November 13, 2009
New Website for Caregivers
eCareDiary (www.eCareDiary.com) has launched a new web site for families trying to coordinate long term care. eCareDiary brings together tools, resources and the support of an online community to assist caregivers and simplify the enormous task they face. The website centralizes the elements needed to help caregivers navigate through their parent’s or loved one’s care.
The site was founded by John Mills and Susan Baida who, despite decades of experience in the health care sector, found the task of coordinating care for their parents challenging. According to John Mills, Founder of eCare Diary, “My experience helping my father through Parkinson’s disease was shocking. The complete absence of a centralized and comprehensive source of information for caregivers was frustrating.â€
A main feature is the Care Diary, a free appointment and medication management technology designed to make coordination of care and sharing of information easy amongst family members or other caregivers. It helps consolidate doctor appointments, medications, care visits and enables storage and sharing of important documents.
Community is another important aspect of the site with both blogs and vlogs (video posts) available for caregivers to view, comment and upload their own stories. Founders John Mills and Susan Baida, post blogs several times a week sharing personal experiences and recommended resources. eCare Diary also offers a search engine with a database of over 10,000 nursing home and home care services throughout the U.S. Caregivers can locate facilities by type within a designated zip code. Caregivers have the ability to shop directly from the site for elder care products such as canes, walkers and bathroom bars.
There are 44.4 million caregivers in the U.S. according to a report published by the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. When asked about unmet needs, two out of three caregivers said they needed help or information. Of the total number of caregivers, 79% are age 50 plus, and according to Pew Internet & American Life Project, 74% of baby boomers (adults age 45 to 63) use the internet.
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