Built for families who can’t always be there

ManoHealth was inspired by the idea of making families more resilient, both financially and emotionally. As we’ve grown, it’s become clear that we are not only physically healing our members through better access to top-notch healthcare, but we are healing families and bringing together families who are separated by distance and the emotional burden that distance creates.

As a caretaker of my spouse, who has a chronic illness, I understand the emotional and physical toll chronic illness has on both the patient and the caretaker. I spent many years helping my wife walk through getting a diagnosis that would completely change her life and mine. If it wasn’t for the great health care that we found by chance, we would likely not be where we are today.

I’m grateful for the health care she receives and the healing our family has walked through. ManoHealth is how we pass our gratefulness on. My hope is that ManoHealth will extend the gift of good health care that my wife and I received to the families we serve, and bring us to a world where emotional family peace transcends the physical distance that separates families.

Managing the healthcare needs of a loved one can be complex, time-consuming and worry-inducing, even more so if that person lives far away.

Globally, migrants and immigrants are powerhouse supporters of their families back home, sending billions of U.S. dollars every year that contribute immensely to household and economic resilience. But there are healthcare situations that require more than just money. How can we leverage that monetary support and turn it into better health outcomes for family back home?

We want ManoHealth to be an answer to that question: to be an advocate on the ground, navigating the next steps for a loved one when they’re sick or elderly. Our vision is a world in which diaspora communities feel empowered and confident that their loved ones back home are getting the healthcare they need.

Being from an immigrant family myself, I know the pain, suffering and long-lasting impacts caused by being separated from one’s family and country of origin. Being far away, busy and worried about your loved one can create a sense of helplessness.

My goal in co-founding ManoHealth is to provide an option for diaspora families, so that they know there is help they can count on when they can’t be present with their loved ones.

I’m with ManoHealth because I am proud to share a solution that turns concern into care. As someone who left my home country in the Philippines, I know deeply the helplessness of not being there when my family needs me: the worry, the uncertainty, and the constant question of how I can care for them from thousands of miles away.

That is why being part of ManoHealth means so much to me. I love being part of the process of giving my fellow Filipinos in the US the peace of mind they need, knowing they finally have a trusted partner in caring for their family’s health in the Philippines, even from afar.

For so long, distance felt like disconnection, but ManoHealth is proof that it doesn’t have to be. I love seeing the joy and relief in the people we’ve helped, knowing that we finally have a real solution for families like mine, and that caring for loved ones across borders can be easier, more trusted and more possible.

As a career social impact professional for over two decades, I have immersed myself in underserved households and communities in the Philippines and Asia Pacific, through the lenses of Public Health Management and Health Care Financing. Sadly, challenges surrounding access to quality health care services persist, as public- and private-led solutions roll out at varying degrees.

Seeing an opportunity to contribute to a solution that can directly impact the health and well-being of migrant-sponsored Filipino families, it was an easy choice for me to sign on to ManoHealth. Providing families a network of support made up of advocates, coordinators and medical professionals can ease the burden for Filipinos overseas, offering a wonderfully simple solution that is long overdue.

It’s also easy to imagine how a single health event can be debilitating for the average Filipino household, including mine. A father lost to cancer and an elderly mother pushing against chronic symptoms are elements in my life that feed into my aspirations for other families.

With gratitude and hope, I envision ManoHealth building a community of families secure in the knowledge that however vulnerable they may be, there is an even stronger network of support committed to their health and well-being.