How Private Home Care Preserves Dignity and Independence

Speed of Response

This, too, was important for us as my mother declined.

Our situation was rapid. We found out about cancer in April, and my mom passed away in August; even with chemotherapy, there was not much that could slow the cancer’s growth – we had caught it too late.

This meant my father and I needed the 24-hour private home care services as much as my mom did. My dad was stressed and couldn’t handle being the family caregiver. He was still processing the situation.

Understandably, he was barely hanging on. A caregiver in the home overnight allowed him to sleep, even if it was a little.

Medical Emergencies

It allowed him peace of mind of knowing that my mom was okay and there would be someone there to wake him in case an emergency arose.

For families, having that peace of mind allows them to rest. It allows them to breathe and process the situation they are in.

For most, this is the first time being a family caregiver. They are thrust into the pool’s deep end, not knowing if they will sink or swim. Having a caregiver as a backup allows them to know they are not alone and can take a break if only for an hour or two, to take a nap.

Private Home Caregivers

As for caregivers, too often, they are forgotten and treated poorly.

Many clients love and support their caregivers, but you would be surprised how many clients’ family members will have a lack of respect for their caregivers.

Even worse are many agencies. Caregivers are recruited by dozens of agencies each year. Still, many have horror stories of not getting paid, being treated like a commodity rather than a person, and being downright disrespectful.

In all of these scenarios, it is important to take everything with a grain of salt, as there are two sides to every story, but the point is many caregivers feel like they are forgotten by their employees, clients, or both parties.

The nature of the private home care business does create that situation.

Caregivers are needed in a crisis, and then once things have stabilized, someone has moved to a facility, or has passed away, the relationship is over. As quickly as they were needed, they were not.

But caregivers mourn their clients, especially after providing private home care services for months or years.

Caregiver Recognition

We visit our caregivers to reward them with the Caregiver of the Month award, which includes flowers, a gift card, a certificate, and a picture with the boss – many are emotional, break down into tears, are speechless, and FaceTime with their friends and family members.

I don’t think this is because of the flowers or the gift card, or me, the boss, for that matter. It is the well-deserved respect and dignity they are getting.

It is recognition for them. Many of our caregivers are from Africa and have been away from family for years, working 90 hours per week with multiple families and agencies.

Meanwhile, many agencies never recognize the efforts they put forth.

Key Takeaways

When people ask what I do, I probably should say something like, “I run a business that provides caregivers the ability to give senior dignity as they age-in-place and provides peace of mind to their adult-children that they are safe at home,” but that is a mouthful.

Overall, that is the problem we are solving.

We give seniors dignity and help them age at home.

As a result, they have as much independence as possible without resorting to a nursing home.

We give their children the peace of mind and confidence that they are making the right decision keeping their parents safe in their own home and allowing them to sleep a little easier.