October 1, 2014
FAMILY CAREGIVER WORKSHOPS
Schmieding Home Caregiver Training – Little Rock
FAMILY CAREGIVER WORKSHOPS
The curriculum developers for the Schmieding Home Caregiver Family Caregiver Workshop program anticipated the needs of family caregivers as they devised this much needed program. As facilitators of this awesome workshop, instructors are urged to invite area vendors who provide home care support services and/or materials.
During one of the FCGW-Physical Skills sessions, an attendee shared that she retired early so that she could provide care for a family member with Alzheimer’s type dementia and that it was difficult to find help. She stated that she was so happy that we scheduled a home care agency presentation during break because her previous experiences with home care agencies were disappointing due to scheduling mishaps and no-shows. The presenter took questions after the brief presentation and the attendee scheduled an evaluation appointment with the marketer.
We followed up with the attendee about three weeks later. Her experience with the agency and her mother’s attendant has been exceptional. She writes,
“…We are in our 3rd week with their caregiver and my mom and I both think she’s great (we’ve only had one person so far). She is coming 3 days a week. We had previously used another agency …for 2 weeks and had 3 no-shows over a 2-week period. Then I tried to get set up with (another agency) but we never got started with them due to their requirement for paperwork from the doctor which was causing a delay…
Other than the outstanding service so far, these are some other things that set (this company) apart from the other two agencies I dealt with.
They told me about the $500 annual caregiver grant from Alzheimer’s Arkansas for private-pay clients. We already have our paperwork submitted and hopefully will be a recipient. No one else told me about this opportunity.
They suggested installing a realtor’s key box with a combination for the caregiver to use to come in and out of the home. I told the other 2 agencies that I would leave the door unlocked for them when I wasn’t present, but Home Instead’s suggestion is much safer for Mom.
All their caregivers have business cards with their pictures and names which they leave in the client’s info book at the home so you can easily recall who you liked and who you didn’t. This hasn’t been an issue so far since we’ve only had 1 person, but it’s a good idea.
(This company) has clear policies such as a form you fill out for any gifts to the caregiver. That eliminates any possible disputes over whether or not a client has given something to a caregiver. It’s not something we anticipate being an issue, but it’s nice to know they have a solution for this potential situation.
Of course, the main thing is good, consistent service and that’s what we have had so far. I would highly recommend them to anyone.
As instructors, we feel a certain amount of satisfaction when we participate in positively and dramatically impacting the lives of our family caregiver attendees. We are pleased that the program and vendor presentations come together to assist our community of family caregivers with the valuable resources needed to continue providing care at home.