B:HIVE business Mycare has got its ice hockey sticks and maple syrup ready following its recent launch into Canada.
It is the digital care organisation’s first bridge over international waters, and comes after years of building to nationwide success. Mycare, located on Level 2 of the B:HIVE, is New Zealand’s largest online community of people seeking or offering various types of help at home.
“The premise behind it is reimagining what homecare looks like for people with disabilities, older aged care needs or wider needs, enabling people in the home to thrive. What we discovered was homecare had a very ‘push’ approach, where carers would be sent out without the person in the home understanding who was coming into their home,” CEO Matt Owen says.
“So we redesigned what homecare could look like; centred around the person at home having a choice as to who comes into their home.”
Mycare is one of the first in the world to bring this concept to life, Matt says, and the platform has since grown to have more than 14,000 qualified and vetted carers registered throughout New Zealand.
The B:HIVE- based organisation’s launch into Canada came after not-for-profit organisation Manitoba Possible in Winnipeg reached out to collaborate with Mycare, after they discovered the kiwi organisation had achieved what they were trying to do themselves.
“They believed in the same model as us, that the person in the home should have the right to choose who comes into their home,” Matt says.
Mycare has provided the software and platform for the Winnipeg-based organisation to connect the disabled community with local support workers.
Since launching in October, Care Possible – has bloomed on Canadian soil, already providing support to people with care needs and connecting the care in the home ecosystem.
For example, a dad in Toronto is now able to be a part of the care journey for his disabled son and daughter-in-law, who are in Winnipeg, Matt says.
“Because of the nature of the platform, it enables family, friends and carers, all to be able to connect to the platform and the care system. So, for this dad, even though he lives thousands of kilometers away, he is able to be a part of the care journey for his son and his son’s wife,” Matt says.
This is only the beginning of Mycare’s international outreach, Matt says.
Mycare also delivers the technology behind Gumboot Friday, providing a platform for young kiwis to connect directly with counsellors nationwide.
They also launched Te Heke Mai in 2019, a coaching platform supporting New Zealander’s into the work or on a pathway of their choosing.
Stop by and say hi anytime to Matt and the Mycare team on Level 2.
Image: Some of the Mycare team based in the B:Hive, from left: Mackenzie Amer, Nikki Harris, Matt Owen and Emilie Nebulot.