The story below is from our September/October 2019 issue. For the full issue Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!
Care Concierge has your back if you’re old, sick and in need of interpretation.
Dan Smith
Mariellen Hubbard
It’s the same story we’ve seen thousands of times: A person has an experience that highlights a need that isn’t being filled and starts a business based on that need. Mariellen Hubbard can tell you all about it. That’s how Care Concierge came about.
This is a business she and partner Sara Sprague, a Roanoke lawyer, started recently because Hubbard experienced the distinct need for—and advantage of—having somebody with you when you go to the hospital or a doctor’s office, especially if you are elderly.
She had seen the need with the birth of her children and then again with a serious fall suffered by her father-in-law.
“I saw over four years how important it is to have somebody there for you,” says the Long Island native.
It was a matter of taking notes when the physician spoke, understanding medications and instructions, doing research when necessary, clarifying the diagnosis and other physician-speak.
“I have learned that 40-80% of medical information is lost immediately,” she says. “A lot of it has to do with being unfamiliar with the terms.”
Hubbard is the boots on the ground for Care Concierge, offering not only good communication, but company and transportation (starting at about $75).
“Nobody was doing this in Roanoke,” she says. “I thought, ‘What happens if you don’t have me, or somebody like me?’”
While she is directly taking care of patients, Sprague is taking care of the business, working for her law firm and getting an MBA and master’s degree in library science. Hubbard has degrees in art and art history and has been an elementary school teacher. She also has a photography business, Family Tree Photography.
Hubbard’s husband, Terry, travels a good bit for work and she has two young children.
Care Concierge gives her the opportunity “to feel engaged,” she says. “Not everybody has the option to be able to take care of the family” when a member is sick. “Some dementia patients have gaps they need filled. I ask the right questions, give full information. Communication is a big issue in health care.”
“Medical professionals welcome” the help, Hubbard says, and they understand the need for patient advocates. “We monitor every step in the process.” And that often makes for safer treatment.
... for the rest of this story and more from our September/October 2019 issue, Subscribe today, view our FREE interactive digital edition or download our FREE iOS app!