One of the exciting advantages of being the founder of a start-up is the opportunity to create a company culture from the ground up.  We understand all too well, the challenges involved with taking an idea, turning it into a tangible product and growing it into an actual company. We also understand the budget constraints that limit what start-up companies are able to provide to attract and keep the talented employees essential to success.  That is why we are proud to kick off 2019 by offering a benefit exclusively to start-up companies who are committed to a culture of caring for employees and really listening to what they need, from the beginning.  Do you have employees that fit the following life situations:

• Pregnancy
• Caring for a newborn
• Caring for a child with an illness or disability
• Caring for an aging or ill parent
• Caring for a sibling with disabilities
• Caring for a spouse with an illness like cancer, diabetes or other illness
• Caring for a grandparent with dementia

We know the answer is most likely, yes. We also know we can help make life a lot easier for these individuals who are so valuable to your team because we have been making life easier for people in all of  these caregiving situations for over 5 years.  We make it easier by improving their ability to communicate with everyone involved in care and by connecting them to powerful tools, resources and education to make caregiving less stressful and time consuming.  We take things a step further and provide virtual caregiver support groups that caregivers can attend essentially any place they have access to the internet.  We are committed to helping caregivers feel more empowered and confident in their ability to care for their loved one.  This has a positive impact on nearly every aspect of their life, including their work.

The Caregiving Journey

Angela & Samantha

Celeste

Laura

Emily & Josh

William & Charlie

Samantha was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis as an infant. Her mom, Angela has been by her side helping her manage her disease from the beginning. Angela, who works as an accountant, used alska to update family when Samantha was in the hospital, keep track of appointments and medications and take notes during medical appointments. As Samantha got older, she became more involved in managing her own health and alska made the transition much easier. Angela is still a member of Samantha’s care team in case there is an emergency or medical crisis.

Celeste is one of 8 siblings caring for their aging parents. Her sister Mary takes on most of the caregiving duties because she is retired and her children are grown. Celeste is married and has two children and 5 grandchildren. Her daughter, Kayla and 2 year old grandson, Evan live with her and her husband because Evan has a heart condition. Celeste works full time as a nurse. Most of her siblings are willing to pitch in and help with the care of their parents but organizing tasks and keeping everyone informed of important changes is a challenge. She senses that Mary is often frustrated and wishes she could help more, this makes her feel guilty and inadequate.

Celeste set up an alska portal for her mom and Mary uses it to keep the entire family updated and connected. Celeste also created a portal for Evan and she and Kayla work together to keep track of Evan’s blood pressure, heart rate and weight as well as his daily diet. Kayla attends the alska virtual support groups for parents in the evening while Celeste takes care of Evan. When Evan has a surgery of hospitalization, the post operative instructions and discharge plan are put into the medical documents section so everyone involved in his care knows exactly what to do.

Laura is the primary caregiver for her husband Michael. Michael was diagnosed with Lymphoma 6 months ago. Michael has two grown children from his first marriage but they both live in other states and have families of their own. Laura wants to continue working but sees Michael’s increased care needs and feels she may have to quit working soon or hire full time help. She has always been intimidated and uncomfortable in medical settings and now with Michael’s complex issues, she is more overwhelmed than ever before.

Laura keeps Michael’s children updated daily using alska social notes and documents Michael’s temperature which is an important early sign of an infection. She keeps track of appointments on the alska calendar and when she hires professional care staff, she will get email notifications when they enter updates so she can stay connected without having to make repeated phone calls. She attends the virtual support groups weekly during her lunch break at work or in the evening without having to leave home. She feels more confident advocating for Michael as a result of the education available in the virtual support groups and live webinars.

Emily and Josh are expecting their first baby. Things are going smoothly other than Emily’s diagnosis of gestational diabetes. She has to keep track of her blood sugar and weight and is on a special diet for the remainder of her pregnancy. She is keeping close family updated as her pregnancy progresses. Some things she shares on social media, but there are other things Emily would rather share with only a select group of close family and friends. With alska, she can keep track of the things her doctor wants her to monitor and share milestones and updates only with the people she chooses to share them with.

William is a single dad to Charlie who is 6 years-old and was recently diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. William travels quite a bit for his job and has a full-time nanny, Caitlyn. William is able to stay connected even when he is traveling because Caitlyn enters daily updates in the alska portal along with photos of Charlie’s soccer games and school field trips. She also keeps track of Charlie’s blood sugar and insulin levels in alska. They use the alska calendar to keep track of Charlie’s sport activities, music lessons and William’s travel schedule. Charlie’s school nurse is also a part of their care team and is able to access important health information such as medication doses, allergies and blood sugar trends. It gives William peace-of-mind and feeling like he’s on top of things even when he has to be away from home.

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