Original story can be found on PRNewswire.
- Family caregivers play a vital role in the patient healthcare landscape and they desperately need support
- Friends Indeed lets family caregivers and the patients they care for mobilize their friends and family to get the help they need when they need it.
- The idea for the app came from the co-founders’ close friend who was battling Glioblastoma Multiforme brain cancer and his personal experience with care management
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Jan. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Friends Indeed, LLC announces the launch of their free care coordination app designed to make life easier for family caregivers and the patients they serve.
Caring for a loved one with a chronic disease, recovering from surgery, or supporting an elderly parent with age related infirmities is challenging. Over 43 million unpaid family caregivers provide an estimated 34 billion hours of care (FCA) in the US annually. One person in every family tends to shoulder the primary responsibility of caring for the loved one, and this role is very demanding. Caregivers often juggle a fulltime job, a family, and countless other responsibilities. Still, many aren’t comfortable asking for help—even when it’s desperately needed. Friends and family will often ask “How can I help?” but this question is difficult to answer. Many caregivers try to do everything on their own, but this can lead to caregiver burnout and increased health risks for the patient.
Friends Indeed solves this problem by empowering caregivers to mobilize friends and family for help with things like meal preparation, child care, running errands, and even laundry or yard work. It is also a convenient tool for providing important news to support team members, who can respond with messages of love and encouragement.
Friends Indeed is easy to use. Caregivers can organize their private support team by inviting friends and family to join them in the app. They can create requests with specific dates, times, and locations for things like child care or getting a ride to the doctor’s office, and everyone on the team has a chance to volunteer. This greatly reduces the anxiety that often comes from asking someone else for help. No pressure, no putting anyone on the spot, just sharing the need and letting your friends and family take care of the rest.
For the family caregiver, this type of care coordination from a handpicked support team is a long overdue relief. For a patient battling an illness, this demonstration of love, support, and encouragement can be powerful medicine for the mind, body, and soul. For the family and friends that make up the support team, the app provides a way to satisfy their desire to help in a meaningful way and be there for their loved one when it matters most.
“Most caregivers simply can’t do everything on their own, they need a team” said Zach Goldstein, co-founder of Friends Indeed. “Friends Indeed bridges the gap between the friends and family who want to help but don’t know how, and the caregivers who desperately need help but are reluctant to ask for it.”
Privacy is another benefit of Friends Indeed. Every post, comment, or help request shared is visible only to those who have been invited by the caregiver. And unlike many apps on the market, Friends Indeed does not compromise the privacy of its users by collecting and selling their data.
Zach Goldstein and Gail Seay were inspired to build Friends Indeed after witnessing their close friend Sal Novin’s battle with Glioblastoma Multiforme, a deadly form of brain cancer. Sal’s friends were quick to offer help throughout his 2 year cancer battle, with some bringing food or stopping by to visit. But these acts of kindness eventually became another source of stress because they were difficult for him and his brother (his caregiver) to manage. Sal knew there had to be a better way, and he imagined an app that could help solve this unmet need; the idea for Friends Indeed was born. While still undergoing treatment, Sal collaborated with his closest friends to ensure Friends Indeed would happen.
Tragically, Sal lost his battle with GBM cancer. The world lost a brilliant light, but his passion for this idea was not forgotten. His vision has now been realized with the launch of Friends Indeed, which was built as a tribute to his legacy. The app is now freely available to millions of users through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Friends Indeed is committed to providing relief and peace-of-mind to family caregivers and the patients they care for by empowering friends and family to help give the care needed, when it’s needed. Based in Nashville, TN, Friends Indeed is a technology company that prides itself on serving the unmet needs of caregivers and the patients they care for. The Friends Indeed app is available for free on iPhone and Android. Friends Indeed also partners with healthcare providers to help them support patients and families’ quality of life. Contact Friends Indeed at support@friendsindeed.com.
