Finding the Caregiving Resources Essential to You and Your Loved Ones

As our parents and siblings age, or when unfortunate things happen to our loved ones or friends, more of us find ourselves in the role of a caregiver, whether full time, part time or maybe just occasionally.

Caregivers have incredible challenges and obstacles to overcome: they not only have to take care of a loved one, which is a huge task in itself, but they also must sort through caregiving resources, and deal with information gathering and dissemination relating to:

● doctors’ visits
● medications
● access to medical records
● medical  procedures
● physical therapy
● nutrition
● biometrics
● wound care
…and much more, not to mention keeping family and loved ones informed

Over the years, meaningful caregiving resources have been scarce, but this is changing.

It all rests on my shoulders

Many caregivers feel they must be the sole caregiver, and it is these caregivers who need more resources so they can take a break — but they are hesitant to delegate tasks to others since there is so much to know about the patient, the condition and the care.

Most caregivers also suffer from “communication overload” since they feel they are responsible for sending and receiving all of the patient updates to family and friends. Often, dealing with all of those emails, texts and phone calls cuts deeply into the time needed to care for the patient, not to mention the stress on the caregiver.

Caregiving resources get a big boost, thanks to alska

A new solution for caregivers provides incredible resources and secure tools that save the caregiver time and effort, improve communications with families and loved ones, and enable private medical information to be kept secure yet allows the information to be disseminated to those who need it, when they need it.

Just some of the “Connected Caregiving Features of alska

● Update family members in real time
● Connect healthcare providers
● Track key biometric measurements such as daily weights, oxygen saturations and blood sugar
● Tools you need to save valuable time and better manage the health or your loved one.
● Secure storage of vital information including photos and videos keeps necessary information at your care team’s fingertips.
● Strict permission controls let you decide who has access to what information

The right information can be life-saving

The right information at the right time can be lifesaving when dealing with a medical crisis. alska users can safely store personal medical documents and easily track key health metrics to better manage chronic illness and prevent a health crisis. Immunization records, family health history and primary health concerns are kept securely but made available to whomever you choose, wherever you are. alska arms caregivers with the knowledge and resources they need to better direct patient care and enable a healthier life for the patient.

Preventing a Medical Crisis

A caregiving resource that houses critical medical information and features organized record keeping can actually prevent a medical crisis. This is one reason alska is such a valuable tool. When critical biometrics such as blood pressure, oxygen levels, heart rate, weight, etc. are kept in an organized, linear manner — and when they are monitored by the caregiver (whether a full time caregiver or part time or occasional) — it allows the caregiver to alert medical professionals before a crisis occurs.

So, if the caregiver sees an unusual pattern, he or she can proactively act, as opposed to being thrown into a crisis.

Founded by someone who has been there

In 2016, alska was founded by Michelle Chaffee, a cancer survivor, caregiver and healthcare professional. While caregiving for her mother and caregiving for others in a clinical setting, Michelle found firsthand how difficult it was to organize so many caregiving resources, while dealing with the frustrating nature of information, HIPAA-controlled records, and communications with family and other members of the care team.

She decided to create a solution that would provide a better way to manage all of the details caregivers manage with the ability to securely store and share vital information. With the addition of virtual caregiver support and one on one advocacy sessions, a complete support solution is finally available.