SAN FRANCISCO, May 5, 2022 – Cleo, the most comprehensive global family support network, has acquired CareTribe, a Palo Alto-based company that provides expert guidance and tools to support family caregivers, and uses advanced analytics to help them develop personalized action plans to improve outcomes across career, health, and wellness for both working caregivers and the loved ones they are caring for. With this acquisition, Cleo enters the $279B adult care market and broadens its reach to provide end-to-end support for working families and caregivers.
The entrance into the adult care space builds upon the company’s growth and engagement which has seen its membership double in each of the last three years with the launches of Cleo Baby, Cleo Kids, and most recently Cleo Teens. Today, Cleo is now available to over 1M member families in 65+ countries globally via 130+ leading employers such as Pinterest, Equinox, and The Learning Care Group.
“The acquisition comes at a moment of unprecedented need for support for working parents and caregivers, and in particular the millions of working Americans who are part of the ‘sandwich generation’,” said Sarahjane Sacchetti, CEO of Cleo, and member of the sandwich generation herself as a parent to two young children and an active caregiver for a parent. “With Cleo’s new end-to-end support, employers and health plans now have a single, comprehensive family support network that they can deploy to meet the ever-changing needs of families in the workforce. We’re defining a new standard for how we support working families that acknowledges their dual roles as professionals and caregivers to a loved one.”
Cleo expands to address the crisis facing working caregivers
Since the onset of the pandemic, caregivers are juggling more than ever before. The CDC reports about 70% of adult parents and caregivers reported symptoms of anxiety or depression, trauma or stress-related disorders, or suicidal thoughts. This startling data and the impact on caregivers at work has created an urgent call to action for employers to deliver support to those caring for family members of all ages in their workforces and begin to address the underlying causes of their stress, which often relate to the challenges of caregiving.
According to a Pew Research Study, the number of individuals over 65 is predicted to nearly double by 2050. Nearly 65% of older persons rely solely on family to provide assistance, and 12% of parents are caring for an older loved one as well, which equates to roughly 11 million caregivers.
“Sandwich caregivers often lack workplace benefits that might help them manage their multiple responsibilities” cites Lisa Weber-Raley, author of “Burning the Candle at Both Ends: Sandwich Generation Caregiving in the US”. “As a result, sandwich caregivers miss work or cut down work hours during their prime working and long-term saving years. One in five sandwich caregivers report feeling mental health or financial strain as a result of being a caregiver.”
Cleo helps caregivers navigate the day to day challenges that can lead to high levels of anxiety, reduced productivity, increased absenteeism, and attrition, all of which add up to increased costs for employers and a startling decrease in diversity of their senior management teams since women make up 67% percent of active caregivers today. This is why employers and health plans are so keen to help support parents and caregivers. With the acquisition of CareTribe, Cleo has become the destination for all caregivers to receive support for every stage of their caregiving responsibilities, and enable companies to offer an inclusive and fully-integrated offering for their entire working caregiver population.
The Addition of CareTribe builds on Cleo’s proven model
CareTribe was founded in 2019 by two physicians, Drs. Jeff Jacques and Madhavi Vemireddy, to tackle their most pressing personal caregiving issues. “CareTribe has proven that trusted relationships with experts drive material health and organizational outcomes, and as we join forces, we’re thrilled to build off the Cleo team’s global scale to address the millions of caregivers looking for proactive, ongoing support and guidance.” says CareTribe co-founder and CEO Dr. Jeff Jacques.
CareTribe’s LifePathsSM delivers personalized action plans, curated content, and self-care tips while highlighting specific employer and health plan benefits and resources to address current and near-future needs of working families, such as:
- navigating safely living at home, supporting activities of daily living, meals, and sourcing other in-home support.
- supporting a loved one with dementia, including understanding the progression of cognitive decline, recognizing the signs, and preparing early, including power of attorney, estate planning, and financial planning.
- navigating questions and decisions about affordable housing, level of facility care (e.g., assisted living, memory care, hospice, etc.), Medicare, Medicaid, and Veterans benefits, food insecurity, and more.
Both Drs. Jacques and Vemireddy will be joining the Cleo team as Chief Strategy and Chief Clinical Officers respectively to continue their groundbreaking application of population health to support caregivers.
Adult care from Cleo will be available in the US later this year. Global support will begin in 2023. CareTribe customers can begin adding Cleo’s global family-building and parenting support immediately.
About Cleo
Cleo, founded in 2016 by a clinician, has evolved to become the most comprehensive B2B global support network for caregivers, providing end-to-end trustworthy, inclusive support through all stages and phases of life. Cleo is now the leading global family benefits platform trusted by 130+ forward-thinking employers to support families, control costs and attrition, and build inclusive cultures. Cleo families are happier, healthier, and more engaged as they balance their roles at home and at work. Cleo customers experience less attrition rates – Cleo members are 30% less likely to be planning to leave their job than non-Cleo working parents. Cleo is creating a more equitable work world where everyone wins: employees are more supported and therefore more successful at work and home, and employers see their bottom line improved through higher retention, improved health outcomes, and a culture of inclusivity that stands the test of time. Cleo believes in challenging the care status quo, and in doing so envisions a world where caregiver support is more democratized, and all caregivers feel as nurtured and supported as they deserve to be.