Welcome to Here for You HomeCare. Please allow me to tell you a little bit about us and our newly formed company. My husband, Chris and I built this business from the ground up with our hearts, heads, hands and souls. After years of frustration watching the caregiving our parents were receiving in other cities, we felt like we could do a much better job. Even though we can’t personally care for our parents, we know there is a generation of “kids” just like us who feel helpless in their efforts to assist their aging parents living here in the Dallas area. We want to be here for you and for your loved ones.
After 20+ years in the education field as everything from an aide in an elementary school to a teacher and even chairperson of the special education department in a large high school, I have seen kids…students, even young adults with every conceivable background, issue and learning style. I knew I could use those same loving and caring qualities I had always possessed to help “the greatest generation” stay at home while living and growing old with dignity and grace.
While Chris has worked for the past 25 years in the telecom industry, he has acquired all of the business and accounting skills needed to incorporate and then manage a business. He has spent numerous hours and days caring for and providing financial advice and tax consultations with our aging grandparents, parents and aunts. I have witnessed first hand the kind and caring manner in which he lovingly, yet also determinedly helped his mother struggle with the most appropriate care for his dying father.
After making the huge decision and financial commitment to take this leap, we have spent the past 6 months studying, learning and taking classes on every conceivable aspect of a non-medical home care business. We even traveled to Michigan to complete an industry orientation and seminar. We have hired many wonderful, caring people of all ages and backgrounds who have a genuine desire to provide compassionate care to you or your loved one. From a technological aspect, we have purchased the use of the most advanced software to help us match these caregivers with the client based on a variety of skills, likes and dislikes. We also employ the use of telephony, an advanced phone-in system performing the time clock functions.
As you all have heard countless times, we are the “sandwich generation”, caught between our busy schedules with our children and helping our parents struggle with their increasingly difficult daily tasks. But here’s one I just recently heard for the first time, “the powdered butt syndrome.” Our parents do not want to listen to or receive care from someone whose behinds they used to powder. This is where an in-home care agency like ours can step in and help.
Here is what AARP has to say about in-home care:
Choosing an Agency for In-Home Care
There's no place like home.
That's why most people want to stay there as they age. However, sometimes people need in-home help to remain at home.
Homemaker services for household duties and non-medical personal care are provided by home care agencies. This could include preparing meals, bathing, dressing or moving around the house. Depending on the state, these agencies may or may not be licensed.
If you are considering hiring an agency to help a parent or other loved
one remain at home, there are things you need to think about and questions you should ask in order to get the highest quality of care available. You want to select an agency that will provide the services you need. Start by identifying what types of services you need. A doctor, care manager, or hospital discharge planner can help you with this list.Once a list of agencies is made:
- Call the agencies and ask them some initial questions about their services, costs and certification.
- Make appointments to meet with those that sound promising.
- When you meet in person, ask the rest of your questions and any others that come to mind.
The people providing services will have direct contact with your parent or loved one, so you will want to know as much about theirqualifications and experience as possible.
I can proudly say that Chris and I both meet with each potential caregiver to decide if they possess the personal qualities necessary to provide compassionate care to someone just like our mother or father. If they pass this meeting and a skills test, we conduct a rigorous background check including criminal, sex offender and misconduct registries, proof of vehicle insurance and driver’s license as well as phone calls to verify previous employment and personal references. All of that is followed up with a drug test and finally a thorough orientation and training session before they become an employee of Here for You HomeCare, where we provide insurance and pay all applicable taxes. After meeting with your family and completing a comprehensive safety check, we devise a plan of care to meet all of your loved one’s needs. Then and only then do we allow the caregiver ,who meets your requirements, into your home.
I hope that you and your family will take a look at us and what we have to offer…check us out at www.hereforyouhomecare.com and then give us a call. We would be honored to help your family ease into this time when we become the care providers or overseers as opposed to the ones receiving the care. I hope you’ll come back and read my blog again. I will be providing helpful tips, current articles and maybe even some personal experience as I watch from afar while my own mother begins hospice care in another Texas city.
See you soon, Jan
