JMU’s Caregiver Hack team

By: BJ Bryson
Social Work Faculty

The Lindsay Institute for Innovations in Caregiving in conjunction with the Virginia Navigator and Troutman Sanders, LLC sponsored and coordinated the statewide Caregiver’s Hack in downtown Richmond, Virginia.  Teams from College of William and Mary, George Mason University, Virginia Tech, University of Lynchburg, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, and James Madison University participated.  The weekend process is student-led with the assistance of a faculty coach.   Teams are randomly paired with a family caregiver who shares some of their challenges as a caregiver.  The team then seeks to use technology to address the concern.  Each team presents to statewide and national professionals related to caregiving such as representatives from AARP and Genworth.

This year’s JMU team represented the best in inter-professional teaming and diversity. Members included Letu Kassa (Biotechnology/ISAT), Rohin Qaderyan (Computer Science/ISAT), Collin Parker (ISAT), Kimberly Embe (social work), Mady Starke (Health Services Administration), & John Bowman (ISAT).  Included in the picture is CHBS Associate Dean Rhonda Zingraff who has been a long-term supporter of this project and Ms. Elsie the randomly selected caregiver who shared her story with the JMU team.   The team coach was BJ Bryson, PhD, MSW (social work).