And at some point, many of us will care for someone who is aging. Yet, we hardly ever talk about these topics with those around us, who may be having similar experiences.

That's why we created "Aging in America"—a documentary series that brings these hidden conversations into the light through honest, intimate stories of real people navigating the aging journey.

If we’re lucky, we will all grow old

Each chapter in our series focuses on one person's experience:

An adult child torn between work demands and caregiving duties.

A husband learning to love differently as his wife’s memory fades.

A young adult postponing their dreams to be there for a parent.

These are just a few of the stories that we will tell

What is Aging in America?

In a time when it feels like everything divides us, aging connects us all. These stories show our shared humanity. The love for family, the fear of losing independence, the unexpected moments of joy amid difficulty, and the universal search for dignity.

By witnessing others navigate these challenges, we find guidance for our own journeys.

Our hope is simple: that by watching these stories, you’ll feel seen. Or maybe you’ll see someone you love more clearly. And perhaps realize we're not as alone as we might feel.

Why These Stories Matter Now

Follow @oleracare on Instagram and Facebook to see new chapters as they release

Share your story. Whether you’re caring for someone now or just starting to think about your own future, because your experience might be exactly what someone else needs to hear.

We don’t know exactly where this journey will take us. But it’s one we believe is worth taking—together.

How You Can Join Us?

, co-founder and CEO of Olera, is a trained biomedical engineer passionate about developing novel digital health and medical technologies. His passion for innovative solutions drives him to write about the cost of healthcare in America and to revolutionize the senior healthcare industry.

Author Bio

Aging in America: The Conversations We Need But Rarely Have

According to the U.S. Census Data, nearly half of Americans between ages 55 and 66 have no retirement savings.

Yet the average annual cost of home care is roughly $62,000 per year— and 7 out of 10 people will require long-term care like this in their lifetime.

Clearly, we have a big problem on our hands.

The Senior Care Crisis: A Growing Concern

We are proud to share that Olera has received a $3 million Phase 2B Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grant to from the National Institutes on Aging (NIA) to tackle the challenge of senior care affordability head on. Specifically, 

Olera will be building AI Agents to help families find and apply for senior care benefits to improve senior care affordability.

Olera's Plan Moving Forward

“When we started our journey in 2020, we initially focused on helping families navigate the fragmented senior care space—helping themfind the right care for their specific needs. After assisting hundreds of families, we learned that finding care was just one issue.

Arguably the bigger issue was PAYING for care and other types of professional assistance.

It’s the elephant in the room, and most other players in the industry turn a blind eye to this” said CEO, and Former Pfizer biomedical engineer, TJ Falohun.

He went on to add: “Improving senior care affordability will undoubtably be a hard problem to address, It’s a topic that involves the rising costs of labor, inflation, understanding state specific benefits and eligibility criteria among various other factors. However, by being laser-focused on this problem, and thinking outside the box, I am confident we can find ways to help families better pay for care. It’s worth a shot!"

From Navigation to Affordability: Our Journey

Dr. Logan DuBose, co-founder of Olera, who teamed up with TJ while perusing his MD/MBA degree from Texas A&M University, offers additional insights:

"As a internal medicine physician, I've witnessed the lack of regard in the medical community for the affects of healthcare costs and financial issues on patients' health. The strain that unaffordable healthcare places on families and patients is not just a financial issue--its a health issue. When families fear seeking medical care due to the financial implications or families can't access or afford proper care, health outcomes suffer for individuals and society as a whole. Our mission at Olera isn't just about making care more affordable; its about improving the quality of life for all of us, especially those who often need care the most like our seniors and their families. By focusing on initiatives that lower the costs of care, we're not just saving money--we're saving lives."

A Medical Perspective on Care Affordability

But we aren’t just here to just here to share our success, but to spark a movement that addresses the critical challenges in aging care.

We are allocating a portion of these funds towards creating a community of individuals passionate about contributing to this cause.

We want to build this together. If you are any of the following, please we would love to hear from you:

Social media experts, marketing experts, and video producers

Community champions to organize events involving older adults

Senior care experts to tackle industry challenges

We literally can’t do this alone. If you are interested. Please complete the form below :)

Join the Movement: Be Part of the Solution

Olera Receives $3M Grant to Transform Senior Care Affordability

Millions of Americans, particularly those who have a health crisis, NEED help but can’t pay for care out of pocket.

My team and I, supported by the National Institutes on Aging, receives hundreds of requests from older adults and their caregivers who are desperately looking for help but can’t afford it on a monthly basis.

These individuals are often on Medicare, which does not cover long-term care. What are the majority of Americans suppose to do to meet their basic needs?

Many are forced to utilize other ways to pay, but are not eligible for Medicaid or other benefits so they are left without services, eventually leading to hospitalization when basic needs are left unmet long enough.

The cost of healthcare and long-term care is simply too high for the average lower middle class/ lower class American.

To solve a problem, we first need to understand it. The issue of high costs in long-term care is partially rooted in high labor costs. And as we all know, wages are not keeping up with inflation, so it is unlikely that we will see any change in the cost of long-term care. In fact, we will likely see the opposite.

With rising cost of inflation, coupled with the aging population, our society as a whole is sliding into a precarious situation.

We are not immune. We are one unexpected medical diagnosis away from sharing a similar fate.

Those on the unfortunate end of the equation deserve the support from the rest of us fortunate enough to have our health intact.

And if we find ourselves looking at this issue from an outsiders perspective, it’s only by the luck of the draw. The “glad it’s not me” mindset is very shortsighted because we can find ourselves in the very same situation at any moment.

The strive to be profitable has made a lot of companies in the space neglect those who are in the greatest need of support.

A possible answer: ironically, more capitalism—well more innovation.
In efficient markets, products and services trend towards the price of production as rival entrepreneurs view incumbents’ margins as an opportunity to innovate.

The convergence of robotics and artificial intelligence will likely create affordable ways for older adults with health issues to stay independent at home for longer for a fraction of the cost.

The future is defined by optimists. We need brilliant problem solvers thinking critically about this issue.

This is an issue that needs world class product design, operational savviness, business acumen, significant funding and much more.

All friends, colleagues, an interested parties, if this problem is one that excites you, please email me at tj@olera.care

The challenges that older adults and their caregivers face. And possible solutions to the issue through innovation. A blog by TJ Falohun from Olera.

Aging in America: The Conversations We Need But Rarely Have

Table of contents

If we’re lucky, we will all grow old

What is Aging in America?

Why These Stories Matter Now

How You Can Join Us?

Author Bio

Read more

Aging in America: The Conversations We Need But Rarely Have

Olera Receives $3M Grant to Transform Senior Care Affordability

America’s Aging Care System is Broken - We’re in trouble, But There is Hope