Jennifer is far from alone. While the unique details of every family’s caregiving dynamics vary, the reality of aging and caregiving is near universal. With Baby Boomers now approaching their 80s, the largest generation in American history is entering a stage of life when they are more likely to need direct care for conditions like Alzheimer’s and dementia. Experts estimate that more than 7 million Americans (nearly 10% of U.S. adults over 65 years of age) are living with dementia (including Alzheimer’s), while another 22% have mild cognitive impairment, according to BrightFocus, an organization that funds scientific research on Alzheimer’s and other diseases. Globally, at least 55 million people are believed to be living with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias. If breakthroughs are not discovered, rates could exceed 152 million by 2050.



No one is immune to the impact of dementia on individuals and families. Juliet Holt Klinger, an expert gerontologist and elbi leader, elaborates, “the population of people living with dementia is expanding, and every person living with dementia has two to three caregivers on average. It's something that touches nearly everybody's life at one point or another.”



“Stepping in to support those adults with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia is a generation of caregivers, often unpaid family members, who typically find themselves in midlife with careers and kids of their own.”

These caregivers navigate demanding, gut-wrenching new roles caring for their parents and loved ones without formal training, structural support or adequate resources. Many caregivers report profound emotional, logistical and financial burdens associated with their caregiving, even though many also believe that caring for their loved ones through this stage of life is meaningful and important.

Experts say that providing better support to these caregivers is the critical component to providing the person-centered care that people with Alzheimer’s and dementia deserve.

“The caregiver is the intervention in treating people with dementia,” explains Linda Buscemi, co-founder and creator of the elbi app.

Linda and the elbi team built the tech-enabled platform based on 4,000 behavioral plans she had crafted through her work as a psychologist supporting thousands of people with dementia (including Alzheimer’s). Although her at-home and residential care plans were highly detailed and person-centered, too often her recommendations would be lost in translation due to complexity or caregiver turnover. In turn, she developed elbi to simplify expert guidance for caregivers, providing practical and personalized expert advice to help care for people through this stage of life.

“Technology offers us an instant way to person-center our approaches to people living with dementia. [Apps like elbi] can really harness empathy to use technology in more soulful ways.”

For example, if a caregiver were struggling to help a loved one with Alzheimer’s to bathe, the elbi app would draw upon thousands of expert care plans to recommend specific hygiene tips to caregivers that note the person’s preferences and history, stage of dementia and clinical best practices. This support service enables a more empathy-based, person-centered approach to dementia care, made possible by the latest personalized technology.

“Empathy is crucial in caregiving, and elbi helps teach empathy through practical, person-centered interventions,” Linda notes. “Caregivers should focus on how they approach and react to their loved ones with dementia,” she says, as it is those key interactions that shape the majority of patient outcomes, shaping the best life possible for people with dementia.

Empathy for oneself, for a loved one with dementia or Alzheimer’s, and for others going through similar challenges, is the critical component that binds this community of caregivers and dementia innovators, experts say. As the need for caregiving grows with an aging generation, solutions that blend empathy with technology offer hope for a better future for both caregivers and those they care for.

And Jennifer’s story, like many others, highlights the importance of recognizing and supporting caregivers. “People are generally good, and when they understand better, they'll do better,” Linda explains. Tools like elbi that enable caregivers to more easily and empathetically care for people with conditions like dementia are poised to blend the best of technology and person-centered care.



Juliet, who for decades has worked with families in senior living memory care centers, stresses the importance of this kind of proactive support, as families often find themselves without a guide in these situations.

“Family caregiving is invisible, relentless, thankless, and not recognized as work by society even though they are constantly ‘on’ and completely lose much of their independence to the role.”

Jennifer’s story echoes that insight, as she reflects on the transformation of her relationship with her mother through her caregiving journey.

“Caring for my mom is kind of like having kids, but in reverse,” Jennifer says. “Your children grow more independent and more capable, and there's a lot of joy in seeing that growth. But when you're seeing a person who was your mentor, your guide, the person who you turned to when you needed help . . . seeing them slowly lose the pieces of themselves, it's a totally different experience. It’s very humbling. It’s a living loss.”

Maria can no longer fully express herself in words, but Jennifer still believes her mother’s love for her family radiates. “There's a wordless kind of appreciation in her. She can't fully express the joy that she feels. But I know it’s there.”