THORO CARE is a social impact startup to help seniors age in place with independence and dignity. In the United States, 10,000 Baby Boomers turn 65 every day and researchers estimate that 70% of these Baby Boomers will need some sort of assistance as they age. Pre-pandemic, over 90% of seniors wanted to age in place and the pandemic has only increased that desire.
Unfortunately, there are numerous barriers to aging in place. In public health terms, the social determinants of health are defined as the social, economic, and environmental factors that significantly affect a senior’s ability to live independently and age in place. These factors include activities of daily living, access to nutritious food, safe housing, reliable transportation, and ways to combat loneliness and isolation. These services are siloed and fragmented, taking multiple phone calls and Google searches resulting in lots of time, effort, and negotiations.
Most seniors and their loved ones don’t realize these issues exist until a crisis occurs and they are faced with finding services. This is the experience THORO CARE Founders Renu Thomas and John Roth faced. Renu’s late father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and it was after his first fall and discharge from the hospital that their family realized their parents’ independence was severely limited. Their house was not wheelchair or walker accessible and neither of them could drive anymore. How were prescriptions and groceries going to be picked up? How do they prevent them from being socially isolated? Like many families, they did not live nearby, let alone in the same state and finding these services proved to be extremely challenging.
Suddenly everyone in their family became caregivers. The definition of caregiver is a family member or paid helper who regularly looks after a child or a sick, elderly, or disabled person. According to the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC) and AARP, in 2020 nearly one in five Americans, totaling 19% of the population, are providing unpaid care to an adult with health or functional needs. Most family members, including their family, just think this is being a loving child or spouse and not as being a caregiver. Unfortunately, caregiving does impact the caregiver in lost productivity at work, added stress of raising their children, and missing quality time with the loved ones because they are focused on juggling appointments, running errands, and coordinating care.
Seniors and families face difficult decisions as they age. Most seniors want to keep their independence and not rely on their families or friends and the families want to ensure there are reliable and trustworthy services being provided. In both scenarios each find it difficult to navigate the labyrinth of different service providers. Most families turn to their primary care physician for assistance however their attention is focused on medical issues and multiple patients. Seniors and families also reach out to community/faith-based organizations, ask for personal recommendations and search websites for guidance however still difficult and time consuming.
Renu and John wanted to create a solution to help other families navigate the complexities of non-medical services. They left their corporate lives and attended Harvard University’s Advanced Leadership Initiative (ALI) in 2019. ALI is an interfaculty program for senior executives to study solutions to large scale societal problems. THORO CARE was incubated at Harvard with the consultation of various experts around the Harvard ecosystem. THORO CARE leverages a personal touch with technology in the service model. A pilot was launched in Fall 2021 in Southern Ocean County, NJ.
THORO CARE is delighted to join C-TAC and wants to be part of the solution to advance care through innovation, observation, and collaboration. The solutions will require private and public companies and organizations to share best practices and work together. THORO CARE is excited to work with and learn from the vast network of innovative leaders at C-TAC.
To learn more about THORO CARE, visit their website here.
