The senior population in the U.S. has been hit particularly hard during the coronavirus pandemic, especially those living in nursing homes. The workers who tend to them have also faced serious casualties.
As of June 1, 38,000 nursing home residents and staff have died due to the coronavirus, representing a third of known deaths in the U.S., according to the AARP.
This is where CareAcademy steps in.
The startup provides ongoing online training programs for senior care professionals, in an effort to allow the aged population to stay in their homes.
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According to the Urban Institute, 54 million Americans are 65 and over. That number increases to 80 million in 2040, with a doubling of those 85 and over between now and 2040 from 7 million to 15 million.
CareAcademy co-founder and CEO Helen Adeosun said, “We started CareAcademy in 2016 with a simple idea: to empower caregivers to learn how to deliver the best care to older adults with the support, guidance and compassion needed to improve their quality of life. We would then make it easy for caregivers to ‘upskill’ and continue their education over time so they could better serve clients as needs changed and advance their careers.”
For Dr. Madhuri Reddy, co-founder and chief medical officer of CareAcademy, the risks of communal living for the aged population have become apparent through the pandemic.
CareAcademy’s customers include in-home care franchises as well as venture-backed home care technology platforms ClearCare and AlayaCare. To date, CareAcademy has provided training to 110,000 caregivers with 400,000 classes completed. Its goal as a company is to provide skills training to 1 million caregivers. The cost for their platform ranges from $99 a month for five caregivers to $249 per month for 25 caregivers. Education can be viewed by caregivers on their phone, and courses ensure compliance by state.
Impact America Fund, a black woman-led impact venture capital firm founded by Kesha Cash, led the funding round. Other investors include Rethink Impact, Rethink Education, Revolution Rise of the Rest, Wanxiang America Healthcare Investment, Techstars Ventures, Strada and ECMC.
Illustration: Li-Anne Dias.
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