Bethesda, Maryland, United States - National Association of Caregivers for Tuesday, 1 April 2014 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bethesda, Maryland, United States - National Association of Caregivers for Tuesday, 1 April 2014 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
National Panel on Caregiving and Technology Closes the Gap 
between Innovators and Families
Government, entrepreneurs, design, and aging experts convene discussion
 on improving technologies for family caregivers
Palo Alto, CA: The National Alliance for Caregiving (the "Alliance"), in partnership with Rajiv Mehta of Bhageera Consulting and Richard Adler of People & Technology, convened a family caregiving and technology roundtable today in Palo Alto, California. The event, titled "Catalyzing Technology to Support Family Caregivers," unites government officials, academics, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, and policy experts with an aim to connect innovators with those who serve overburdened family caregivers. Following the panel's recommendations, the Alliance will release a White Paper to raise awareness of how to develop technologies to reach family caregivers. Supporters for the event include the California HealthCare Foundation, the Kaiser Permanente Foundation, Intel-GE Care Innovations, and the Institute for the Future.
"The goal of this program is to enable innovators to reach family caregivers," explains Alliance President and Chief Executive Officer, Gail Gibson Hunt. "We want to close the gap between the innovators who design technologies that support caregiving and the nearly 66 million Americans who provide long-term care and chronic care management to their loved ones," said Hunt.
Consumer surveys by Pew Research have shown that family caregivers are eager to leverage technology. In Family Caregivers are Wired for Health, Susannah Fox reported, "Caregivers are highly engaged in the pursuit of health information, support, care, and advice, both online and offline, and do many health-related activities at higher levels than non-caregivers." The research found that caregivers are more likely than other adults to make use of technologies for key health-related activities.
Rajiv Mehta, one of the co-conveners of the panel, is hopeful that the panel will encourage a more coordinated conversation across industries who serve caregivers. "We are focused on the future," he explains. "We want to help innovators better understand the needs of family caregivers, and also to identify what steps non-profits, government agencies and healthcare institutions can do to support innovators. This meeting with representatives from all key stakeholders will help us gain a complete picture of the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead."
Hunt agrees. "It's important that this discussion leads to clear, actionable recommendations," she says. "We want to keep the momentum going so that innovators can create real change for caregivers."
The full panel of speakers includes:
Richard Adler, Principal, People & Technology, and Distinguished Fellow, Institute for the Future
Yan Chow, Director, Innovation & Advanced Technology Group, Kaiser Permanente
Andy Cohen, Chief Executive Officers and Co-Founder, Caring.com, and Board Member, National Alliance for Caregiving
Jodi Daniel, Director, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, US Department of Health and Human Services
Adam Darkins, Chief Consultant for Telehealth Services, US Department of Veterans Affairs
Hugh Dubberly, Partner, Dubberly Design Office
Katy Fike, Founder, Innovate50 Consulting and Co-Founder, Aging2.0
Mark Francis, Venture Development Lead and Wearable Product Innovator, New Business Initiative Group, Intel
Marcus Grindstaff, Vice President of Market Development and International Markets, Intel-GE Care Innovations, and Board Member, National Alliance for Caregiving
Matthew Holt, Co-Chairman, Health 2.0, and Author, The Health Care Blog
Gail Gibson Hunt, President and Chief Executive Officer, National Alliance for Caregiving
Kathy Kelly, Executive Director, Family Caregiver Alliance
Bradley Kreit, Co-Director, Health Horizons and Global Food Outlook Programs, Institute for the Future
Carol Levine, Director, Families and Health Care Project, United Hospital Fund
David Lindeman, Director, CITRIS Health Care Program, and Director, Center for Aging and Technology, University of California Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS)
Miriam Lueck-Avery, Co-Director, Health Horizons and Global Food Outlook Program, Institute for the Future
Rajiv Mehta, Principal, Bhageera Consulting, and Board Member, Family Caregiver Alliance
Lori Melichar, Team Director, Pioneer Portfolio, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Kate O'Malley, Senior Program Officer, Better Chronic Disease Care Program, California HealthCare Foundation
Doug Solomon, Innovation Consultant and IDEO Fellow
Nancy Taylor, Vice President for Public Policy, External Relations, and Communications, The Permanente Foundation
Nancy Vuckovic, Director of User Experience Research and Design, Health Strategy & Solutions Group, Intel
Cali Williams Yost, Founder, Flex Strategy Group/Work Life Fit Inc.
 About the National Alliance for Caregiving:  The National Alliance for Caregiving is a non-profit coalition of over 50 national organizations focused on family caregiving.  In providing research and education on family caregiving, the Alliance has served America's nearly 66 million family caregivers since 1996.  Learn more at www.caregiving.org.
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Contact:  C. Grace Whiting                  
Director, Communications & Coalitions
National Alliance for Caregiving
Phone: (301) 718-8444
Email: gracewhiting@caregiving.org
National Alliance for Caregiving
4720 Montgomery Lane, Suite 205
Bethesda, MD 20814 United States
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