Best Startup
EvelynElaine is the first of it’s kind training program dedicated to family caregivers. Our goal to train and empower as many community based, non-professional care givers as possible.
Family caregivers provide an estimated $522 BILLION in uncompensated care per year. This number is expected to rise over the next 30 years. These caregivers are rarely trained. Resulting in increased costs and poor outcomes.
EvelynElaine partners with Hospitals and Healthcare Organizations to provide live classes, hosted by trained and tested professionals. Skills instruction and return demonstration.
Pre & Post participant testing for efficacy. Outcomes that can be measured by caregiver or patient. And provide a space where Caregiver’s are connecting with one another learning together.
Our mission is to start Caring for the Caregiver
Tell us about yourself?
I have been in Healthcare for nearly 20 years, mostly post acute care and geriatrics. Originally I wanted to be a nurse, but found the business aspect of healthcare intriguing.
I have worked in LTACHs, SNF, rehab and now I own and operate a Skilled home health and hospice organization.
Over the years I have come to realize that nothing in the healthcare industry can change until the caregiver is seen as part of the solution.
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
I have had a tendency to jump in to everything with both feet, I would ask my past self to spend a little more time on planning, being intentional with my time, being more intentional with everyone’s time. Especially with how EvelynElaine is beginning to grow.
That would have saved me a lot of time now and tomorrow.
What problem does your business solve?
Right now 1 in 4 adults are a caregiver for someone with sudden or chronic illness; that is 53 million people, $522 Billion in uncompensated care.
In 20-30 years the ration will be 1 in 2. Most caregivers don’t receive any basic training; EvelynElaine addresses this with community based Bootcamp style training sessions built for non-professional caregivers.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
Initially the bootcamp started in 2019 as a community service project. Over the years the necessity has grown. The pandemic just highlighted the extreme need for caregiver training.
The healthcare system was pushed to the brink over the last three years, caregivers are the key to repairing it.
What is your magic sauce?
At the moment there doesn’t seem to be any direct competition. There are tons of companies old and new working on behalf of caregivers in multiple ways, but EvelynElaine seems to be the only one that focuses on training caregivers directly with return demonstration, bootcamp style modules.
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
I really want to bring EvelynElaine to every community in the country, I want it to build a national program that hospitals and healthcare organizations utilize to improve community outcomes and utilization.
We have to figure out a way to make healthcare more sustainable, we need to invest now to create entire communities of caregivers.
Five years from now it is estimated that there will be nearly 60 million non-professional caregivers; I can only imagine what the potential social and economic impact would/could be if EvelynElaine was able to reach only a fraction of today’s caregivers.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
After 3 years the biggest challenges that I have faced so far have been from professional caregivers, Hospitals and Health Organizations.
The caregiver is rarely part of the treatment discussion, someone ability, aptitude or understanding of the situation is not under consideration during the discharge process for most patients.
With that mindset, the idea of in depth, modality based training for caregivers is anathema.
How do people get involved/buy into your vision?
I am really excited about connecting and engaging with potential partners, organizations and communities.
I would love the opportunity to collaborate with Hospitals and Industry related coalitions or associations. Interested parties can reach me directly through www.evelyelaine.co.
