Caregiver Friendly Products with Rhonda Klug, Allyson Schrier, Bill Uniowski, Tim Charles and Ryan Herd
How companies, innovators, and communities are building caregiver-friendly offerings – with special attention to Alzheimer’s & dementia as we wrap up the month of November – the month for recognizing both National Family Caregivers and Alzheimer’s Awareness.
Nearly half of U.S. caregivers support someone with Alzheimer’s or another dementia; with ~53M caregivers (AARP, 2020), that’s ~25M+ touched by dementia care.
Employers can lead: caregiving affects 73% of workers; ~24% report impact on work; ~20% productivity drag equates to $35B+ annually (Source: HBR: The Caring Company).
Momentum is real: retail (1-800-Flowers.com, Inc.), clinical/community (Mercy), and AgeTech (Zinnia TV, CSS) are collaborating to make support visible, practical, and scalable.
Our guests – all participants in improving the landscape for both caregivers and care receivers across the spectrum of care (including Alzheimer’s and dementia) – expanded on their offerings and how they help.
Rhonda Klug – Shared the company’s recent enterprise-wide launch of its CARE ERG (Caregivers & Allies Responding with Empathy), as well as its public Caregiver Gifts hub.
Allyson Schrier and Bill Uniowski – Explained how their app for connected TVs/ mobile delivery of dementia-friendly video content helps both care receivers and their caregivers with engagement, calming anxiety, and even education and self-care activities.
Tim Charles – Outlined the new DeWolf Innovation Center for Aging and Dementia and its affiliated Family Caregivers Center and 237-resident village, which through its multi-dimensional approach offers testbed opportunities, education, minority outreach, and home-redesign research for aging in place.
Ryan Herd – Explained how discreet in-home sensors (no cameras/listening devices) combined with AI help to identify ADL patterns, detect issues (falls, dehydration, med effects), and give caregivers real-time peace of mind.
Recorded on November 30, 2023, this episode is part of our Caregiver Friendly Products Series. Speakers are listed in their order of appearance.
Rhonda Klug, Head of Experiential Marketing and Community Relations, Harry & David Caregiver Gift Page
Allyson Schrier, Co-Founder and President, and William A. Uniowski, Co-Founder and CEO, Zinnia TV
Tim Charles, CEO (retired), Mercy Medical Center – BOD Chris and Suzy DeWolf Family Innovation Center for Aging & Dementia
Ryan Herd, Founder and CEO at time of show Caregiver Smart Solutions
Currently Partner, HearSee Productions; About Ryan Herd
Debbie Howard’s summary of this show.
Resources
Alzheimers – Dementia Facts and Figures
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