Aged to Perfection

When families are seeking companionship for their loved ones—especially within retirement homes or long term care centres—some families are surprised that the minimum companionship visit is three hours.  The reason we have minimums is to fulfill our mission and philosophy of care. Within the context of long term care, there is another element that is also crucial and that is providing your loved one with one-on-one undivided attention.

One-on-One Undivided Attention

One of the reasons that companionship services are so beneficial within long term care homes is your loved one receives one-on-one undivided attention.  Of course, there are wonderful staff members in the long term care home who are providing various types of care and assistance, but their attention is not undivided. 

They are typically rushing off to attend to the next resident because there are so many people who are in need, all at the same time.  Your loved one can feel this. They can feel the sense that someone is hurrying along, or watching the clock, or checking a pager or other device. While completely unintended, your loved one might not feel important at that moment.

Our companionship services are an antidote to the rushing around and unfocused attention they’re receiving.  Our caregivers slow right down and sit with your loved one.  They’ll exude a sense of peace and calm that says “I’m here for you, and I’m not rushing anywhere else.”  Because they have the luxury of time (at least three hours), they are not watching the clock, they are not rushing off to attend to other residents. They are focused entirely on your loved one giving much-needed undivided attention for hours on end. 

We have served many clients in long term care who are in the very late stages of dementia.  In many cases, these clients have very little verbal communication left.  Many would say that they are past being able to recognize faces, and certainly beyond knowing names. 

How Our Services Make an Impact

We served one such lady at a long term care home in Kitchener.  She was non-verbal and most of the time her head hung low. She rarely made eye contact and only groaned occasionally.  When family enlisted our help, many others wondered why they even bothered having a caregiver visit. Others assumed this woman could not benefit from a companionship visit since she couldn’t converse.

We paired this woman with a caregiver who had a particular knack for connecting with people who are non-verbal.  The caregiver spent hours with this woman, slowly getting to know her and understand her body language. She developed trust and rapport with this woman. Before long, the elderly woman was responding to the caregiver’s voice. 

The woman could be sitting in her wheelchair, slumped over with her head drooping, but at the sound of the caregiver’s voice, she would suddenly open her eyes and lift her head.  When the caregiver was within sight her eyes would sparkle.  She knew that the caregiver was there to see her personally.  That caregiver wasn’t there to help everyone; she wasn’t there to do activities with or entertain the whole crowd. She was there for the sole purpose of being with this particular woman, and the woman knew that and responded to that individual attention.

This woman—who many might have disregarded as being unresponsive or too progressed with dementia to bother providing companionship—clearly benefitted hugely.  We’ll never know how much she comprehended the caregiver’s one-sided conversation, but we know that she comprehended the feelings elicited by the caregiver. The woman felt noticed and appreciated, she felt valued and she recognized that the caregiver was there for her alone.

That is why we provide companionship to clients regardless of their physical or mental diagnoses or conditions.  Making that woman’s day, providing her with a sense of joy and moments of contentment and fulfilment are what it’s all about.  Would you like to have the same for your loved one?

Contact us today!

In a few months, your parents will be celebrating their 62nd wedding anniversary. After more than six decades together, they’re practically inseparable. Their staunch European background has rendered them rather emotionally reserved, but of course, they love each other in their own quiet way.

Your mother was the queen of the domestic domain, cooking, cleaning, raising children, and managing the household. Your father worked hard to provide for the family and took care of the yard, cars, and handyman jobs. His way of demonstrating love to his family was to work hard and provide well. These roles worked well for your parents through decades of marriage and countless life challenges.

Facing New Challenges

But now your mother has Parkinson’s Disease. It has been progressing over the past few years, and what started as a minor tremor in her left arm has now become debilitating. She struggles with tasks that require dexterity because her tremor is so pronounced. Her walking gait is halting and unsteady, and she has fallen numerous times. She has trouble keeping track of the medications she is supposed to be taking every four hours to help manage her symptoms. Basic daily tasks such as getting dressed are now proving to be a challenge. More complex tasks such as cooking or baking are pretty much out of the question.

Your father dearly loves your mother, but he is entirely ill-equipped to provide the help that she needs. He proudly declares that he can’t even boil water; he has never cooked a day in his life. He has been depending on ordering takeout food, but your parents are already tired of fast food. When it comes to helping your mother get dressed, he is flummoxed by her undergarments and embarrassed about helping her to dress. His no-nonsense, high-efficiency mentality made him an excellent businessman, but those same traits are not helpful when trying to assist his wife in getting dressed. It’s not a stellar start to their day when getting dressed becomes a major mission and sets the tone for the day.

Although your parents insist that they’ve gotten this far by weathering life’s storms together, it’s time for some expert assistance. While your father has many great talents and skills, providing personal care and household assistance are not his specialties. Your mother deserves the care and attention that a trained caregiver can provide.

Benefits of Professional Care

A professional caregiver can support your mother's physical needs and set her up for success each day. This includes making the morning routine feel like daily pampering instead of a chore. A caregiver can spend time doing her hair and makeup and helping her select her outfit and jewelry for the day so she can maintain the poised appearance she always prided herself on.

Your father wants this outcome for your mother—he wants her to feel well each day, to look her best, take pride in her appearance, and start each day strong. He may just need help recognizing that he isn’t the best one to provide this support. His heart is in the right place, but he has limited life experience in this department, and for your mother’s sake, it is worth it to enlist a professional who can make an enormous difference.

It is okay to acknowledge that everyone has different skills, strengths, and life experiences. Your father has many valuable skills that made him an excellent businessman. He continues to use those skills to manage household finances and monitor their stock portfolio. But he is ill-equipped to manage the nuances that come with personal care and supporting his wife through her Parkinson’s journey.

Enlisting additional support does not mean that he does not love his wife sufficiently to help her; it means he loves her enough to ensure that she has the professional and experienced care that she deserves.

Let your father play to his strengths and let us demonstrate our caregiving strengths to support your mother in her journey.