The Story Behind SAFE Binder

We know how overwhelming this can be because Karen lived it firsthand.

It began when her father, John*, was rushed to the hospital with a sudden medical emergency. At the same time her mother, Susan*, was showing early signs of cognitive decline but had not yet been diagnosed.

During that crisis, Susan struggled to provide accurate information, and Karen, despite being her daughter, had no clear record of medications, conditions, or care instructions.

The stress of trying to help without the facts was immense.

After that day, Karen began to gather everything she could. She created checklists and posted schedules on her parents’ refrigerator. She saved copies so she could gently remind them from a distance. As her mother’s Dementia progressed, those efforts became more critical and more complicated.

Despite Karen’s best intentions, Susan, in a fight to maintain control, would remove the notes, cancel appointments, and change information without telling anyone. When Susan later had a stroke and needed rehab, that confusion made care coordination even harder.

So Karen built something more durable: a binder.

One place to track everything: medications, providers, legal documents, and emergency contacts. It became her go-to tool for coordinating with doctors, facilities, insurance companies, and family members.

When Susan was moved to a memory care facility during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the binder became her lifeline helping her advocate from afar while her mother was isolated and eventually passed. When her father’s health declined, the binder evolved again this time becoming a living document that guided decisions through hospice and end-of-life care.

That experience didn’t stay isolated.

Through her work with Harbor Family Support Services, Karen realized she wasn’t alone. More and more families were facing the same struggles with no system to help them feel in control. She began sharing her binder with others customizing it, refining it, and watching how much relief it brought.

As her husband and partner, that’s when I stepped in.

I saw something special in Karen’s passion to serve, her heart for caregiving, and her natural ability to organize what most people find overwhelming. She wasn’t just helping people, she was giving them peace of mind. I knew it was time to turn this tool into something bigger.

* Names changed to protect privacy.