Our mission: Educate and support family caregivers
At Caregiving Pathways, we help families manage the caregiving journey and find joy and meaning among the many challenges.
We are mission driven. Supporting family caregivers is good for individuals, families, and virtually every organization — because the 63 million family caregivers in the United States are everywhere, and they all need instruction and guidance.
What we do
Caregiving Pathways provides coaching and comfort for family caregivers by delivering structured support so they feel heard and confident as they manage caregiving and are fully informed about the choices for end-of-life care.
Founder and family caregiving partner Beth Suereth and physician partner Dr. Sarah Todd are the practical and emotional support family caregivers need as they navigate the healthcare system and family dynamics.
We give family caregivers the insights and strategies they need as they care for a family member or friend during caregiving, health crises, and the final stages of life.
We collaborate with family caregivers to create a care plan for each individual family caregiver. We help families create an end-of-life plan that supports the family caregiver and the person receiving care. (We think of it as a "rest-of-life" plan.)
Dr. Sarah Todd, a board-certified emergency medicine physician who provides end-of-life care on a daily basis, can talk through and sign a medical order for life-sustaining treatment, also known as a MOLST (or POLST, for physician or portable order) for the person receiving care. She can also sign a MOLST or provide guidance for anyone else who would like to document their emergency care choices.
What we don't do
We don't provide hands-on care. When families need help with day-to-day care, we connect them with the right services. We educate family caregivers and provide valuable insights about how to evaluate and engage local organizations that do provide hands-on help, such as home health care, physical therapy, and hospice providers.
Our service lines
1. In our individual service line we coach and support family caregivers one to one. We work directly with caregiving individuals and families to help them understand and successfully manage the challenges of caregiving.
2. In our institutional service line:
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We provide structured family caregiver support programs, educational materials, and consulting services to organizations across industries. For hospitals, our goal is to help reduce patient readmissions and the federal penalties they trigger.
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We align our products and services with our customers' existing business goals while providing a meaningful way for businesses to differentiate themselves from competitors.
​​​Beth Rooney Suereth, Certified Caregiving Consultant , Educator, and Facilitator
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​Founder and Family Caregiving Partner
Beth Suereth was a family caregiver for her father for 5 years. She has conducted more than 2,000 home visits to support family caregivers as a care manager and volunteered for 2 years at a hospital-based family caregiver center. ​​
​​Beth co-authored the AARP Public Policy Institute ​
10-paper publication series, Supporting Family Caregivers Providing Complex Care, that reports how hospitals across the country are innovating to support family caregivers. She also served as the writer for Home Alone Revisited, Family Caregivers Providing Complex Care, an AARP Public Policy Institute research report on caregiving issues and caregiver perceptions. ​
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Beth Suereth is a member of the board of directors of Community Health Center on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. ​She also serves as an Advisory Committee Member for the Women in Leadership Program at the University of Vermont, Grossman School of Business and volunteers with WE CAN in Massachusetts to support women in family caregiving roles.
"I didn't know anything about caregiving when my father started needing care. Eventually I learned so much that I was able to keep my dad out of the hospital during the entire last year of his life," said Beth.
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"I decided to use my healthcare marketing background to create the content I wish someone had given me as a new family caregiver. My goal is to make caregiving easier for others than it was for me."
​​Sarah Todd, MD, MPH
​​Physician Partner​​
Sarah Todd is board-certified in emergency medicine and was a family caregiver for her late husband for 7 years. Her professional and personal experiences convinced her of the need for better family caregiver support.
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“The time for questions like ‘What types of care are you comfortable with in an emergency?’ is before a ​
health crisis happens,” said Sarah, the Caregiving Pathways physician partner.
​“Our programs helps patients think through and share their care goals, values, fears, and preferences in advance," said Sarah.
“That means if a patient has a medical emergency and is unable to communicate, then patients, family members, and health care providers like me can avoid unproductive interventions, focus on honoring the patient's wishes, and support the patient through the end of life with the best possible quality of life.”
​​Clients
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Clients include American Airlines, CVS Health, Virgin Islands Department of Human Services, AARP Public Policy Institute, and AARP New York
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​Member, Massachusetts Caregiver Coalition​​​
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Member, American Society on Aging
Podcasts
Listen in as Beth Suereth talks about managing the hospital stay on Rayna Neises' podcast, A Season of Caring. Hear helpful insights on communicating with hospital staff, knowing what questions to ask, and tracking what happens so you'll notice potential problems.
Hear Beth Suereth share her family caregiving experience on Elizabeth Miller’s Happy Healthy Caregiver Podcast. Beth shares helpful tips on managing a hospital stay and the time between a grim diagnosis and the end of life.
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See more podcasts featuring Beth Suereth.
Guest appearance on Caregivers First on SCAN TV
Beth Suereth shared her top tips on managing a hospital stay with Lynette Whitman as a guest on Caregivers First, a SCAN NJ television show.