By Hope Kirwan | Wisconsin Public Radio
A northeastern Wisconsin health care company is helping launch a new program to combat loneliness among caregivers in the state.
Lakeland Care provides managed care to seniors and adults with disabilities in the state’s Medicaid program.
Jen Harrison, Lakeland’s chief program officer, said the company had seen an increase in the number of people experiencing depression in recent years and initially turned to Picus to offer the app to its members. He has signed a contract with Health. The program offers a combination of activities and resources to deal with loneliness within the app, as well as giving users the opportunity to talk to real people.
“What we found in doing all of this was that the caregivers who were supporting these people were saying, ‘Can I take advantage of this program?'” Is it okay? ” Harrison said.
Federal health officials have warned that loneliness is widespread in the general population across the country. A US Surgeon General advisory earlier this year warned that a lack of social connection could increase the risk of premature death as much as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.
Family members and other unpaid caregivers have been highlighted as individuals who can help prevent loneliness. But they also have unique pressures that can make them feel isolated from others, said Cindy Jordan, founder and CEO of Picus Health. She said caregivers may be physically separated from friends and social connections and may have to stay at home with someone who needs physical or medical assistance. And you may feel that others don’t understand what you’re going through, which is another type of mental or emotional isolation.
“They believe they shouldn’t complain, or that it sounds like complaining because the person they’re caring for is far worse off than they are.” she says. “That’s when loneliness becomes very dangerous for caregivers, because they start to think that no one understands their plight. No one can help you. Nothing will make it better. There is nothing.”
This is the loneliness Jordan herself experienced after the death of her stepdaughter, a loss that inspired her to become a caregiver to her partner and family in new ways. She said her family’s experience was part of the inspiration for her founding Pyx Health. The company is creating a new version of its app specifically for caregivers, and Lakeland Care was the first to launch the new program.
There are an estimated 580,000 family caregivers in Wisconsin, Harrison said, and Lakeland Care decided to extend the new resource to everyone in Wisconsin, not just member caregivers. Told.
“We feel this is a really cost-effective intervention,” Harrison said. “It’s a link to another person or an app. Maybe someone, especially a male caregiver, might not be ready to admit that they’re tired, but they can use the app to create another unique They are willing to go out of their way to actually get support and information.”
The new program will be available on November 15th. Mr Harrison said Lakeland Care would share information on how to register online through organizations already working with carers. The company is committed to providing free resources for at least 18 months.
Harrison acknowledged that apps can’t replace relationships, but said many people were already looking to online spaces such as social media for connections.
“The number of care workers is only increasing, and the complexity of the systems in which we work is only increasing,” she says. “So anything we can do to ease the burden or support caregivers is a win.”
This article was produced by Wisconsin Public Radio and republished with permission.Read the original story here.