Wisconsin families helped by senior caregiver digital platform, MapHabit

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – Every day about 10,000 people become over 65-years-old which raises their risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease significantly. However, the growing problem of educating caretakers for the aging population of Wisconsin is getting a modern day update with a technology called Map Habit.

MapHabit is a national interactive care management platform that provides support for both professional and family caretakers who help people living with different forms of dementia. Tools like instructional videos on how to approach someone without upsetting them or how to hand them items in their left versus their right hand after having a stroke are now at caretaker’s fingertips.

It’s a new program in all 17 locations of Heritage Senior Living throughout the state. Co-founder and CEO of MapHabit, Matt Golden, said that oftentimes there are at least three caregivers associated with any one person dealing with dementia.

Many of those caretakers are unpaid and need to leave work to provide support for their loved one. Which is one of the motivators behind a video platform that can help them feel less alone.

“There is a huge emphasis on keeping people educated so they don’t have to leave work,” Golden, shared. “That [way] there can be a better hand off between both professional and family caregivers. Unfortunately this segment of the population is growing rapidly.”

MapHabit is funded by the National Institute of Aging which is part of the NIH. Their goal is to help the estimated 6.2 million people living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in the country. Within that statistic is of course many beloved parents, grandparents, or friends.

Being a family or professional caretaker for one of those millions of people with a form of dementia can also be extremely taxing.

“These are really fulfilling jobs but really hard jobs,” Dr. Alexis Eastman, medical director ambulatory geriatrics services at UW Health, emphasized. “When you can make more money doing something less strenuous you really have to have a love for it.”

“The professional care staff, they’re severely stressed out just with the nature of COVID and there is traditionally a high turn over in that industry too,” Golden shared.

That is where MapHabit comes in to try and make the lives of professional and family caretakers less stressful.

“With the growing shortage of caregivers, you really want to focus on really modernizing,” Golden explained.

Instructional and demonstrative videos on how to approach or feed someone are available at the touch of a button. In an exclusive Wisconsin elder care relationship MapHabit is now available in 100% of the Heritage Senior Living locations throughout the state.

“The MapHabit programming is incredible,” Kate Brunner, vice president of sales and marketing of Heritage Senior Living, said.

Golden is hoping to see his company’s technology in more nursing homes across the country because he says having access to carefully curated content at your fingertips can make someone feel less alone.

“Maybe, you know, Beverly has coffee everyday at 2:00 pm so, everyday at 1:50 pm the caregivers are going to get an alert on their phone to make sure that Beverly gets her coffee at 2:00 pm,” Brunner added.

A third of the country’s population who is over 85 has dementia. So, having well-educated family members and professionals could improve the lives of millions of people.

“If they don’t like to be approached from behind, approach them like this,” Brunner demonstrated. “They show the caregivers videos on how they do that. That’s the really cool like earth-shattering stuff that MapHabit does.”

Copyright 2022 WBAY. All rights reserved.