What About Special Training? A Marketplace View of Shared Senior Living

If you've been reading any of my writings you've learned about Room2Care.com.
 Room2Care.com is a startup that is taking a new look at the senior care space.  We understand that many seniors need additional support and cannot continue to live alone in their homes.  Sure, there's the traditional method.  Let's burn off all of Dad's assets and then send him to a medicaid financed nursing home where he will be "cared" by someone.

Look, nursing homes are important and given the costs, we should be grateful that there is a program to help with them.  However, I feel the same away about financed funerals. Great to have, just let's wait a little bit for that.

We are creating a new approach; Shared Senior Living.  What's that?  Think Uber or Airbnb for long term care.  We connect seniors with individuals who have extra space in their homes and the time to provide basic care.  We are also connecting seniors together to be roommates and will be starting Care-Aids that will seek to place young men and women into seniors homes in exchange for free or markedly reduced rent in exchange for basic care.

Now, everybody in this in background checked.  But, I often am asked about specialized training.  Most seniors are cared for by their husbands, wives, sons and daughters. Most care isn't about training.  It's about caring.  It's about checking in on someone and making sure that they've taken their medicine, eaten their dinners, bathed, etc.  None of those tasks require nursing school.  Look, there are people with diabetic ulcers who will need specialized care (as a note, our Care-Commander makes ordering such care easy) We provide on-line information for support.  They are the interpersonal equivalents of "use two people to carry this television" that you see on the giant boxes at Costco.

But, we are actively recruiting nurses (active and retired) and other professional caregivers as host.  I do not think that "training" is necessary, but it is desirable.  We will encourage these hosts to state "Retired Nurse with sunny bedroom."  The free market will determine if there is value to being a nurse in these settings.

Another question I get is "who are these people?"  My response is when you go to a facility, or call an agency, who are those people.  They come, work their shift and leave.  Each Room2Care host is a proprietor who will develop their own online reputation.  Who are you paying more for? A 5 star host or a 2 star host.  I hope you will stick around to see the answer. Transparency and the free market will provide the answer and help solve the expensive care burden that we face as a nation.