A Village is Not Enough: Bridging the Gap in Caregiving

“It takes a village” is a phrase that is commonly used when talking about raising a child, and rightly so. It requires a community of people interacting with and caring for the child to ensure their growth in a safe and healthy environment.

This phrase is equally fitting when caring for people with autism/intellectual disabilities and the elderly. Providing safe and healthy care demands a community of people contributing their expertise, love, and compassion. Fortunately, this is a widely accepted truth in most places.

However, I argue that a village is not enough, and I will explain why using a series of metaphors, so bear with me.

Even though the current healthcare system is designed to function like a village of caregivers, it often resembles a village of people speaking different languages, living too far apart, and struggling to communicate effectively.

In many ways, the current healthcare system functions like a football team (the kind where the ball is primarily kicked, not held like you do in the U.S) where all the players are wearing blindfolds. Despite being professionals who love the game, they strive to do their best within their abilities. But the game itself is inefficient and frustrating for everyone. Some get so worn out and frustrated that they end up leaving the field altogether.

The key difference, of course, is that in a game of football, the biggest consequence is that the fans don’t get to enjoy a good game. But in healthcare, the consequences can be far more severe.

The key ingredient to providing high-quality care is understanding the care recipient as a person. Who are they as an individual? What are their needs, likes, and dislikes? What fulfills them? As a next of kin, you care more about insight into their general wellbeing as a person than you do about their day-to-day blood pressure.

In a healthcare system structured around the care recipient's medical needs, the information needed to understand the care recipient as a person often gets deprioritized. And when it is prioritized, there are often no effective routines or systems to update and consume this information. Many binders and notebooks with outdated information lay around at different care service providers.

This is where Pletly comes into the picture. As founders who have found ourselves standing on that pitch, trying to pass the ball to our teammates blindfolded, we know how frustrating, inefficient, and exhausting it is. Unfortunately, we also know the severe consequences it has for our loved ones.

In addition to centralizing and streamlining all the person-centered information for professional caregivers, we believe the biggest gap that needs to be filled is the one between families/next of kin and professional caregivers. Families play a vital role in caregiving, regardless of whether the care recipient is living at home or receiving residential care. As long as there continues to be such a gap between families and professionals, the level of care we all strive to deliver will never be achieved.

Pletly’s solution to this problem is two-fold. We offer two different services: Pletly Pal, aimed at the families' needs, and Pletly Care, aimed at the professional caregivers' needs. Both exist in the same ecosystem, and by serving the needs of both groups, we are building a bridge between them in an ecosystem they are incentivized to use daily as part of their role as caregivers.

As we continue to develop Pletly Pal and Pletly Care, we are constantly reminded of the importance of our mission. We see the challenges faced by families and professional caregivers alike, and we are committed to making their journey easier.

We are here to remove the blindfolds, eliminate communication barriers, and build the necessary bridges to bring the village together as a unit of expertise, love, and compassion - just as a village is intended to be.

Pletly Pal is available to download for free in both Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Pletly Care is currently in development with our partners in the U.S and in Scandinavia.