Catherine Kammerer

I attribute my success to the support of a very loving husband and having people that believe in me, and even believing in myself. I have had the advantage of understanding the process, having the life experience of a family member going through this journey. Everybody's journey is different, but I do think that I can help in that unique way. So having that experience is a very personal thing, and not something you can really even learn without having gone through it.

The best advice I've received is that there's two ways of looking at things, two sides of the coin, and to always pick the positive, because it's easier to find the negative. I also think that seeking out people who have done something similar is important, because the entrepreneur trail is unbelievably lonely, especially if you're a trailblazer and making your own path. It can seem like you're definitely on your own, but you're not. You just have to look around and find the helpers.

I would say work for yourself. Everybody has their own way of doing things, and your unique way of doing it is a gift, and it should be shared. Giving yourself the chance to try is the best gift you can do. And even if you don't succeed at it, you believed in yourself, and the failure, if it's a failure, it's actually a lesson. I don't think anybody can really fail, it's just a change of course.

The biggest challenge is definitely education and terminology. People don't know that adult day care is an actual option, especially up north here. People just go right to assisted living, and to me, that's great if you could afford it, but if your spouse isn't ready for that and you just want to age in place, you should be able to. You shouldn't have to go to assisted living if you don't want to, if you're not ready. There's a step in between, you don't have to go right away. The biggest opportunity is to keep people from the ER by having that extra step, that extra person to help people who don't know the system of healthcare. Just small consultations of day-to-day action of how's so-and-so going, how's the medication going, and checking in with their care team, having that individual buffer and also interpreter. Some of these terms are just impossible, they don't understand what it is they've been diagnosed with, even how it's going to affect the family, and then the caregiver themselves, how much they are going to have to give in order to help their families. What I'm worried about in the future is the fact that there won't be enough caregivers to be able to come to each person's home, especially with staffing, and the age group. Millennials are the next highest as far as population, but other than that, there isn't going to be enough people to do the work to help with that one-on-one care.

I believe that, to the core, everybody is good, and you have to find that good. Wanting to help others is something that I think is within our human nature, and just finding how you're able to do that is important. One of my core values is making sure that I am true to myself in how I deliver that care. I see a lot of people lose themselves when they're trying to caregiver, and it is a lot to sacrifice to give up and stop your life to help somebody. What I would say to them is you don't have to do it alone. It feels like you do because everybody's situation is different, but you don't have to be alone. Even caregiver groups, there's lots of outreach, there's a ton of support.