This post originally appeared on PlaidforWomen.com on March 7, 2017. To listen to the full interview, click here.
Jeryn has extensive experience working as a caregiver in healthcare, but also identifies with caregivers on a personal level. She has served as a family caregiver for a total of 16 years to both her grandparents and parents.
This personal experience along with her clinical background and management skills drive Jeryn’s passion to help families navigate and manage the complicated healthcare system for older adults. She is currently the Chief Service Officer and Senior VP for Cariloop, which provides comprehensive services and tools that help families plan for and manage the care of aging loved ones.
In this interview we have a good laugh on how picking a doctor is like picking a hairdresser. Just because that stylist works for you and your hair doesn’t mean it will work for a friend. You have different hair, different face shapes, etc. and therefore you might need a different type of doctor to treat your symptoms and personality.
Jeryn shares that women have always been caregivers and it naturally falls to us when caring for our parents.
Statistics on Caregiving
- The “average” family caregiver is a 49-year-old woman who works outside the home and spends about 20 hours per week providing unpaid care to her mother for nearly 5 years. (p.2)
- 68% of Americans believe that they will be able to rely on their families to meet their long-term services and supports needs when they require help, but this belief may collide with the reality of dramatically shrinking availability of family caregivers. (p.1) http://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/research/public_policy_institute/ltc/2013/baby-boom-and-the-growing-care-gap-insight-AARP-ppi-ltc.pdf
- 77% of caregivers report missing work in order to provide care for a loved one Genworth 2015 The Expanding Circle of Care