We couldn’t keep my parents safely at home—but that’s exactly why I’m focused on helping other families navigate these transitions with more preparation, support, and dignity. Whether it’s installing a grab bar or making a whole home more accessible, my mission is to upgrade their physical environment so families can focus on the emotional, medical, and personal sides of aging and caregiving.
My LinkedIn profile shows decades in finance and tech, early-stage investing, and capital markets expertise. What it doesn't show is the years of running from emergency to emergency with aging parents—the frantic calls, the sudden move out of their home when it was no longer safe, or managing the abysmal American financial and legal labyrinth.
It doesn't capture the reality of fixing, emptying, and selling their house—remotely—while trying to find safe housing for them. Sometimes together. Sometimes separately. Sometimes in hospitals, sometimes in facilities. Sometimes in my own home.
Those ongoing years of crisis management left me with a stark realization: the systems are designed for failure. The knowledge required is not taught. It's undervalued, and it's truly not easy to acquire under pressure.
We also needed contractors!
I am lucky: I have a wonderful sister at my side and a dear friend from high school who would show up in a storm with a hard hat and a hammer (thank you Paul!), but that is not a replicable solution.
That relentless education in eldercare taught me exactly what the market was missing—and led me to invest in TruBlue Home Service Ally franchises, because my family needed a home repair and senior safety solution we simply couldn't find on demand when it mattered most.
The Statistics Behind Our Silent Struggle
The numbers are staggering:
- More than a quarter of U.S. households are headed by someone 65+
- 77% of Americans over 50 want to stay in their homes as they age
- 53+ million Americans are providing unpaid care to adult family members
- The average caregiver spends 24+ hours weekly on care coordination
- Dementia care averages 40+ hours weekly
The Hidden Economic Impact
Managing elder care while holding down a career is more than just exhausting—it's financially and professionally destabilizing.
We are, in effect, working two full-time jobs: one that shows up on LinkedIn, and one that's completely invisible. And the burden falls disproportionately on women.
Here's how it shows up:
Career Limitations - Turning down travel opportunities. Skipping evening networking events. Saying no to roles with too much unpredictability. Women are 73% more likely to leave the workforce entirely due to caregiving responsibilities and 5x more likely to shift to part-time work compared to men. (MyElder.com)
Direct Costs - Managing the exorbitant costs of parent care while trying to plan for your own retirement. Caregivers—primarily women—may see a 40% to a shocking 90% reduction in retirement savings, delaying retirement by up to 21 years. (MarketWatch)
Opportunity Costs - Every hour in waiting rooms, on the phone with insurance, or managing logistics is one less hour for leadership, professional growth, personal care, or even rest.
Health Impacts - Chronic stress, burnout, sleep disruption, and emotional fatigue directly impact decision-making, creativity, and leadership. Women represent about 60% of all caregivers in the U.S., and many report significant impacts on their mental and physical health. (PBS NewsHour)
The Burnout No One Talks About
Forget your normal schedule: the absolute exhaustion of managing multiple crises simultaneously is now your operating mode. Running out of an ER to take a work call. The mental gymnastics of switching between client presentations and insurance appeals, sometimes within the same hour. Caring for one parent is hard enough—but caring for both parents with distinctly separate and equally emergent needs is impossible.
So I decided to find a way to improve the lives of our seniors and their families.
Why I Chose to Invest in TruBlue Home Service Ally
As I shared in a recent USA Today feature:
"I think it's absolutely critical to have seniors stay comfortable in their home as long as possible, because the data shows that there are better health outcomes."
The TruBlue model appealed to me because it solves two problems:
- The urgent need for reliable, on-call home repair and safety services
- The lack of infrastructure for caregivers who are trying to manage everything at once
We're building the support network professionals need to manage both careers and family without burning out.
"It's not just about finding somebody who will perform the necessary renovations; homeowners need someone who will put in the effort to truly understand each person's needs."
My partner Craig Rubinstein and our technicians offer a full range of senior home safety services—everything from installing grab bars and stair railings to building ramps and widening doorways. Our team also conducts professional home safety assessments, helping families identify risks both indoors and outside the property. It's not just about the repairs—it's about prevention, peace of mind, and protecting independence.
Our team is Age Safe America-certified in Senior Home Safety, and our Home Maintenance Plans cover the "small" tasks that become real risks for aging adults—like changing smoke detector batteries, replacing light bulbs, or clearing walkways before winter.
The Conversation We Need to Have
My father passed away in 2023, and after years of instability, my mother is now in a safe, supportive environment. That journey has shaped how I think not just about elder care today—but about how we, as a generation, plan for our own futures, too.
Elder care has become our generation's parallel career. It requires the same level of strategic planning, resource management, and operational stamina as any major professional role.
The demographic shift is undeniable. The "Silver Tsunami" isn't coming—it's here. And the professionals handling it—quietly, competently, under strain—deserve better systems and support. My peers and I also need to start planning for ourselves.
This isn't just a side interest for me. It's a strategic response to a growing, unmet need—and one I'm committed to tackling head-on. Our mission is to provide trusted, professional home services that support aging-in-place with dignity, safety, and reliability. At the core, it's about solving real problems for real families—with the same focus and urgency I bring to every facet of my career.
The invisible workload is real. The market opportunity is massive. And the time for recognition and solution-building is now.
What hidden responsibilities are shaping your professional life? How are you managing the intersection of career demands and eldercare? Let's continue the conversation that our generation desperately needs to have.