By ANNE TERGESEN The Wall Street Journal
No surprise here: In the era of Facebook and Twitter, families caring for older adults are turning to free social-networking services to help recruit and organize friends and relatives and, ideally, save money.
A growing number of websites, with names like CareCentral and Lotsa Helping Hands, are catering to such families. “It is the fastest-growing segment of our business,” says Jay Drayer, CEO of CareFlash, based in Austin, Texas, which services families with many types of health issues.
Like mainstream social-networking services, these sites make it possible for a caregiver to communicate with many people at once. Most allow families to post messages, blogs and photographs—and receive feedback from a supportive community. The services typically promise privacy and notify members when new information is added.
The potential audience is huge—and growing. According to a recent report by the National Alliance for Caregiving and the AARP, about 43.5 million Americans look after someone 50 or older, an increase of 28% over 2004. Compared to 2004, a smaller percentage—41% versus 46%—is hiring professional help, while more—70% versus 59%—are reaching out to unpaid help, such as family and friends.
Some pioneer sites, including CarePages and CaringBridge, mainly offer message boards and other communications tools. Newer sites, including eCareDiary and CareFlash, also feature tools designed to assist families in coordinating care. For example, with interactive calendars, anyone invited to join a caregiving network can log on to see what needs to be done when—and volunteer by clicking on an allotted time slot. At some sites, such as Lotsa Helping Hands, families needing assistance with such tasks as paying bills or chaperoning doctor’s visits also can post financial and medical records, and some plan to add services that allow families to solicit donations to cover medical and other bills.
Some of the websites, such as eCareDiary, are partially supported by advertising or take a cut of revenues from sales conducted through their sites of caregiving-related products, such as walkers. Many receive funding from partners, including nonprofits such as the Alzheimer’s Association and the American Lung Association, that offer these services to their members.
By providing a forum in which to solicit unpaid assistance, these sites can save families money—in addition to reducing the stress on a primary caregiver.
When Joe Micali, 95 years old, entered an assisted-living facility in Springfield, Mass., last July, the administrators accepted him on the condition that his family coordinate around-the clock companionship, either by paid or unpaid caregivers.
“It’s a typical high-end assisted-living facility,” says Phil Micali, 48, a nephew. “It’s very comfortable and serves great meals. But it’s not equipped to deal with a resident who presents a wandering risk.”
To help his cousin, Judy Daly, 67, who has cancer, coordinate supervision for her father, Phil Micali recruited 10 relatives via Lotsa Helping Hands, which is based in Maynard, Mass.
From July to October, the family provided about 70% of the necessary coverage, saving an estimated $12,000, Mr. Micali says. (Paid caregivers, who also used the calendar, provided the remaining 30%.)
Given that the facility costs about $4,000 a month, he says, “saving that money became very important.”
In October, the facility gave the family a reprieve. Administrators realized the elder Mr. Micali “wasn’t as much of a risk as they had thought,” says the nephew, whose uncle now sports a global-positioning-system device in his shoe.
Currently, the family uses the interactive calendar to schedule times to visit the elder Mr. Micali. “He loves to go dancing,” says the nephew, a Manhattan resident.
All the sites include places to post and receive messages and photographs. Most say they restrict access to people invited to join, or allow families to do so. But only a few—including Lotsa Helping Hands—provide ways to share sensitive information, such as medical or financial records, among only designated members.
Here are some of the leading caregiving sites, along with some of the features each offers:
• Lotsa Helping Hands(www.lotsahelpinghands.com). Caregivers can upload financial, legal or medical documents and initiate discussions in areas that restrict access to select members.
• eCare Diary(www.ecarediary.com). Contains links to research on diseases and to Medicare and state databases of resources, including assisted-living facilities and home-health agencies. The site receives a commission of about 4% on sales of care-related products.
• CareFlash (www.careflash.com). Contains links to videos on topics including medical conditions and treatments.
• CareCentral(www.carecentral.com). When someone volunteers to help, the site—a unit of HealthCentral—makes note of the obligation and emails reminders to that person. It includes a “news feed” that makes it easy to see which members have posted when.
• CaringBridge(www.caringbridge.org). Accessible directly or through hospitals, this service helps families communicate efficiently with friends and relatives, via technology including blogs and message boards.
• CarePages(www.carepages.com). Includes places to post photographs, blogs and messages and receive feedback.
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