What a Shoe Taught Me About Caregiving and Long-Term Care

I’ve worked in start-ups almost exclusively throughout my career.  Even so, I’ve never been a fan of the “move fast and break things” saying. That said, the “move fast” part has always been part of my m.o., and in start-ups triplespeed is just the norm. When we started SingFit and decided that our first product vertical would be creating solutions for people with dementia, even this “move fast” attitude had to be checked at least in certain situations. 

During an early sales call at a senior living community, I was about to leave the memory care unit. At the other end of this long corridor, filled with holiday decorations, was a woman. In between us was a shoe, rather obviously from her left foot.  My typical reaction, because hey, I wanted to make sure I got to my meeting with the Executive Director with time to spare, was to “shout” (in a melodious way, of course) down the hall to the woman that I had spotted her shoe. 

However, even then I knew that this woman might not even be aware that she was half shoeless and even if she was aware, certainly yelling down a hallway as to the location of said footwear would probably cause greater distress than a bare foot.

So I went back, picked up the shoe and asked the woman if I could walk her back to her room. On the way, I found a staff member who took over while I walked, more slowly than usual though the hall and to my meeting. 

This idea of slowing down, meeting people where they are, permeates how we create solutions at SingFit, and it also impacted my own caregiving attitudes when my mother got further into her dementia journey. 

This is why, now when the halls start getting decked with holly, my mind always turns to both the professional and love economy caregivers who help put on the shoes, listen patiently to the same story for the twentieth time, hold the endless hands, and of course sing those favorite songs again. 

Here is a list of just some of the amazing organizations that we work with and alongside here at SingFit including the AgeTech Collaborative, Longevity, Zinnia, Rendever, Silverado, Commonwealth Senior Living, The Arbor Company and more. 

Best wishes this holiday season from everyone at SingFit, 

Rachel Francine

Co-Founder and CEO of SingFit