Home Instead Senior Care ISSUE 27 CAREGiver Corner Corner - Ma… · Home Instead Senior Care ISSUE...
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Home Instead Senior Care CAREGiver Corner Home Instead Senior Care a place of growth & Belonging Message From the President I ran into an old friend at church recently. After exchanging some pleasantries, I discovered that he had lost his mother to Alzheimer’s Disease just a few days before. In fact, they were preparing for her funeral the next day. Turns out his mother had been suffering with Alzheimer’s for more than 10 years, and his father had been a diligent and faithful caregiver. He de- scribed that his mother had no longer recognized family members in the later stages, and he and his siblings generally felt it was a blessing that she had finally passed. What he couldn’t understand were his father’s actions, he said. In her final days, when the children had told their mother that it was ok to go, he would contradict them by saying things like: “Don’t go, Honey. Don’t leave me.” And now, he seemed to be taking her death particularly hard, even though his wife had been quite a burden for several years. Finally my friend said, “It seems like it should be simple, but it’s so compli- cated.” Unfortunately, there is no script for how we should or shouldn’t react to the loss of a loved one. My friend’s dad was probably already struggling with what his new role in life would be. After all, caregiving had become his identity….not to mention being a husband. The conversation reminded me to expect the unexpected when it comes to loss, and to be respectful of everyone’s unique grieving process. Simple, right?! Steve Nooyen Franchise Owner [email protected] CAREGiver of the Month The Appleton/Oshkosh office is proud to an- nounce Erin Mathe as CAREGiver of Month for May 2011! Since Erin started with Home Instead Senior Care last year she has time and time again exceeded our expecta- tions. Her upbeat and outgoing personality is infectious! Erin cares for the clients she works with as if they were a part of her family. She is in constant communication with the office offering feedback with what can make the client’s experience with Home Instead Senior Care even better! Recently, she helped us put together an in-depth routine for her client which took a lot of her own personal time. Her willingness to go above and beyond has made an impression on the office staff. Erin has also rearranged her personal schedule to accept shifts outside of her avail- ability even without having met the client. Erin’s dedication to her clients is admirable and we are so lucky to have her as a part of our team! You have strong relationships with your clients. You worry about them and they worry about you! What if they need some milk? What if they want to change their schedule? What if they ask for your phone number? A) Give it to them. They can call you any time! B) Give them your cell phone number. You can turn it off outside of work hours. C) Give them your HISC business card. Explain all communication needs to go through the office. This keeps us in the loop & eliminates stress from you! D) Tell them it’s company policy not to call you. Submit your answer to be entered into this month’s drawing for a $10.00 gift card! Entries must be received by May 16th. Submit your entry: 1) In person 2) By mail: 901 Anderson Dr., Green Bay, WI 54304 3) Email to: [email protected] GOOD LUCK! Winners will be announced in next month’s newsletter. Last month’s answer: D) If you have been offered a shift offering personal cares or using a lifting device you should call HISC to request some one/one training. Our training staff will be happy to help you regain your comfort level and confidence! Trivia Question of the Month Upcoming Events! MAY: In-Services Details to come… JUNE: CAREGiver Pic-Nic Details to come... April Winners Appleton: Erin Mathe Green Bay: Megan Mutterer Oz/Wash: Lori Mannes Had an introduction lately? If you have, then you know that when a client meets a CAREGiver for the first time it can create feelings of anxiety or nervous- ness for both the client and CAREGiver. That is why we require that 100% of Client/ CAREGiver introductions be facilitated by a staff member or Introduction Specialist who have been specially trained. When you have an Introduction to a new client scheduled, please DO NOT enter the client’s home alone. Instead, wait in the designated location for the Introduction Specialist (i.e., in your car, lobby of the facility). We will take every effort to arrive before you do for the Introduction; however, if you are there before us, hold tight because we are on our way! If you are unsure, just give us a call at the office and THANK YOU for allowing us to do a warm introduction be- tween you and our clients. ISSUE 27
Transcript of Home Instead Senior Care ISSUE 27 CAREGiver Corner Corner - Ma… · Home Instead Senior Care ISSUE...
Home Instead Senior Care
CAREGiver Corner
Home Instead Senior Care a place of growth & Belonging
Message From the President
I ran into an old friend at church recently. After exchanging some pleasantries, I discovered that he had lost his mother to Alzheimer’s Disease just a few days before. In fact, they were preparing for her funeral the next day.
Turns out his mother had been suffering with Alzheimer’s for more than 10 years, and his father had been a diligent and faithful caregiver. He de-scribed that his mother had no longer recognized family members in the later stages, and he and his siblings generally felt it was a blessing that she had finally passed. What he couldn’t understand were his father’s actions, he said. In her final days, when the children had told their mother that it was ok to go, he would contradict them by saying things like: “Don’t go, Honey. Don’t leave me.” And now, he seemed to be taking her death particularly hard, even though his wife had been quite a burden for several years. Finally my friend said, “It seems like it should be simple, but it’s so compli-cated.” Unfortunately, there is no script for how we should or shouldn’t react to the loss of a loved one. My friend’s dad was probably already struggling with what his new role in life would be. After all, caregiving had become his identity….not to mention being a husband. The conversation reminded me to expect the unexpected when it comes to
loss, and to be respectful of everyone’s unique grieving
process. Simple, right?!
Steve Nooyen
Franchise Owner [email protected]
CAREGiver of the Month
The Appleton/Oshkosh office is proud to an-nounce Erin Mathe as CAREGiver of Month for May 2011! Since Erin started with Home Instead Senior Care last year she has time and time again exceeded our expecta-
tions. Her upbeat and outgoing personality is infectious! Erin cares for the clients she works with as if they were a part of her family. She is in constant communication with the office offering feedback with what can make the client’s experience with Home Instead Senior Care even better! Recently, she helped us put together an in-depth routine for her client which took a lot of her own personal time. Her willingness to go above and beyond has made an impression on the office staff. Erin has also rearranged her personal schedule to accept shifts outside of her avail-ability even without having met the client. Erin’s dedication to her clients is admirable and we are so lucky to have her as a part of our team!
You have strong relationships with your clients. You worry about them and they
worry about you! What if they need some milk? What if they want to change
their schedule? What if they ask for your phone number?
A) Give it to them. They can call you any time!
B) Give them your cell phone number. You can turn it off outside of work
hours.
C) Give them your HISC business card. Explain all communication needs to go
through the office. This keeps us in the loop & eliminates stress from you!
D) Tell them it’s company policy not to call you.
Submit your answer to be entered into this month’s drawing for a $10.00 gift
card!
Entries must be received by May 16th. Submit your entry:
1) In person
2) By mail: 901 Anderson Dr., Green Bay, WI 54304
3) Email to: [email protected]
GOOD LUCK! Winners will be announced in next month’s newsletter.
Last month’s answer: D) If you have been offered a shift offering personal cares or using a lifting device you should call HISC to request some one/one training. Our training staff will be happy to help you regain your comfort level and confidence!
Trivia Question of the Month
Upcoming Events! MAY: In-Services Details to come… JUNE: CAREGiver Pic-Nic Details to come...
April Winners Appleton: Erin Mathe Green Bay: Megan Mutterer Oz/Wash: Lori Mannes
Had an introduction lately? If you have, then you know that when a client meets a CAREGiver for the first time it can create feelings of anxiety or nervous-ness for both the client and CAREGiver. That is why we require that 100% of Client/CAREGiver introductions be facilitated by a staff member or Introduction Specialist who have been specially trained.
When you have an Introduction to a new client scheduled, please DO NOT enter the client’s home alone. Instead, wait in the designated location for the Introduction Specialist (i.e., in your car, lobby of the facility).
We will take every effort to arrive before you do for the Introduction; however, if you are there before us, hold tight because we are on our way! If you are unsure, just give us a call at the office and THANK YOU for allowing us to do a warm introduction be-tween you and our clients.
ISSUE 27
Page 2
CAREGIVER CORNER
“as my caregiving
journey
continues, I
draw upon my
strengths and
ask for help with
my weaknesses.”
-Harriet Hodgson
Happy Birthday! Cheers for the Years!
MAY
Appleton/Oshkosh Barb Behm, Pat Diedrich, Liz Gietman, Faye Grosek-
Woods, Sandra Krueger, June Mavis, Ginny Recla
Green Bay/Sturgeon Bay Marlys Ericson, Kanani King, Mary Lour Lee, Carol
Lubas, Kathy Schoendorf, Chris Seidl, Colette Seidl,
Sue Sielski, Jennifer Tenor, Kathy Woracheck
Ozaukee/Washington Jeanne Cassel, Joy Grass, Joanne Kieckhafer, John
Liebherr, Dianne Schreiber
MAY
Appleton/Oshkosh 1 yr.- Sharon Conrad, Pat George, Marcell Vidito
2 yrs.- Barb Behm, Elaine Scheibe, Penny Tech-
lin. 3 yrs.- Cindy Plach, Jan Rieckman. 4 yrs.-
Mary Jovanovich. 7 yrs.- Lily Bobber. 10 yrs.-
Gloria Hildebrand. 12 yrs.- Angela Deeg
Green Bay/Sturgeon Bay 1 yr. - Annette Phillippi, Chris Seidl, Jery
Ladewig. 2 yrs. - Jennifer Smith. 4 yrs. - Debra
Walkowiak. 6 yrs. - Cheryl Meingast. 8 yrs. -
Elsie Longard. 14 yrs. - Mary VandenBerg
Ozaukee/Washington 1 yr.- Rabija Iriskic, Crystal Clayton, Kathy Popp
3 yrs.- Mary Leininger. 4 yrs.- Kevin Ernst. 7 yrs.
- Patricia Abel, Karen Powers. 9 yrs.- Sandra
Young
Congratulations!
We are so proud of your hard work and the loving care you provide
to our clients! We Care Senior Care paid over $11,875.00 to CARE-
Givers in incentive bonuses for the first quarter of the year! That
means we had a LOT of people doing a LOT of things right! Great
job on clocking in on time, not calling in for your shifts and for asking
time off with at least a 7 day notice!
Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson's disease was first described in England in 1817 by Dr. James Parkinson. The disease most often develops after age 50. It is one of the most common nervous system disorders of the elderly. Sometimes Parkinson's disease occurs in younger adults, but is rarely seen in children. It affects both men and women. In some cases, Parkinson's disease occurs in families. When a young person is affected, it is usually because of a form of the disease that runs in families.
Nerve cells use a brain chemical called dopamine to help control muscle movement. Parkinson's disease occurs when the nerve cells in the brain that make dopamine are slowly destroyed. Without dopamine, the nerve cells in that part of the brain cannot properly send messages. This leads to the loss of muscle function. The damage gets worse with time. Exactly why the brain cells waste away is unknown. Parkinson's in children may occur because the nerves are not as sensitive to dopamine. Parkinson's is rare in children.
The term "parkinsonism" refers to any condition that involves the types of movement changes seen in Parkinson's disease. Parkinsonism may be caused by other disorders (such as secondary parkinsonism) or certain medications. Find more information here: http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/parkinsons-disease/overview.html
Client Profile update challenge
As you may know, at the March In-Services we rolled out a new phone line where CAREGivers can call to leave updates regarding the profiles in their clients’ homes. We put out a challenge that if we could get a call on 100% of the clients we are serving by April 15, 2011, we would hold drawings for $50.00 gas cards.
Unfortunately, we didn’t quite meet the challenge goal but...a special THANK YOU to the 34 CAREGivers who did call with client updates. If you were one of the CAREGivers who called by April 15th, check your mail next week because we’re sending a little surprise in appreciation of your participation.
And, remember, the phone is available 24 x 7 so keep the calls coming as you have updates.
