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Mom Took Care of You -- Now the Tables are Turned
There's nothing like a mother's love. Whether she was making your school lunch, giving you a pep talk after a disappointment, acting as your biggest cheerleader, or spoiling your kids, Mom was always there for you.
Perhaps that's why it is so difficult for grown children to accept the fact that they are not always able to take care of an aging mother themselves. In a perfect world, you would be able to take care of your aging parent in your home or theirs, relying only on family to help you. But the reality is that caring for an aging or ill parent is a full-time job that can take a toll on the caregiver; add to that the demands of raising a family, working, and other responsibilities, and chances are you'll need a little assistance along the way.
That's where Visiting Angels of Pikesville comes in. We are part of a national network of franchised non-medical senior homecare agencies, providing senior homecare to help elderly and older adults continue to live in their homes. Our caring, experienced home caregivers provide up to 24-hour care in the comfort of the client's own home.
Unlike most service agencies that assign staff and schedule appointments with little input from their clients, Visiting Angels representatives begin by meeting with potential clients in order to get to know them. We also talk with involved family members, and when necessary, a person's physician or social worker in order to develop an individualized program to manage the particular daily needs of each care recipient. Clients meet their caregivers prior to care starting, and the client and his/her family have the final say in the selection process, ensuring that the match will be a good one.
You can be confident that your caregiver is qualified and has excellent references. "Character counts," says Dave Pyser, Executive Director of Visiting Angels of Pikesville. "We build relationships with families and hire only experienced caregivers who pass a rigorous screening process."
"We want our clients to look forward to a visit by their caregiver," says Pyser. "That's why the client is in complete control from start to finish." After the caregiver has been placed in your home, the company continues its personalized contact through telephone check-in and home visits to make sure you and your caregiver are a good match.
Although Visiting Angels are non-medical caregivers, they can provide a vital link in patient care. In cases where seniors are coming home from the hospital or a nursing home, the agency will consult with doctors, nursing home staff, social workers, physical therapists, and of course, the family, to establish each client's personalized needs. In addition, although Visiting Angels do not dispense drugs, we can help monitor whether the patient is taking their medication.
Because caregivers have access to a great deal of health information about their clients, Visiting Angels is one of very few national non-medical senior homecare providers to be compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). "Such information is very sensitive, and all of our clients deserve the protection that HIPAA compliancy can provide," says Pyser. Many families request we take their parent(s) to their Doctor for scheduled appointments, so we can keep the family in the loop.
In addition to offering joyful companionship, Visiting Angels will also do light housekeeping, run errands, prepare meals or do shopping -- other ways they can provide a respite for families dealing with the care of a loved one.
For more information, visit our
website or call 410.218.9506.
Courtesy of ARA Content
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