Caring Companions Of Atlanta

Helping People Live With Dignity

470-514-5954

What’s Better than a 5-Star Client Review?!

How about a 5-Star caregiver review?

Last week, we started a new caregiver with one of our long-time clients. Like every time before we followed our process which is pretty intuitive to us. It sets everyone…the client, caregiver and us up for success. We did the following:

Meet Cjay!
  • Alignment: We used our knowledge of the client and our care plan and recruited for a caregiver we believed would be a great fit for that specific situation. Personality fit, knowledge of the conditions the client is living with, etc.
  • The offer: Once we found a good match, Suzanne, our Office Manager shared the care plan with the candidate to see if she felt the same…that she would be a fit. She agreed and we offered her the job
  • Care plan formal review and training: At that point, Gail, our Geriatric RN, reached out to the caregiver and thoroughly took her through the care plan and everything she should be aware of entering the care environment (client preferences, things to watch out for, etc.)
  • Introduction: Next, we introduced the caregiver. To do that, Cjay, our Caregiver Supervisor set up a time with the client to stop by and make the introduction. When the caregiver arrived, Cjay was waiting for her in front of the client’s residence. Cjay asked if she had any questions to make sure she was good and the two proceeded to go knock on the client’s door
  • Shadowing: Because Cjay is very familiar with the case (as she is every client case) she stayed with the caregiver for a couple hours to make sure things went well

To us this was business as usual. As we always do, we called both the client and caregiver after the first shift to see how things went.

After learning all went well, we were surprised to get a call back from our new caregiver. She said she had to call and tell us she could not believe we went to such great lengths to set her up to succeed.

She went on to say that she NEVER had anyone go over the care plan twice….much less the Office Manager and a Geriatric RN. She continued by saying that she was blown away when Cjay met her outside. She’d never actually been introduced! Normally, she said, she was simply sent to a house she’d never been to all by herself to meet a client. She continued by saying having Cjay introduce her to the client and subsequently stay to make sure things went well enabled her to feel none of the awkwardness that is common when starting a new job.

She gave us 5-STARS!

OK…to be honest, we know not all home care companies do what we do. That being said, we certainly never tire of hearing from a caregiver (or client) about how happy they are having us on their team. It all traces back to our goals. Quality and continuity of care leading to positive outcomes for the families we serve, the caregivers on our team and the management team at Caring Companions.

Adam

 

Trouble Finding a Caregiver?

Join the club!

Take a look at some statistics from CNN Business:

  • The senior population is projected to reach 83.7 million by 2025 (twenty percent of the total US population)
  • The US will need to hire 2.3 million new health care workers by 2025 in order to adequately take care of its aging population
  • The largest number of new job openings — about 423,200 — will be for home health aides

Layer on the above that pay rates for caregivers are low (which affects the pipeline of new caregivers entering the marketplace) and you can see a big problem ahead.

tlantaHome-Care-in--GAA good friend of mine, Cindi Gatton Principal of Pathfinder Patient Advocacy Group http://www.pathfinderpatientadvocacy.com/ penned a BLOG article that underscores the caregiver crisis. A link to her article is below:

The Caregiving Crisis

As the owner of a home care company we run into endless inquiries by families looking for a caregiver 10-20 hours a week. They are not yet ready for full time care but need some help. Sadly, as the caregiver shortage intensifies, getting such help is very, very difficult. And if they do find an agency willing to give it a try, inevitably, there will be caregiver turnover. Who wants to work 10-20 hours a week when there are endless 40+ hour jobs available?! Caregivers are always in the hunt for more hours. They too need to put food on the table.

For those in the hunt for care, brace for a couple of changes. Look for more home care companies to required more hours-a-week and longer shifts and also be prepared to pay more as demand goes up. Supply and demand in play. And care giving is not an easy job.

To all those caregivers out there that see what they do as a calling, recognize your value to those you help and keep fighting the good fight. We appreciate all you do!

Adam

 

 

 

The Reality VS. the Expectation of Getting a (great) Caregiver: The Care Giving Conundrum

This is the first in a series of posts that will define the reality of care giving vs the expectations most families have as they enter the care giving journey. We will also offer tips on how to make that journey successful.

Part One: The Great Care Giving Conundrum.

OK, seems simple enough. Mom or dad finally drops his or her resistance and decides to try a caregiver. All I have to do is call a home care company and tell them to have a caregiver here tomorrow. Well, yes and no. If all you want is a warm body and it does not matter if it is the same body day-to-day, you can likely find a company that can deliver.

The truth is, finding a great caregiver is a process and not a light switch you just flip on.

Understand the Great Care Giving Conundrum.

The conundrum is a simple, yet very unbalanced equation. People in need of assistance usually wait as long as they can before getting it…and, when they do, they want as little help as possible. On the other side of the equation, most caregivers want to work as many hours as they can.

It makes sense…for the person in need, it represents them starting to lose their independence. It also means dipping into the ever-cherished bank account.  I don’t know about you, but neither of those appeals to me very much! Often times, their ask is driven more by family hounding them to get help rather than their perceived need. So, they ask for a little help. Keeps it easy to stomach and affordable.

Back to the caregivers…as a whole, caregivers are largely underpaid (not because home care companies don’t want to pay them well, but the market sets the price).  Plus, they have families to take care of.  They don’t just want lots of hours, they NEED lots of hours to pay the rent and put food on the table.

The Request.

So, when the inevitable request comes in from a  family for two four-hour shifts a week, we normally have to politely explain that the odds of us finding a great caregiver that wants that kind of work is very slim. They (the family) are not at fault for asking…how would they know!? Seems like a reasonable request. The truth is, however, even if we could find a caregiver that agreed to work mini-shifts like that, the likelihood of them sticking around and being reliable is very low. It’s not that they are bad people…they just will leave when an assignment with more hours comes up. Food on the table.

So, they key learning here is as follows:

  • Be aware of the conundrum when you engineer you request to a home care company. Almost all of us got in this business because we love to help people. But we cannot help if we are not set up to succeed
  • Know that should short, infrequent shifts be the “ask,” you might have trouble finding a home care company that will accept your business. If one does , the body they deliver will likely be different shift-to-shift

Next up…the fallacy that no one can care for mom or dad as well as you can.

Happy reading!

Adam

 

 

 

Roswell Rotary Steps Up to Help Older Adults Age Well

Fourteen months ago I honestly did not even know what Rotary was! Now I am a proud member of Roswell Rotary, a group of wonderful people that literally live the Rotary mantra of “service above self.”

A great example of just that took place last week. I serve on the senior committee at Rotary and we orchestrated a senior education session which took place on March 22nd. The event was focused on providing older adults with information on the many resources available to people as they age. There really are a lot and the space continues to grow…think senior move specialists…tech training for seniors, etc. Interestingly, however, many seniors are unaware of what’s out there.

 

So why is this quickly growing business sector largely unknown to many seniors? Simple…no one wants to admit they need help. Losing one’s independence is a very hard “pill” to swallow and engaging senior resources (to many folks) means the beginning of the end. Truth is, a little advance planning can change one’s aging forecast significantly and make the inevitable much more palatable overall. As my good friend and our Care Coordinator #Lynn Ross told me, there are two kinds of planning in the senior space. Advance and crisis. We hope to get as many families as possible to be in the advance category. Advance planning means choices. Crisis planning, not-so-much!

 

We had an all-star cast at the event last week and I was humbled to act as master of ceremonies. The Roswell Rotary Senior committee was great pulling it all together and thanks to the 14 senor care professionals that gave their time to help educate a large group of  older adults. Sectors represented included (but were not limited to):

  • Senior living options
  • Hospice
  • Home care
  • Eldercare law
  • Long term care insurance
  • Community resources and support groups
  • Day-to-day money management
  • Occupational therapy
  • Alternatives to traditional healthcare
  • Senior-focused moving services/downsizing

 

Happy learning!

 

Adam

 

 

How Can You Deal with Constantly Worrying about Your Aging Family Member?

As a family caregiver, it’s not feasible to simply tell yourself not to worry about your senior family member. What you can do, however, is to accept the worry for what it is, let it go, and come up with solutions that will actually help.

 

Elder Care in Decatur GA: Caregiver Worry
Elder Care in Decatur GA: Caregiver Worry

 

 

Examine Your Worries Closely

Most of the time when you are worried about something, you’re more likely to try to ignore the concern and not think about it. But when you tell yourself not to think about something, that becomes one of your most prevalent thoughts. Instead, try taking that worry and really looking at it closely. Figure out what is causing this worry and why it’s such a big concern for you. Don’t let it go for a long time.

 

Stop Berating Yourself for Being Worried

Giving up a big worry is really difficult to do. If you keep telling yourself to stop and that you really shouldn’t be worried, you’re going to feel guilty every time that you run into that worry again. Since you’re trying to resolve this concern, beating yourself up over it is not going to help. Resolve now to accept this worry and that you’re going to find a solution.

 

Find Ways to Let Go of Your Worries

There’s a funny truth about worry. When you look closely at it and stop trying to ignore it, you might find that it resolves on its own. Even if it doesn’t, there are things you can do that will help. The next time that you encounter this worry, remind yourself that a solution is in the works.

 

Do What You Can Now to Eliminate Causes of Worry

Sit down and make a list of what possible solutions can resolve the situation creating your concern. For example, if you’re worried because your senior still lives alone, brainstorm what could potentially make you feel less concerned. This might include having family members stopping by more often, hiring elderly care providers, or talking to your elderly family member about changing her living situation.

Worrying doesn’t do you any good, but you already know that. What it can do is show you where you need to take steps in order to keep your elderly family member as safe as possible.

 

If you or an aging family member are considering elder care in Decatur, GA, please contact the caring staff at Caring Companions of Atlanta 470-514-5954.