$10,000 for hack-a-thon win
Mobile app supports caregiver health
Health and Behavior
SUMMARY: The five-member team and a faculty member won $5,000 in a preliminary round of the Caring for the Caregiver Hack-a-Thon on March 25. They were then asked to submit an application for the second round, which was submitted on April 12. In the second round, all teams that participated in the original event were given the opportunity to hone and polish the idea that they had developed at the hack-a-thon.
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| Pictured, from left, are Dr. Richard Lindsay, the person for whom the Lindsay Institute for Innovations in Caregiving was named, Christie Briskey, Jessica Hilleary, Kiley Petencin, Dr. Morgan Benton, Michaela Schnier, Collier Apgar and Adrienne Johnson, executive director for VirginiaNavigator family of Websites. |
A multidisciplinary team of JMU undergraduate and graduate students has earned $10,000 to develop a mobile app that encourages caregivers to care for themselves.
The five-member team and a faculty member won $5,000 in a preliminary round of the Caring for the Caregiver Hack-a-Thon on March 25. They were then asked to submit an application for the second round, which was submitted on April 12. In the second round, all teams that participated in the original event were given the opportunity to hone and polish the idea that they had developed at the hack-a-thon and lay out a plan for how they would turn that idea into a business or ongoing live project.
Judges reviewed the applications and again declared JMU the winner on April 29.
In addition to the $10,000, the team will receive 10 hours of free legal services from one of the law firms that sponsored the hack-a-thon. The tentative plan is to set up a 501c3 organization and use the $10,000 to launch the app the team developed over the summer.
The mobile app, called "My Time," is designed for iPhone and Android systems and leverages the existing social networks of caregivers to encourage them to spend some time every day on themselves, taking care of their own physical and mental health. Caregivers are frequently referred to as the "invisible patient" because they and others are so focused on providing care that they neglect to look out for themselves.
The team consisted of:
- Collier Apgar, senior, engineering
- Christie Briskey, graduate student, occupational therapy
- Jessica Hilleary, senior, social work
- Kiley Petencin, graduate student, occupational therapy
- Michaela Schnier, senior, social work
- Dr. Morgan Benton, coach, associate professor of integrated science and technology.
The Lindsay Institute for Innovations in Caregiving sponsored the competition.
