A health-tech startup based in North Carolina's Triangle region has expanded to Charlotte, utilizing college students here to help fulfill its mission of disrupting the caregiver space.
CareYaya, founded early 2022, aims to improve health equity for the aging population and make life less of a burden for caregivers. The tech-enabled care registry works like Uber — upon request, an elderly person is matched with a college student who has been vetted to provide affordable caregiving services.
"Basically, CareYaya is a tech research project of how can we utilize technology to significantly reduce the cost of care and expand access to many families," said Neal Shah, co-founder and CEO.
The startup is growing rapidly across North Carolina. It initially piloted the program at UNC Chapel Hill, then branched out to N.C. State University, Duke University and, most recently, UNC Charlotte. CareYaya has recruited about 300 student caregivers from UNC Charlotte, who are leveraging the program to get closer to their professional goals in a health-related career.
Shah said he expects to enroll up to 1,000 Charlotte students by the fall semester.
Families can book home care for $15 an hour, and 100% of the payment goes to the students. Shah said traditional care agencies charge an average of $30 per hour.
"UNC Charlotte, we thought, had an amazing pre-health career student population. There are 3,000 to 4,000 students at the school that could do CareYaya," Shah said. "Charlotte, just by virtue of being the largest population in general, combined with how many are above 65 — we thought there was a big need, a big opportunity, and it seemed very logical for us to expand there."
CareYaya born from firsthand experiences in caregiving
Shah created CareYaya based on his own personal experiences.
His grandfather became ill shortly following the launch of his own investment fund that focused on health care and technology. While Shah lived far away from his family due to his career, his mother became his grandfather's primary caregiver. She was forced to sacrifice her profession and care for her father since Shah's family didn't have access to reliable, affordable assistance, he said.
"I saw the burden firsthand that it put on my mother — where I was helping out, but she was doing most of it, and after taking that much time off from her career, she couldn't go back to the workforce," Shah said.
He again encountered the challenges of the caregiver system after his wife became severely ill with cancer. Amid the peak of Shah's career, he became his spouse's primary caregiver for three years. She has been in remission for the last few years.
"There wasn't a convenient, tech way to get caregiver help when you needed it," he said. "At that point, it dawned on me. Why isn't there an Uber for caregiving? There's apps for everything, and there wasn't really an app and a convenient, low-cost, easy-to-book way of getting care help when you need it."
Through the CareYaya app, families can request a service by filling out basic information. It's free to use.
CareYaya helps build intergenerational connections
Shah said the CareYaya program is forming intergenerational relationships, which is beneficial for both the caregiver and patient. Recruiting a youthful workforce can provide a more engaging, energizing and reliable experience for an older person, he said.
Dianella Montes de Oca, a sophomore at UNC Charlotte and CareYaya caregiver, said she's enjoyed learning the various backgrounds of her patients and growing stronger connections with them.
"I've formed relationships with them, and they've asked me to come back," she said. "Just knowing that I've made an impact in in their everyday lives is really rewarding for me."
CareYaya has also offered her more opportunities for her future health career.
"As a young adult, you never really know 100% if this is what you want to do for the rest of your life, but this program has definitely given me the opportunity to explore that and actually have hands-on experience," she said. "I really do enjoy taking care of people."
CareYaya is continuing to put emphasis on tech
It was key for CareYaya to establish a young workforce due the company's strong focus on tech, Shah said. The student caregivers help close a technology gap in homes, assisting seniors to interact with digital therapy tools.
"We thought that the students would be a great way to bring technology to the home," he said. "We realize there's a technology gap. A lot of new advancements in technology are happening that can help engage people in meaningful activity."
CareYaya recently developed virtual reality therapy for people with dementia. Shah said families tend to limit what someone with dementia can do out of concern for the person's safety, but being at a standstill can cause the brain to deteriorate faster.
The VR headset allows seniors to virtually experience diverse environments. Broadening their scenery can reduce depression, loneliness, blood pressure, anxiety and more, Shah said.
"So we think there's a health benefit and mental health and mood benefit to doing the dementia therapy," he said.
The startup has also developed a fall-prevention tool by using computer vision technology. Through a mobile phone, a caregiver can monitor how a senior is walking, sitting or standing to assess their risk of falling.
CareYaya is now working to create a robot companion for seniors. The technology would behave and respond like a dog, without responsibilities such as feeding the pet and taking it for a walk.
"Because we're technology first, we feel like we can deliver a lot of this tech into the home and really make an impact on people's lives," Shah said.
