Dr. Whitney: Tell our listeners about yourself and how you came to be where you are now.

Dr. Vemireddy: I am a physician by training in internal medicine, but I’ve been in digital health for the last 20 years. I started my career at a company that was really trying to give the best evidenced based care for individuals with chronic health conditions and, eventually, became the Chief Medical Officer there and was building programs that were really focused on supporting people with chronic conditions. 

About 12 years ago, I had my oldest son who had congenital heart failure and needed open heart surgery when he was 9 months old. When he was 5, he was diagnosed with being on the autism spectrum and that was the first time being an active care giver that I was really struggling, even though I had my medical background. I was still trying to figure it all out and get a support network put together. I realized if we’re struggling as physicians, everyone else would be too. The support that is out there, is for the people that need the care. There wasn’t anything for the families that are supporting those who need the care.

That was what led my husband and I to start a company called Care Tribe that was designed to help give support to caregivers of all ages. Earlier this year, I was in talks with CLEO and realized we were both after the same goal. We wanted to bring support to caregivers regardless of what stage they were in, regardless of medical condition. So that’s how I ended up joining forces with them and becoming their Chief Medical Officer.

Dr. Whitney: There’s people who are caring for children and then those caring for an elderly parent. And there’s a lot of us that are doing both. There’s tons of research on the “sandwich generation.”

Dr. Vemireddy: There’s over 12 million in the sandwich generation and we know that number is going to grow with our elderly population and it’s 60% women that are doing that caregiving. So they’re often having to leave their full time jobs in order to do it, which will impact their retirement as well. When the time comes that they need help, they might not have the financial means to pay for it. It’s a vicious cycle.

Dr. Whitney: I don’t think it stops there either. With more and more women dropping out of the workforce, it’s showing young girls less women in leadership. And we know we need representation in order to get our voices heard. Recently I was having a conversation on a pediatrics board that I sit on and a lot of people are transitioning off of the board with pregnancies and all of that and it was suggested that maybe I wanted to transition as well because I’m so busy (I double checked it wasn’t because they thought I was doing a bad job!) I am the only one who is a female parent, caring for my children on that board. And if we’re to be helping families, it’s so important for me to be able to have that voice for families and moms. With everything that happened during COVID, a lot less people are given that opportunity.

Dr. Vemireddy: The research tells us that it’s only 50% of employees that are caring for someone at home that actually tell their employer. Because we know that if you raise your hand and say, “I’m a parent of someone on the spectrum” or “I’m caring for a parent with Alzheimer’s” it can possibly tell them that you’re going to be distracted. So employees are hiding it.

But if companies are proactive and tell their employees, “We know that if you have a family, you’re caring for someone,” and they’re having open communication about caregiving and what that looks like and options for those that are in that situation, it becomes easier for everyone. And when they are partnering with companies like CLEO, they’re going to be able to stand in the gap for their employees and let them know how supported they are.

Dr. Whitney: There is a quote that you said you live by, from Bob Marley, “You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.” That hit me so hard and brought me back to a time when my daughter was in a super dysregulated state–she has autism–and during COVID we had moved in with my parents for a time. And then when we moved back, we had painted the walls a different color. And it completely threw her off. She felt like the whole house was different and everything had changed. One really hard day, she threw a ceramic vase at me and I had to constantly tell myself, “She has autism. This is not her fault. She is dysregulated. This is not because of who I am as a parent.” What in your parenting experience has made this so fierce for you?

Dr. Vemireddy: It started when I was trying to start a family. I went through multiple rounds of IVF, several miscarriages, and lost twin boys at 21 weeks. And then once we were pregnant with my oldest it never stopped. He was born prematurely and we were in and out of NICUs and PICUs and fighting to figure out what was wrong with him and find a treatment plan for him. And by the time he had his successful heart surgery at 9 months, it was such a sigh of relief. And then we began to see slow progress by the time he was 2 and then we were hit again with the autism diagnosis. So it took us a while to get our minds wrapped around what our life would look like. We’rre still fighting to get him the best care possible and continue to get the scaffolding built up around him. Because it’s on us.

We moved from New York to California right before the pandemic hit and we struggled with that transition. We really had to start over, and then what little support I had built up was taken away during the pandemic. So we saw lots of acting out and new behaviors popping up and we had to do the same thing–remind ourselves that he’s dysregulated. That it had nothing to do with us as parents.

And families that have to deal with that day in and day out, it can be really wearing on them and can cause anxiety and depression. 70% of caregivers are experiencing mental health symptoms. And I was one of them.

Going back to that quote, we often think that we can’t get through something. And as caregivers, we just keep going. We will stop at nothing to get the best care for our loved ones. And even when it’s hard, we just push on. And it’s way more difficult when you don’t have experts or support on your side. So when employers start hearing from their employees about the struggles they’re having supporting their family, they can begin to look for those resources.

Dr. Whitney: So much of the burnout for caregivers comes when they aren’t taking care of themselves as well. We put everyone else’s needs above our own until we can’t keep pushing through. I’d love to hear more about the resources that CLEO offers for caregivers and their families.

Dr. Vemireddy: When you join CLEO, we try to establish where you’re at in your family journey to see what resources and support would be best for you. Going through IVF, just had a baby, adoption, babies and toddler, feeding your baby, potty training, raising kids with adoptions all the way to caring for a sick spouse or elderly parents. We’ll curate the content and resources depending on your specific needs. Whatever stage you’re in, we’ll connect you with an expert guide and their expertise is for exactly where you’re at. 

They’re there for you to help you find the right resources and to help take things off your plate. We do all that navigational research while also checking in on the caregiver themself. Do they need community? Are they experiencing anxiety? Can we connect them with others that are going through the same thing? 

Dr. Whitney: Can an individual employee sign up for CLEO or is it the employer who needs to purchase it for all employees?

Dr. Vemireddy: Right now it’s the employer who can purchase it and offer it as a free benefit to all employees.

Dr. Whitney: If you are an employer, listen up. This would be an amazing benefit for your employees. If you’re an employee on the leadership team and have an opportunity to speak up about these things, CLEO is such a great resource. I have been so excited to hear from you and about your company. Where can people find more about you and CLEO?

Dr. Vemireddy: CLEO is the best place for them to get the resources they’re looking for. They can also follow us on Instagram and Facebook and LinkedIn. I’m on LinkedIn as well.