Homecare Assist
My family went through an ordeal recently: moving my grandmother from her one-bedroom apartment to senior housing. Her new home, affiliated with her beloved Moravian church, is more than most of us could ask for in her circumstances—spacious, comfortable, and flexible enough to provide her with more care if she needs it. Moreover, homemade meals, daily social activities, and outings keep her quality of life high. She was not exactly thrilled to be leaving her apartment, though, and our family was hard-pressed to help her scale back her intimidating amount of possessions. But it was inarguable that caring for herself, and keeping her apartment clean and organized, became too much for her.
For countless others like my grandmother, it may have been helpful to have information about Homecare Assist, an inclusive, licensed agency that provides home-care aides, nurse visits, medication setup and monitoring, end-of-life care, transportation—and even help with basic tasks like decluttering and household chores for the aging and chronically ill.
While I believe our family made the right choice for my grandmother—she thoroughly enjoys the social opportunities that her facility provides—perhaps Homecare Assist could have made her last few years in her own apartment easier and more pleasant.
Not everyone wants to leave their apartment eventually, however. Many other long-term care facilities have a history of being unfriendly, or just uninformed about the needs of the GLBT community.
Stories of neglect and discrimination reached the ears of Homecare Assist owner Michele Roberts (then an employee), who has a lifelong passion for working with the elderly. She had many friends in the GLBT community, so she was appalled to hear of the poor treatment they received.
As Roberts says, “All people need care—and safe care—and I wanted to be someone who was able to make that happen.
Roberts, who eventually took over the company, ensures that her aides and nurses are trained to be sensitive to the needs of their GLBT clients.
In Roberts’s words, “We’re not the only safe place, but we have set ourselves apart a bit by proactively learning and educating ourselves about their needs.”
For more full-time care, Homecare Assist’s rates are usually comparable to or less than what a long-term care facility would charge. For people who may need care just a few times a week, the cost is much lower. Furthermore, it is a smaller agency that can be more flexible about meeting an individual’s varying needs.
Roberts explains, “[A client’s] support system may not be a traditional family. It may be through friends, or a partner. And then, what happens when they get busy? If there’s a problem, and someone can’t be there, we can.”
Homecare Assist deals with long-term care insurance. It also will work with people who pay for their services directly.
For more information on what the company could provide for each individual and circumstance, call, or visit the website.
