a game-changer in helping families to navigate the complex and overwhelming caregiver landscape."
Melissa Rowley
Board Chair for the Caregiver Action Network
Mar 21, 2022by Michele Houck
Many people are very surprised when I tell them that I personally attended to all of the caregiving...
Jan 21, 2022by Michele Houck
I grew up in a house that was filled with music. At dinner time I particularly enjoyed the music of...
Dec 9, 2021by Karen Purze
The following is a guest blog from Karen Purze.
When the ER doctor called just as I was heading...