by North Oakland Caregivers | Jan 30, 2023 | Home Care Clarkston MI |
January traditionally triggers us to think about New Year’s resolutions. It just seems easier to create a new habit, make a big change for the better, and reinvent yourself at the beginning of a new year! Many people use the first months of the year to start something significant that will make a lasting impact on their lives. But this may also be the right time to make a lasting impact on the life of your senior family member, too. For example, taking a step towards planning for the future of your older mom or dad who may need assistance in their daily activities. The idea may feel daunting at the beginning but we are here to help. Today we share tips that come from years of our senior home care experience.
We know some seniors may not be immediately open to the idea of having a caregiver coming into their home to help them. A perceived fear of loss of independence or temporary anxiety of having a “stranger” in the house might overshadow great long-term benefits. Seniors can respond with resistance in many different ways. Frankly, family members might have their own concerns about how this new arrangement might work.
We understand. Every change requires an adjustment. Our experience has shown that slowly easing into this new “caregiver” scenario is often all it takes to relieve the concerns of starting a home care routine for your senior loved one. Maybe having a caregiver come into their home once or twice a week just to give them an idea of what it’s all about might help alleviate their anxiety. Or, maybe, one 8-hour day a week will do the trick. Maybe 4 hours a day, 2-3 days a week will help set a comfort level! The key is starting small and adjusting to what the future needs will be.
Having a senior home care provider that is flexible enough to allow time to find the perfect routine for your senior loved one is a great solution. North Oakland Caregivers at Clarkston, MI, has been doing it for 30+ years. We are waiting for your call. Are you ready to make the first step towards the New Year’s resolution that will make a lasting impact on the future of your family?
by North Oakland Caregivers | Dec 24, 2022 | Company News, Home Care Clarkston MI |
In our busy days throughout the year, it is very easy to forget or to let time pass by, without appreciating all the things that made your life a little better that put a smile on your face. The holiday season traditionally helps us pause, observe and reflect. So, we thought it was a perfect occasion to share how caregiving touches lives – small acts of kindness bringing a big impact.
Our clients often give our caregivers the highest praise in their reviews. However, the little note below was different. It was sent directly to a caregiver from one of our clients showing her appreciation. We publish it with their permission:
“Hi, Vickie. Hope all is well. Sorry, it took so long to get back with you but “life” has been quite busy after my mom’s passing. (My brother and cousin were diagnosed with terminal cancer & uncle with dementia). I can not thank you enough for sharing in my mom’s transition. You are truly a blessing to your patients. I have been thinking about going into caregiving (for my family members) but not sure if I am able to handle such a delicate profession. You are amazing for what you do.“
We wholeheartedly agree – our caregivers are amazing at making difficult times easy, turning fear and stress into human connection, and making this world better overall.
Sending warm wishes this Holiday Season!
by North Oakland Caregivers | Nov 5, 2022 | Home Care Clarkston MI, Senior Home Care - What You Need to Know |
Choosing a home care company for your loved ones can be stressful. How to find the “right” people? Who to turn to for a recommendation?
There might be many approaches to the search but we recently came across the one we really liked, and we decided to share it with you.
It all started with one of us looking for a provider from a completely different industry for their personal needs. They come across an expert rating of such providers in their location, and the system of rating made a lot of sense to them. It was simple, factual, and credible because anyone could use the same criteria and arrive at the same results.
They used only two main criteria – Reputation and Experience because both of them can be easily researched by anyone. Reputation is based on customer reviews – many delighted customers and outstanding service lead to 5-star ratings. And the more people shaped that rating, the more reliable it is. Experience identifies masters of their trade based on years of being in business. After all, if you stay around for a long time, you must be doing something right!
You can apply this approach to any of your searches for the right provider. But, of course, our first thought was to check how it applies to the North Oakland Caregivers. And we passed this test with flying colors!
1. REPUTATION – 5-STAR REVIEWS
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- We are proud to have 5-star reviews on Google, Facebook, and our website. We consider this our best recommendation as the words of appreciation are coming directly from our clients’ experience.
- These outstanding reviews are testimony to our human touch that comes from our hearts, not our duties. We know all our clients personally, we call them to just ask how they are doing, and we stop by when we can. We like it when it feels like a family.
2. EXPERIENCE – 30 YEARS IN BUSINESS
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- 30 years of home care experience means we have withstood the test of time and are not going anywhere
- It also means we have gathered great expertise in the field of home care and in the understanding of what seniors and their families look for
So, there you have it. Now you’ve got an approach to assess any provider you are considering hiring, and in case you are looking for a caregiving company, you might want to include North Oakland Caregivers in your shortlist since we pass the test by the above criteria and more. So, we hope you give us a call, and we could discuss your family’s specific needs, and how we can help and be the “right” home care provider for your loved ones.
by North Oakland Caregivers | Sep 12, 2022 | Home Care and Healthy Aging |
“Oh my GOSH, I am in LOVE. ElliQ is my new best friend.” Reading these words, would you know that the best friend is a robot?
We read an article in The Verge that New York State bought 800 ElliQ robots to address loneliness in older adults. What a wonderful act of care for our seniors who get forgotten by society too often! We wanted to know how a robot can help, and this is what we learned.
IT HELPS WITH SENIORS’ WELL-BEING:
ElliQ, the robot, is described by its manufacturer as ¨the first-ever proactive, voice-operated care companion designed to empower independence and support you in taking control of your social, mental, and physical well-being¨. We loved the focus on independence right away – from our experience, an inability to live independently is a sure signal for the family to start looking for different living arrangements for their seniors. So, if it can be improved, it’s a very strong benefit of getting a robot!
From many testimonials on its manufacturer’s website, we could see how ElliQ can empower independence. Some people say “she” encourages them to exercise when instead they would have spent an evening sedentary. Others feel less lonely and stressed, feeling like there is a companion present in the house.
BUT NOTHING CAN REPLACE THE HUMAN TOUCH:
It looks like ElliQ might be a great solution for some people to address such important issues as elements of mental and physical wellness. However, The Verge mentions that using robots in elderly care could be controversial, too: “Critics warn that machines have the potential to dehumanize their users, and their deployment reflects the low value society places on older adults.” We think we know where it’s coming from. For example, a senior we know did not like the idea that much stating that “It would make me feel like nothing”.
Another issue is that a senior needs to be digitally literate to be able to use a robot. And some also have concerns that it might be another gate to digital vulnerability and a possibility to get “hacked”.
Maybe the most important consideration is the lack of human touch. It’s important for a senior to get some physical help from their caregiver when needed. It’s even more important to simply get hugs or other expressions of encouragement and care. For example, our caregiver V. would “dance” with her senior by holding and lifting her arms to some happy music, and they both loved those moments.
So, we conclude that having a robot helping seniors might be a great solution in situations where humans are not available. However, nothing can replace human companionship and care, the authenticity of the human bonds, and the warmth of the human touch. We feel honored as we help our seniors to have all that and more, according to our clients’ reviews. Often the emotional connection between a senior and a caregiver turns into a genuine friendship. And it’s a wonderful thing.
by North Oakland Caregivers | Jun 18, 2022 | Company News, Home Care Clarkston MI |
We say Happy Father’s Day to all fathers and father figures who helped, inspired and loved us.
We share personal memories of Lance, our President, about his Dad on this occasion.
“…My dad ALWAYS made time for me. He was a surgeon that had office hours during the day and picked up more shifts at night in the emergency room almost every night. He slept for what seemed like 4 hours a night. But he ALWAYS found ways to be there. I had a baseball game one day, and there he was, in a suit, catching baseballs as I warmed up to pitch in my Little League baseball game. Or during a snowstorm, our school bus could barely make it to the other high school, let alone any students or fans. But there he was, in his suit, straight from work, sitting up in the stands by himself, in the middle of an empty gym, eating his bag of popcorn and waiting for the game to begin.”
“…My dad ALWAYS put others first before himself. After he passed away, way too young, at age 58, I heard story after story on how he gave people hope and made them feel so good. I came across a race horse trainer out in the country. One day he told me “Your dad said the greatest thing to me one time that made me feel 10 feet tall.” And when I asked what in the world my Dad said to him, he replied: “Well, I told him, you open people up and operate on them and in many cases bring them back to life. What does it feel like to be able to give them years of life by your hand? Your dad looked at me and said, “Actually, I always wanted to be a horse trainer all my life. That made me feel 10 feet tall. No one ever said anything like that to me in my life.”‘
“…My dad ALWAYS made time for others and ALWAYS made them feel good about themselves. He put others ahead of himself ALWAYS. And he was ALWAYS the greatest dad a son could ever hope for. I miss him. I think of him often 36 years later.”
January traditionally triggers us to think about New Year’s resolutions. It just seems easier to create a new habit, make a big change for the better, and reinvent yourself at the beginning of a new year! Many people use the first months of the year to start something significant that will make a lasting impact on their lives. But this may also be the right time to make a lasting impact on the life of your senior family member, too. For example, taking a step towards planning for the future of your older mom or dad who may need assistance in their daily activities. The idea may feel daunting at the beginning but we are here to help. Today we share tips that come from years of our senior home care experience.
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