On August 21, Axios featured Abby Care and the difference we're making to families across the country. To discuss further, we wanted to share how this ties to our mission. When we started Abby Care, we had two simple goals: to make paid family care possible with a best-in-class home health program, and to bring compassion and empathy within healthcare.
Today, those goals have never been more urgent. 63 million Americans served as family caregivers last year, a 45% increase from a decade ago. One in four spends over 40 hours a week caregiving, equal to a full-time job.
Children with complex medical needs are among the most vulnerable and often the most overlooked in the healthcare system. Their families face fragmented services, multiple specialists, and round-the-clock care. This is on top of the normal stressors of being a parent. As a result, these families and parents are often at a breaking point, feeling alone, overwhelmed, and not in control.
Wendi, one of our caregivers in Colorado, emphasizes the importance of support while caregiving: "You need other people that know what you're going through."
Policymakers across the country are grappling with rising healthcare costs and Medicaid sustainability. They are looking for ways to serve vulnerable communities that are cost effective, patient preferred and offer quality care.
Here's what we've learned: the best caregiver is often the person who loves them most.
We empower caregivers with technology, clinical care, and support. That means providing flexible training, an easy-to-use app to document care and receive weekly payments, best-in-class clinical supervision with our platform, and cultivating a supportive community for families. We’re developing AI-driven workflows to further streamline care and documentation to set a higher standard in care delivery.
Through our process, we see better health outcomes, a positive caregiver experience, and reliable care at scale.
In 2021, Colorado was the primary state that allowed paid family caregiving for pediatrics prior to the pandemic. Now, 7 states have similar active programs, and 8 more states are working on implementation or pilots. We have grown to serve families in five states: Colorado, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Massachusetts.
Each state expansion brings us closer to realizing our vision of a future where every family caregiver is recognized and compensated for their work.
And we're just getting started. That's why we're excited to share that we’re partnering with Sequoia Capital, Thrive Capital, and Khosla Ventures who share our belief that supporting caregivers is the foundation of creating a better healthcare system.
This new partnership allows us to reach more families, improve our technology, and continue expanding to new states where family caregivers are waiting for the support they need. But more than that, it represents a validation of something we've always known: when we invest in families, we invest in the future of healthcare.
* Sample size of 151 patients, tracking clinical progress for 120 days before and 120 days after the family CNA program.
** Using Likert survey methodology
