While working as the intake coordinator for Family Private Care, I had the privilege of working with families to arrange home care for their loved ones. It usually began with a call from a stressed-out daughter or son who is handling his/her parents’ care. At Family Private Care, our goal is to find the best care for every person’s parent. Listening to the adult child as they tell their story is integral to understanding the care needs of the client.
I had one particular case that stands out in my memory. A daughter called whose mother had been living at home at 86 years old and had been doing well. Unfortunately, she fell and broke her hip. After spending a week in the hospital and 2 months in rehab her mom wanted to return home. The daughter lived nearby but worked full time and her siblings were out of state. She questioned “How can you make this possible for my mom?”
I simply said, “This is what we do!” Family Private Care makes it possible for people to stay in their home with support by professional caregivers, including Companions, Personal Home Care Aides, LPNs and RNs. After gathering some more basic information we began to match the client with the best caregiver. Since this was the daughter’s first experience traversing the senior healthcare isna, I wanted to help her as much as I could. Making sure families are educated about the process ensures that everyone is on the same page and makes the transition easier.
During those initial intake calls with clients, we try to ascertain as much helpful information as possible. We ask about long term care insurance. If the client has this type of insurance, we encourage the family to call the Long Term Care Insurance company and learn every detail about the policy so we can help her use it for in-home care and be compliant with the policy. We also ask if the client is a Veteran. The VA has a program called Aid and Attendance, which can provide in-home services, when needed. We can also direct the family to other agencies for additional support and assistance, if requested or needed.
Making sure that families understand our role and how we can help them is essential to this process. We want to see our clients’ need met and the families to feel empowered and informed about each step. Calling Family Private Care to gain information about in home care for yourself or a loved one is a critical first step in meeting long term care needs. We are here to help 24/7 and provide education and support. We welcome your call!
That first call many years ago led to a happy client and daughter as they found they caregiving help they desperately needed. Several years later, when care was no longer needed, it was deeply rewarding to hear from that daughter again about how much help Family Private Care and each caregiver had been. We exist to help and support others in need and love every minute doing it!