Get quality home care through Visiting Angels
By Ashley Puderbaugh
Published December 2010
Women’s Edition magazine
Over the next few years, approximately 47 million baby boomers in the United States already are—or soon will be—facing the role of caregiver to a relative or elderly friend, an event that no doubt will change many lives. At the same time, countless numbers of seniors also will be charged with caring for a chronically ill spouse. Currently, more than 65 million people, or 29 percent of the U.S. population, provide care for a chronically ill, disabled or aged family member or friend during any given year, according to the 2009 report, “Caregiving in the United States,” by the National Alliance for Caregiving in collaboration with AARP.
Over the next few years, approximately 47 million baby boomers in the United States already are—or soon will be—facing the role of caregiver to a relative or elderly friend, an event that no doubt will change many lives. At the same time, countless numbers of seniors also will be charged with caring for a chronically ill spouse. Currently, more than 65 million people, or 29 percent of the U.S. population, provide care for a chronically ill, disabled or aged family member or friend during any given year, according to the 2009 report, “Caregiving in the United States,” by the National Alliance for Caregiving in collaboration with AARP.
Visiting Angels franchise owner Jim Elliot believes every one of us will have an opportunity to be caregivers in our lifetime. “People are living longer, things are costing more all the time, and most of us have incomes that are not going to go up over time, so it’s bound to get harder on all of us, but especially seniors,” he explains.
According to the report, caregivers currently spend an average of 20 hours per week providing care for their loved one. Add to that a full day’s workload, caring for children, or countless other activities, and one can see how that might take its toll on a caregiver.
Numerous resources are available for caregivers, says Jim. Among them is Visiting Angels, a national network of nonmedical, private-duty home-care agencies that provide senior, elder, personal, respite, and companion care. The company aims to help the elderly and adults continue to live in their homes across America.
“Visiting Angels can help caregivers be better,” Jim shares. “Care-giving is a marathon, not a sprint. The biggest threat to caregivers is burn out. So we can take their place while they take a break.”
Jim knows a thing or two about caring for the elderly. A charismatic man who radiates positive energy, Jim volunteers his time at the Shepherd’s Center of KC Central, a nonprofit born from the concept of older adults caring for each other, and Meals on Wheels, which is a program run by Shepherd’s Center. He says he first became interested in care-giving as he grew older. “Honestly, I love the people and I like the idea of learning how to grow old,” he says, laughing.
“I’ve been able to learn about myself, and in my saner moments, I realize how fortunate I am,” Jim shares, laughing again. What’s his biggest life lesson that has come out of his job? “Patience and acceptance—the key to growing old as gracefully as possible is attitude and acceptance.”
Jim and manager Betty Neely run a Visiting Angels franchise that serves the entire Kansas City metro and surrounding suburbs. Caregivers may be hired to provide a temporary respite for family members or for a long-term engagement—up to 24 hours of care. Services they provide include hygiene assistance, meal preparation, light housekeeping, errands, shopping, and companionship. They are available to visit the client in their own home on a live-in or live-out basis, during daytime or evening hours, and on weekends and holidays.
Unlike most service agencies that assign staff and schedule appointments with little input from their clients, the Visiting Angels representatives begin by meeting with potential clients in order to get to know them. They also talk with current caregivers and, when necessary, they consult with the physician of the care recipient, social workers, hospitals, and/or nursing home staff. Working with the family, they develop an individualized program to manage the particular daily needs of each care recipient.
Clients also participate in selecting their own caregivers, says Jim. “They can try a caregiver that we recommend to decide if it will work. When they choose their own caregiver, there’s a better chance of everything working out.”
Each caregiver at Visiting Angels goes through multiple interviews and a background check, Betty explains. “On my team, they cannot just go in and sit down and read a book until the client asks them to do something. They have to get to know them. How else will they know what to do for a client until they get to know them?”
Another benefit to choosing professional home care is that Visiting Angels will not dictate to you what your schedule will be. It is the caregiver’s job to adjust to your schedule and to see to it that you remain comfortable in your own home. After the caregiver has been placed in your home, Betty says she continually monitors them through telephone check-ins and home visits.
Visiting Angels was first established in 1991 to provide alternatives for elderly adults who would rather remain at home instead of moving to a nursing facility. Founder Jeffrey Johnson, a licensed social worker, found that many caregivers were frustrated by the lack of options for seniors. To respond to the needs of his own family, Jeffrey opened a nonmedical home-care agency that could provide personalized assistance for older adults, allowing them to remain in their own homes and to keep their own schedules. Because of the need for this type of service, others wanted to get involved. In 1998, Jeffrey and three partners established Visiting Angels as a national network, and today, there are more than 200 franchises in the country.
When searching for assistance in homecare or looking for a more long-term arrangement for a loved one, Jim recommends searching online for home care agencies. Online checklists geared specifically toward helping caregivers find home care agencies will be especially helpful to use in your search. “There are a lot of resources out there now,” he says. “You just have to dig deep for them.” One such resource is the KC Caregiver Support Line, a free service developed with the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Social Work and the University of Kansas Landon Center on Aging. The support line connects caregivers of seniors with specific programs and services that will meet their individual needs, says Jim. The support line phone number is 816-444-1122.
For more information about Visiting Angels, go to the national Web site. Jim and Betty understand that affordability is the No. 1 priority among their clients, so they have priced their services competitively, starting at just $50 for a minimum of three hours. To contact Betty, call her office at 816-531-1117, or call her directly at 816-645-6139. Jim can be reached at 816-686-7268.
