CareYaya: Experience for Students, Care for Families

In the next decade, almost 80 million Americans will be 65 years old or older. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that a person turning 65 today has a 70% chance of requiring long-term care services. However, because of high turnover and low wages, most nursing homes have staffing shortages, and caregiving responsibilities are increasingly falling on family members. Caring for a family member is a demanding, unpaid responsibility that requires significant time and effort.

These are just some of the reasons behind the founding of an innovative company called CareYaya that pairs college students with families in need of caregiving services. It’s a technology platform that lets people quickly book experienced caregivers from students in the health care field. The students get hands-on experience, and the patients and their families get support and care when they need it the most.

College of Charleston junior Sophia Pribbernow is one such student.

“It’s like being someone’s companion. I’m taking care of someone’s grandmother or grandfather and providing them with companionship, helping with meals and making sure they’re OK,” says the Honors College biology major, noting that there are a couple of families that she has connected with on a personal level, too. “It enables their family member to do whatever they need without worrying about their loved ones.”

It was Pribbernow’s accident-prone brother who made her realize how much she loved caring for others. Her family joked about how, from a young age, she was his personal nurse. She wasn’t squeamish about blood or broken bones, and that’s part of why she decided to go into health care.

But it was her experience with CareYaya that helped her to zero in on memory care as a specific area of interest.

“It feels so great to be able to help a family who is struggling,” she says. “Working with families for CareYaya has made me realize that I want to work with patients.”

And it’s that real-world experience that is so valuable for students as they find their path.

“High-impact learning experiences allow students to apply what they learned in the classroom toward solving real-world problems,” says Bryan Ganaway, associate dean of the Honors College. “It prepares them to function as professionals.”

With more than 28,000 student employees and partnerships with 30 universities, CareYaya continues growing to meet the demand for families in need of care and students in need of valuable experience.